Post 3: The Ethos of the Tech Industry

The tech industry has long vaunted it's self as a haven for the long-oppressed, fringe members of society. To many, it is assumed to be the perfect place to go for those with ability. As long as you can code just as well as everyone else, you are welcome. But, is this really the case. Recently, there have been a variety of news articles challenging this fact; they suggest that the tech industry does not provide a level playing field and that this hurts certain groups in particular, women and the economically disadvantaged.

Despite these points, I would argue that the prevailing ethos of the computing industry is that of a meritocracy. The industry, at least the idea of the industry, is to find the best, most capable, people, regardless of gender or social standing, and put them into the roles that best make use of their skill sets. There is no place in the industry for those the cannot fulfill these roles. But, this ethos of the industry does not translate well into practice, not for the fault of the tech companies themselves, but due to our society at large.

Recently, I listened to an upwards of thirty minute NPR interview with Lazlo Bock, Vice-president of Google's People Operations (Human Resources). In the interview, Lazlo discussed at length Google's attempts to discover those that have ability that is not traditionally found in Universities. Google strives to wring out every capable person from the folds of society. Because of this, they have adopted a variety of non-traditional hiring strategies to help correct the non-level initial playing field faced by many in entering the tech industry. Is it Google's fault that some are exposed to a better technical education than others? No, but it is their responsibility to take this into account during their hiring process. At the end of the day, there isn't reason for tech companies to abandon their meritocratic structure. But, it is, I think, in their best interest and their responsibility to work towards generating equal opportunity for everyone.

A few of the articles I have read discussed the problem with the lack of women at major tech companies and the lack of involvement they have in the industry. This isn't an industry problem, however, it is a societal problem. To many women are discouraged from taking on tech roles even before they have the chance to enter the industry. Looking at our higher-education systems in the US, the STEM fields are disproportionately made up of males. There is a lingering ethos in America that technical fields are more "suited" to men and that women should stick with less applied fields (writing, art, etc). I think that, if we want to fix this, there must be a large grassroots effort across the country to educate children, and their parents. that the engineering disciplines are not reserved for men. Because, in the end, there is so much left on the table when a segment of approximately 50% of the population is discouraged from taking up a discipline.