[colmvp]

I'm not sure how much this has to do with quantity of x as opposed to quality of x.

I've worked in small teams where I was the only Asian person among a team of white men, and I neither noticed any hints of racism nor sexism.

I've also worked in teams where it's been highly diverse in ethnicity though not gender, and again, never noticed any hints of sexism.

Though I have certainly worked in a company with a number of women, including a female co-founder/CEO who was absolutely sexist... against women. I'm not suggesting women are bad CEO's or that diversity is bad, I'm saying that from my experience, it hasn't been about the diversity of the team so much as the type of people in the composition.

Also from my POV, I'm not sure how having a random % of women makes more or less sense than a random % of black people or Latino's. Like if a company is predominantly composed of white men, does adding a white female make it more diverse than adding a black man?

[acaciapalm]

I don't see what this has to do with my comment. I didn't say all men are sexist or all teams are sexist, just stated that there is safety in numbers.

You're lucky nobody said something racist about Asians when you were the only Asian. Otherwise, you would have been in the same situation. But that's it: luck. It could happen to anyone and then the workplace could turn hostile.

[stcredzero]

I'm not sure how much this has to do with quantity of x as opposed to quality of x.

Quantity matters. Everything is contextual. If one is in a "hypo-minority" situation, then one is more likely to stand out. Being unique can be nice, but being irrevocably marked as unique, with no respite can feel like being trapped. Being singled out is simply more likely if you are truly singular.

Like if a company is predominantly composed of white men, does adding a white female make it more diverse than adding a black man?

I think that very much depends on the people involved. So in this, you are right. But quantity does matter a lot.

[r00fus]

> I've worked in small teams where I was the only Asian person among a team of white men, and I neither noticed any hints of racism nor sexism.

I don't think your situations are comparable. Women are ~50% of the population and sexual undertones have nothing to do with ethnicity, but everything to do with gender.

[acaciapalm]

Also, I think it is MUCH more likely for a team to have only one woman than only one Asian. From my experience working as a dev in the US, anyway.

At any rate, I've never been on a team that didn't have several Asians. But I've had many co workers tell me they've never worked with a woman before (which in itself is awkward to hear unprompted, haha).

Thanks for pointing out that race and sex are not comparable. It's true, they really aren't.

[BurningFrog]

You might be confusing sexuality and sexism.

[anon839]

I disagree. Some sexual undertones have to do with ethnicity because of stereotypes of Asian women etc.

[r00fus]

Not sure what such stereotypes you're talking about, but regardless where does your example not have to do with gender?