What... Me?

“There’s a lot of work we need to do.” If there’s one statement that was echoed across the largest firms in Silicon Valley, it would be that, according to the latest diversity reports.

In Facebook’s latest issue on new hiring, despite the ramp up in public relations, hiring of ethnically minority groups remained flat with 4 percent of its employee base being Hispanic and 2 percent African American. Facebook hired seven African American employees in 2013 out of an on boarding of 1,200, according to the New York Times. Things didn’t fair much better at Google whose numbers remained virtually unchanged in their 2014 report. Why the lack of diversity? It’s hard to say. Companies are investing heavily going forward in programs to encourage more diverse candidacy but nothing yet has taken hold. It could take years before any of these investments come to fruition. What brought us to this point today?

Since this is a personal blog, I can only speak from personal experience. I could go into an in-depth analysis of societal and economic inequality, but I honestly did enough of that in college. I can however, discuss the reasons that led me, a biracial (African American and Hispanic) male to pursue computer science at a relatively late (post college degree) stage.

It takes role models. Growing up in the 90s there really weren’t many people of color in the technology industry. Unless you had a scientist, or engineer in your family, the path to becoming one was always hazy and distant. My family got our first computer when I was 10 years old. I loved that thing and spent far too many hours nestled under its cold blue glow. My parents didn’t know how to use it, but it was always fun teaching them how to do things and watching their eyes light up. Back then, computers were still relatively uncommon, especially in minority households, they were also extremely expensive. So I had the early interest and encouragement, but I didn’t choose technology as a career path. The reason for that was simple… I didn’t know I could. I didn’t know how. So, has anything changed today?

I have many young kids in my family. Sure, some have phones and computers, but none have expressed an interest in technology. It’s simply off their radars. They know no-one, who has gone down that path, there are no posters of young black or hispanic women and men to hang on their walls. Honestly, there’s a bit of resistance as well. Because the path to becoming an engineer is so hazy in our culture, questions like: “What exactly do you do?” or “You sit at a computer all day?” and “You can’t make money doing that…” all permeate within my own extended family.

There’s definitely a cultural shift happening, but without changes in perception today, it will still take many years before we see any appreciable benefit. No, there aren’t many people my young family members can look towards for advice in a career in technology today — but hopefully I might be able to change that soon, maybe I’ll even be able to teach them how to code.