Re:Women, Tech Conferences and the Bullshit Surrounding It
by tunesmith on Tuesday April 16, 2013 @03:30AM
(#5556768)
While I don't know many of the particulars, I believe that one possible good example is Etsy. Etsy started a deliberate effort to employ more female engineers, and they did it by hiring junior female engineers and training them.
They don't call it a quota, but it certainly fits the loose definition - they wanted more females, and so they hired junior female engineers when they could have hired more senior male engineers. I'm sure that at some point, a team of theirs was considered at full capacity and some male resume was passed over that might have otherwise been considered.
But it's really, really hard to argue that they did something offensive there. They created more engineering talent, got some good press out of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had some sort of small effect in making programming a more viable-seeming career choice for women.
Re:Women, Tech Conferences and the Bullshit Surrounding It
by claudius on Tuesday April 16, 2013 @06:35AM
(#5557313)
They choose their engineers based on their gender, hence acted sexist. I find that offensive and will take it into account when having to decide whether to do business with them.
They don't call it a quota, but it certainly fits the loose definition - they wanted more females, and so they hired junior female engineers when they could have hired more senior male engineers. I'm sure that at some point, a team of theirs was considered at full capacity and some male resume was passed over that might have otherwise been considered.
But it's really, really hard to argue that they did something offensive there. They created more engineering talent, got some good press out of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had some sort of small effect in making programming a more viable-seeming career choice for women.