Re:Jopwell (YC S15) Is Building the Missing “Pipeline” of Di...
by ryanswilliams on Wednesday July 15, 2015 @06:47PM
(#9894489)
This is absolutely right. While there are unquestionably fewer black, hispanic / latino, and native american individuals with STEM backgrounds (another problem that needs to be solved at an educational level) there is still an uphill battle to be climbed even for individuals who DO possess the necessary skills and experience.
Hiring systems, especially in tech, are largely based on referral models and the "who do you know who can do X?" approach. Despite the many benefits of this approach, one danger is that it often inadvertently leaves underrepresented ethnic groups on the sidelines.
Having the skill set is not always enough.
Re:Jopwell (YC S15) Is Building the Missing “Pipeline” of Di...
by leereeves on Wednesday July 15, 2015 @05:41PM
(#9894256)
> Compared to similarly-educated, similary-skilled white people, my impression is, on average, yes.
Is that based on personal experience, data, or ?
Re:Jopwell (YC S15) Is Building the Missing “Pipeline” of Di...
by dragonwriter on Wednesday July 15, 2015 @05:46PM
(#9894283)
Its an impression based on personal experience, immediate-circle anecdotes, and other non-structured, potentially non-representative data, as well as various bits of more structured research I've seen that is not directly on point (e.g., not tech-specific, but general to hiring, such as on responses to ethnic names in hiring processes) but seems to suggestive in the absence of more specific, field-specific research.
Compared to similarly-educated, similary-skilled white people, my impression is, on average, yes. (Where "people of color" is taken to mean "from groups underrepresented in technology"; there are certain non-white groups for which I don't get the impression that this is the case.) Largely because of network factors.
> or is the problem that there simply aren't enough people like that?
That's also a problem. The two are not mutually exclusive.