As a female engineer, I am not diversity • Hacker News Board

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#31

Post by blueboo » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

bootsz wrote: post #2

Great article. Thanks for sharing this. I think perspectives like yours are what we need to move beyond what are often one-dimensional conversations about diversity. Aside: Please forgive the nitpick, but despite its widespread use I really don't think "extroverted introvert" is a thing. The problem is that these two things are opposite ends of a spectrum. I think what people really mean when they say "extroverted in…

If a specific term in a narrow context has a meaning different from the one in common use, choosing to misread one for the other isn't a nitpick, it's just...misreading

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#32

Post by Jach » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

trevor-e wrote: post #25

Does anyone else find it weird/disturbing that someone is compiling a list of women engineers and where they work? I understand having a list of influential speakers and such to look up to, but this does not seem to be the case. The author mentioned she has no idea how she made it on there. Link: https://cristinacordova.github.io/women-eng/

Yeah that's kind of weird... I'm reminded of Romney's "notebook full of women", but at least I don't think the contents were made public?

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#33

Post by blueboo » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #29

abnry wrote: post #4

If men and women are completely interchangeable, physically and psychologically, then this article makes a lot of sense. But if women really do have something different (at least on average) to bring to the table, then this women really does add diversity. The purpose of diversity is not quotas, but differences that work together and add something to the whole.

I think the point is that the diversity she brings isn’t enough diversity to justify her as someone who is adding to diversity in a tech company. You could add 1000s of women like her and the company wouldn’t be particularly different.

It seems obvious that adding 1000s of women like her would absolutely meaningfully change the company though

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#34

Post by blueboo » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:29 PM UTC

hkai wrote: post #13

Interesting that this person does not mention diversity of political opinion, which seems to be lacking.

It's lacking insofar as political opinion is restricted to "should the poors starve" and "is the female intellect inherently inferior"; but when it comes to things like engaging with problematic regimes, capitalist/socialist choices, and bottom up/top down solutions, there's quite a diversity

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#35

Post by SquirrelOnFire » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:31 PM UTC

iagovar wrote: post #26

I just hope this diversity drama never comes to my country. I already work in a very diverse workplace. Both genders and multiple nationalities are represented, and I really don't see what that brigs to the table. I mean, why is diversity good per se? I don't see any correlation between any demographic variable and being a good coworker.

On an individual level, it doesn't improve being a good coworker.

On an institutional level, you get a broader set of ideas when you have a more diverse workforce, giving you a better chance at a black swan idea. And frankly, better odds of preventing disaster (Chevy wouldn't have tried to sell a car called the "Nova" in Mexico if they'd had a spanish speaker on the team. No Va means No Go).

There's also evidence that diverse teams do better - https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our...

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#36

Post by skrebbel » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

gorpomon wrote: post #17

In reference to the point she makes about people not assuming women are developers, I now make it a point to assume two things about most everyone (male and female identifying) that I meet in tech: 1) That they are competent and smart until they definitely prove otherwise to me. 2) That they are technical and interested in technology. It's worked really well for me so far. In practice it means when I meet someone I s…

I try to do the same, and I share your experience.

That said, sometimes it gets awkward in funny ways. A few months ago I was at a conference/event selling our product (booth and everything), talking to two young Polish girls who were running a tech startup. I don't recall the details by heart, but it was some marketplace I think. Our product is relatively technical, so your approach, "You're a dev, right?" usually pays off. But these founders giggled, rolled their eyes, and said "Do we look like developers to you?"

Eh, yes? :/

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#37

Post by zhangela » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

gorpomon wrote: post #17

In reference to the point she makes about people not assuming women are developers, I now make it a point to assume two things about most everyone (male and female identifying) that I meet in tech: 1) That they are competent and smart until they definitely prove otherwise to me. 2) That they are technical and interested in technology. It's worked really well for me so far. In practice it means when I meet someone I s…

Great strategy! Thank you for sharing.

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#38

Post by alexashka » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:40 PM UTC

> "I’m not bringing in the diverse perspective that is so critical to the success of any company."

Based on what evidence, or even logic, is diversity critical to the success of even some companies? Let alone any company?

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#39

Post by aidenn0 » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

SquirrelOnFire wrote: post #35

iagovar wrote: post #26

I just hope this diversity drama never comes to my country. I already work in a very diverse workplace. Both genders and multiple nationalities are represented, and I really don't see what that brigs to the table. I mean, why is diversity good per se? I don't see any correlation between any demographic variable and being a good coworker.

On an individual level, it doesn't improve being a good coworker. On an institutional level, you get a broader set of ideas when you have a more diverse workforce, giving you a better chance at a black swan idea. And frankly, better odds of preventing disaster (Chevy wouldn't have tried to sell a car called the "Nova" in Mexico if they'd had a spanish speaker on the team. No Va means No Go). There's also evidence tha…

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevrolet-nova-name-spanis...

Re: As a female engineer, I am not diversity

#40

Post by avinassh » Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:42 PM UTC

trevor-e wrote: post #25

Does anyone else find it weird/disturbing that someone is compiling a list of women engineers and where they work? I understand having a list of influential speakers and such to look up to, but this does not seem to be the case. The author mentioned she has no idea how she made it on there. Link: https://cristinacordova.github.io/women-eng/

not just weird, I found it creepy too. If I was being profiled and added to some public list, without my knowledge, that would make me extremely uncomfortable, however noble the intentions are.