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Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by mc32 on Saturday November 07, 2015 @10:59PM (#10527407)
I definitely prefer a multicultural circle of friends --it's interesting, as they say.

But... does it provide a competitive advantage? Are industries in places like China, India, Japan and Korea at a disadvantage compared to the US because they are more or less monocultural?

Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by threeseed on Saturday November 07, 2015 @11:07PM (#10527424)
Yes they are at a disadvantage at providing services that cater to the entire world.

Which is why Chinese and Japanese sites for example have struggled to extend beyond their own borders.

Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by xienze on Saturday November 07, 2015 @11:12PM (#10527435)
Well as far as sites go, I think the biggest disadvantage is not focusing on English first rather than the local language.

But then there's companies like Nintendo and Sony that are globally successful in spite of their lack of diversity.

Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by striking on Saturday November 07, 2015 @11:19PM (#10527462)
> Nintendo

Most of Nintendo's failings in the past can actually be traced to where they refused to innovate simply because they followed the Japanese business culture too strictly (where, if your boss tells you to do something, you do it. Otherwise, you don't. And so on). If they had a diversity of ideas, they would likely not be in so much trouble right now.

I am not defending AA, the racial/gender/whichever thing; I'm not talking about that right now. This is simply about the diversity of ideas.

Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by brazzledazzle on Sunday November 08, 2015 @01:29AM (#10527764)
Sony has a massive number of employees on every continent.
Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by mc32 on Saturday November 07, 2015 @11:33PM (#10527499)
We'll have to see. China, Japan, Korea and India have world leading companies, world beating companies. They compare very well to more diverse countries like Mexico, Brazil, etc. [Japan and Korea are rather small compared to Brazil and Mexico]

This is separate from the question of providing fair and gainful employment for everyone --I think that's a goal as a society we should strive for _even if_ it puts us at a disadvantage. My question was more geared toward questioning the received wisdom.

One obvious advantage for companies operating in a homogenous society is they don't face the challenges in hiring a diverse workforce.

Re:Q&A with the Black Twitter Engineer Who Left Over Diversi... by nitrogen on Sunday November 08, 2015 @01:24AM (#10527756)
This is separate from the question of providing fair and gainful employment for everyone --I think that's a goal as a society we should strive for _even if_ it puts us at a disadvantage. My question was more geared toward questioning the received wisdom.

I'm curious, what do you think of the opposing goal of eliminating the need for all employment through automation?