Readings

The readings for this week focus on issues related to diversity and behavior in the workplace.

Diversity

These readings provide some background on the lack of diversity in the technology industry:

  1. Google finally discloses its diversity record, and it's not good

  2. Study Finds Women and Minorities in STEM Are Discriminated Against, to the Shock of No One

  3. Boys' Math Scores Hit Highs and Lows

Culture

These readings are about the possible toxic nature of tech culture:

  1. Getting free of toxic tech culture

Women

These readings are about the challenges for women in the tech industry:

  1. Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?

  2. A new survey explains one big reason there are so few women in technology

Also: Push for Gender Equality in Tech? Some Men Say It’s Gone Too Far

Minorities

These readings are about the challenges for ethnic and racial minorities in the tech industry:

  1. Why Doesn't Silicon Valley Hire Black Coders?

  2. The Other Side of Diversity

Uber

These readings are about some relatively recent events at Uber:

  1. Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

Education

These readings are about some educational approaches for improving diversity:

Codes of Conduct

These readings have to do with codes of conduct:

  1. The Code of Conduct

Linux

These readings are about the Linux community:

  1. Closing a door

Political Correctness

These readings discuss the fears of political correctness in regards to these codes of conduct and the push for greater diversity:

  1. An anonymous response to dangerous FOSS Codes of Conduct

  2. Survey Finds Conservatives Feel Out of Place in Silicon Valley

Google

These readings explore the recent Google diversity memo:

  1. The Dirty War Over Diversity Inside Google

  2. Note to employees from CEO Sundar Pichai

  3. Why I Was Fired by Google

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

  1. From the readings and in your opinion, is the lack of diversity a problem in the technology industry or is the gender gap overblown? Is it something that needs to be addressed or is it just a (possibly unfortunate) reality?

    • If you believe it is a problem, then what are some obstacles faced by women and minorities? Why do these challenges exist and how could the technology industry (or society in general) work to remove these barriers and encourage more participation from women and minorities?

    • If you don't believe it is a problem, then why do you think there is this recent focus on diversity? Is it fair that there are programs targeted to women and certain minorities, but not other groups? How would you address claims of privilege?

    • What do you make of the events at uber Uber? What is your reaction on the events and the aftermath and what do these events say about diversity in technology?

  2. From the readings and in your opinion, are Codes of Conduct necessary for technology companies, organizations, and communities? Do they serve a valid purpose or are they just another form of political correctness?

    • What do you make of some of the Codes of Conduct above? What jumps out at you as reasonable and what seems unreasonable?

    • What do you make of the recent Google memo controversy? Are the arguments in the memo reasonable or unreasonable? What do you make of the reaction to the memo, the firing of James Damore, and the subsequent lawsuits?

    • Should employees be fired for "violations of codes of conduct"? What sort of speech should be tolerated within the workplace? What responsibilities do you believe individuals have in speaking out against certain types of speech or in tolerating different viewpoints?

    • Can you separate politics and beliefs from the workplace? Should you?

Feedback

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the course, please provide your feedback at the end of your response.