Clearly a blog called White Privilege is going to have a certain slant – but they also seem to make some interesting points in a post they did this year on White Privilege in the Tech Industry. Initially I thought the article might talk about the discrepancies between tech use – specifically surveys that have indicated that ethnic minorities are most likely to have wireless only connections to broadband. But this article was really on industry.
Here are some of the facts presented:
- Half of the fastest growing jobs are in the tech industry and black unemployment is the highest it’s been in 27 years
- 1 percent of Internet company founders are black. 12 percent are Asian. 87 percent are white.
- Silicon Valley Employment Population: 1.5 percent are black; 4.7 percent are Hispanic; 93.8 percent are other
- In game and application development such as Face tracking and Kinect – light-skinned players are more easily tracked than dark-skinned players
One fix might be a greater focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for minorities and women. An article in US News and World Reports makes the case the it’s not just the potential employees that suffer…
With 14 million people unemployed but 3 million STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—jobs sitting vacant, it’s clear there is a disconnect between skill and need, one that can’t be filled solely with white men or engineers from India.
But half of the students currently graduating with engineering degrees in the United States are white men, while only 18 percent are women and even fewer are minorities, Betty Shanahan, CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, said Thursday at the U.S. News Stem Summit 2012.
“To be competitive, we can’t ignore two thirds of our future workforce,” Shanahan said.
The Chronicle of Higher Education offers advice to improve interest in STEM. For the federal government…
The federal government could get the ball rolling by acting on three recommendations suggested in the report: It should promote widespread adoption of empirically validated teaching practices, including active learning approaches, in introductory STEM courses; advocate and provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses; and begin a national experiment in postsecondary mathematics education to address the preparation gap that discourages students from pursuing STEM degrees.
For colleges and universities…
So what can colleges and universities do to help? First, they should collaborate with high schools on the development of bridge programs to improve student preparation during the summer between high school and college.
…
Second, institutions should build on the mounting evidence that collaborative partnerships between two- and four-year institutions provide greater access to and opportunities for advanced STEM training for a more diverse population of students.
For private industry…
Finally, we strongly recommend that academic leaders establish partnerships with the private sector to improve STEM undergraduate education. Foundations and private industry should join with universities to expand educational technologies, provide internships to students in the first two years of college, and invest in programs with proven success, such as bridge programs and certification programs linking community-college and technical education to industry-recognized standards.
The tech industry also discriminates by age. I am near 50 years old and can do much of the same things younger people with only 3 to 5 years experience can do, but when I have gone to job interviews the person interviewing me if they are younger almost always asks if I have kept up on technology. Also I have lost many jobs to younger workers even though I can do the job, have the training, and I have more experience. I also have 12 years experience in building and working on broadband systems and ISP operations, but after trying for more than 4 years I have been unable to secure a job in this field or industry in Minnesota. Believe me I have been trying, but it appears I will never work in the Telecom field in Minnesota again.
That’s a good point – although I’m sorry to hear about the experience you’ve had. It’s short sighted of companies to hire only younger IT staff.
There’s an interesting discussion on the topic: http://techtalk.dice.com/t5/Tech-Nation-Discussion/Ageism-in-Tech-field/td-p/290830
One person compares IT staff to mechanics…
“It’s a lot like a older mechanic that can diagnose an engine problem by listening to the motor, other mechanics take the approach of replacing parts until the problem goes away. This ‘other’ mechanic never learns to diagnose engine problems because he never knows what combination of parts fixed the problem and may have never had the benefit of working under an older mechanic.”
I think the workplace can benefit from a wide range of folks in the office!
Let me start by saying. The question is not one of discrimination it is one of isolation. You have to acknowledge that a person exist to discriminate. Isolation is more like it, because one does not need to acknowledge you to isolate themselves from you; they just need to build the wall where they think you are going to be if you show up at all. As a person who has patented technology (While at Verizon Telecommunications), I can speak to this isolation, it is when folks use your ideas, but find a way to disengage you from them when the time for acknowledgement comes. The isolation happens when the only time you are put in a position for advancement is when the task can also and has the greater possibility of costing you your job. The isolation comes when everybody starts talking about teamwork and then you are excluded from the very initiatives that you created and developed.
How long does it take a bright, intelligent, and knowledgeable American of African Descent, to realize that there is an invisible “No N_____s Allowed” sign present? It does not take very long at all. I’ll use my grand nephews as an example. Three of them showed very high technical ability and intelligence. One day I was going to start teaching them electronics, and the oldest looks at me and says, “No disrespect uncle Henry, but we hear about how whites treat you on your job, how you have to struggle and be two – four times better just to be considered as good, forget about equal. You have six patents hanging from your wall and as mom tells us you have many others pending, and still you get treated like crap by people who have not done half of what you have done. What the “sic” makes you think I want to walk head long into that “sic” whooping?” The two others said yup, Uncle Henry in fact you are the motivation of why not to get involved in technology, because if they can do that “sic” to someone like you, what the “sic” are they going to do to us? (I deleted the explanative language because I don’t approve of profanity, but these kids were being very frank and honest about their concerns) .
I could only ponder the words I heard, and say “They are right, I came along at a different time, we were taught how and why to fight racism. The goal was to get your foot in the door, and fight to prove yourself, no one ever told us what to do when the door was open, you were told to walk on in, but when you got there you were ignored and isolated. Alternatively, as my favorite radio talk show host (Joe Madison) would put it What happens when you are “underestimated, undervalued, and marginalized”?
Henry,
You bring up a really good, yet heartbreaking, point. To a much lesser degree I’ve seen my suggestions fall on deaf ears, only to have the same suggestion celebrated when brought up by someone male – or had some just talk right over me as if I were invisible. But that’s been more the exception than the rule. I can only imagine what it feels like for someone who is clearly so accomplished over a longer stretch of time to feel so isolated. I wish I had some words of encouragement.
Also I can’t help but think of how much better any project is with a greater diversity of problem solvers in the room. It’s really to the tech industry’s detriment that they perpetuate the isolation – which in turn is putting the US is at a disadvantage. It’s really a sword that cuts both ways. Think of potential patents inside your grandsons – patents we won’t be seeing. I’m sure they will be successful in any industry – but the tech industry could use the help!
Thanks for sharing your story. I put a lot of hope into education and hopefully you’ve educated some people with your note today.
Ann
Hello Ann,
Thank you for your understanding, where I come from we have a saying that tends to sum things up: “It is what it is”. It is said with a type of fatalistic optimism (It is in the vein of “Hey the world ends in 30 minutes, but at least you have a chance to win the lottery”). Life goes on and one day, we will all have to do what we have to, to get by.
Regards,
Henry