reading-notes

Reading 14 - Diversity and Inclusion in Technology

Source: That Time When Women Stopped Coding

Q1 What occurred during the same time as the beginning of the decline of women in computer science?

Personal computers started showing up in U.S. homes in significant numbers

Q2 Why does it matter that males had been playing on computers growing up?

Because growing up playing on computers gave male students an advantage in introductory computer science classes

Source: Employee breakdown of key technology companies

Source: Why diversity matters to your tech company

Q3 When are diversity efforts most successful?

When they’re driven by commitment from company leaders

Q4 Why do diverse companies perform better?

Diverse teams are smarter and more creative. Diverse groups of people see problems differently and can come up with faster and better solutions. They also get the best talent and ideas when people from underrepresented backgrounds are not excluded.

Q5 Give an example of how a diverse company can serve a diverse user base or vise-versa.

A company that has left-handed people can prevent UI issues caused by how left-handed users use apps.

Things I want to know more about

How are these studies measured? Are there any examples of companies where women or other minorities are over-represented, and how do those companies perform?