While the conversation around increased diversity in tech looms large, the fulfillment of those lofty promises has been disastrous. Women and non-binary technologists and people in the global majority* fuel the industry and yet, they consistently receive the short end of the stick.
The fact is, these people deal with harassment and discrimination at an alarming rate. Their experiences not only hinder their professional growth but cause pain and strife in other areas in their lives. They continue to be treated like less-thans in an industry that needs, but doesn’t fully value them. I’m tired of saying this but I’ll grab my bullhorn and state it anyway: This must stop. Now.
This is not a plea, asking companies, institutions and organizations to take an amorphous, wordy pledge, post it on social media and roll it into future talking points. This is a report out to our industry (and others) that paints a picture: the people who make their companies successful are being discriminated against, harassed, underpaid and underappreciated. And we have the data to prove it.
Each year at AnitaB.org, we conduct a global survey of women and non-binary technologists to ascertain their lived reality and work experiences. Through the Technical Equity Experience Survey (TechEES), we learn how the tech industry has supported or spurned one its most underutilized/unappreciated resources.
Our latest report revealed that 90% of the respondents experienced some form of discrimination and 100% – one-hundred percent! – reported harassment. When disaggregating that data by race, Black, Latinx, Native American and Pacific Islander (BLNP) respondents reported increased feelings of race-based discrimination and harassment between 2019 and 2021, a pivotal timeframe that included a global pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes, the police killings of Black citizens and the movement for Black lives, a presidential election and much more. This type of intersectional othering is, at best, worrisome and, at worse, dangerous.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brendadwilkerson/2022/06/10/startling-research-reveals-how-women-and-non-binary-people-in-tech-are-really-doing/?sh=2453df41495d
The fact is, these people deal with harassment and discrimination at an alarming rate. Their experiences not only hinder their professional growth but cause pain and strife in other areas in their lives. They continue to be treated like less-thans in an industry that needs, but doesn’t fully value them. I’m tired of saying this but I’ll grab my bullhorn and state it anyway: This must stop. Now.
This is not a plea, asking companies, institutions and organizations to take an amorphous, wordy pledge, post it on social media and roll it into future talking points. This is a report out to our industry (and others) that paints a picture: the people who make their companies successful are being discriminated against, harassed, underpaid and underappreciated. And we have the data to prove it.
Each year at AnitaB.org, we conduct a global survey of women and non-binary technologists to ascertain their lived reality and work experiences. Through the Technical Equity Experience Survey (TechEES), we learn how the tech industry has supported or spurned one its most underutilized/unappreciated resources.
Our latest report revealed that 90% of the respondents experienced some form of discrimination and 100% – one-hundred percent! – reported harassment. When disaggregating that data by race, Black, Latinx, Native American and Pacific Islander (BLNP) respondents reported increased feelings of race-based discrimination and harassment between 2019 and 2021, a pivotal timeframe that included a global pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes, the police killings of Black citizens and the movement for Black lives, a presidential election and much more. This type of intersectional othering is, at best, worrisome and, at worse, dangerous.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brendadwilkerson/2022/06/10/startling-research-reveals-how-women-and-non-binary-people-in-tech-are-really-doing/?sh=2453df41495d
