Alright, but the structural problems are upstream of recruiting and promotions. It's simply bad engineering to try to solve the problem downstream rather than at the root.
In this case, solving the problem downstream does tackle the problem at the root.
A lot of people in engineering went down that path because they were inspired by someone when they were younger. If there were more women and minorities in engineering, then other (young) women and minorities would be able to see them as role models and follow suit.
>A lot of people in engineering went down that path because they were inspired by someone when they were younger. If there were more women and minorities in engineering, then other (young) women and minorities would be able to see them as role models and follow suit.
This is really interesting claim and perhaps somewhat biased. Some preliminary testing of VR teachers suggests that young women prefer to be taught by women, and boys have a preference for robots/drones.
My own personal experience is that mecha anime got me inspired to work in STEM, I can see why that might not have universal appeal, but the claim that people need role models who look like them isn't universal.
> A lot of people in engineering went down that path because they were inspired by someone when they were younger.
Who? I started programming because computers are fun. If you really care about getting more women and minorities involved in tech volunteer at a local high school -- there are dozens of programs which seek to get young people exposed to programming. Anything else is just blowing smoke.
Well if we're using personal anecdotes, I had never touched a line of code until college and had just assumed I wasn't smart enough for it. I did study engineering though, which was an easy choice because I had tons of family who were engineers. Freshman year I took Java as a core requirement and discovered I was pretty good at it, so I stuck with it.
It shouldn't be a stretch of the mind that programming would be more accessible to someone who was raised knowing programmers, than to someone who was raised without.
> If you really care about getting more women and minorities involved in tech volunteer at a local high school
This is great advice. That doesn't discredit the impact that having diversity in tech has.
wait. why is it "bad engineering" to try to solve the problem downstream?
the company itself knows as well as or better than anyone upstream what its own jobs require. the company itself is in a good position to train/educate a person (of any particular group) to do that job.
upstream educational institutions can promote diversity and graduate people all day long -- but you still need a company to actually hire those people.
How do we solve it at the root without having aspirational figures for young people to look up to? Representation is important for creating role models, otherwise young minorities get the message that a particular field isn't accessible to them.
Is there any evidence that kids need aspirational figures that match their specific gender/racial identity? If so, what(if any) other factors are in play? Sexual orientation? Hair/eye color? Height?
Yes. I didn’t know programming was a career I could pursue. I did know I could become a basketball player, though.
I know that my existence continues to influence my younger siblings, and the children of family-friends. I’m known as “the one who worked at google”. Without me as an example, tech wouldn’t be in the perceptual sphere of attainability within much of my family and community.
I grew up in poverty, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, and gave up on life. Then, floundered until I turned 21. Decided to try to turn my life around.Was encouraged by a significant other to try school again. Got a GED. Enrolled in a state school. Discovered I am actually not bad at college math. Realized that computer science is at the intersection of computers and math, and that I might be able to succeed at it. Aced every class and applied to the top 10 schools in the country. Was accepted and transferred to Stanford. Then, took advantage of every opportunity to get involved in the software engineering profession.
It was an uphill battle the entire way. Should we be looking to my life-path as a scalable way out of poverty?
> Obviously people in the lives of children impact them. Does seeing, possibly, a black engineer on TV count as being in the life of a child?
Yes, definitely. TV is realer than real-life for most people. It's the average person's lens into the world, for better or worse.
A lot of people in engineering went down that path because they were inspired by someone when they were younger. If there were more women and minorities in engineering, then other (young) women and minorities would be able to see them as role models and follow suit.