Am I Just Another White Dude In Tech?

Diversity in tech (or lack thereof) — it’s a enormous problem. But have you ever wondered why?

Google and many other tech giants are making efforts to create change.

But it's not enough. Why?

Because tech companies can install policies, processes, and programs all they want - but it's really hard to change people's life long views on issues like diversity & inclusion.

What Happens When a Bunch of White Dudes Develop a Product?

Speaking of Google, I'm sure you've heard about the highly controversial viral memo from a (white male) developer who expressed his (distorted) views about equality in the workforce.

Good news - that employee has been fired, and rightfully so.

A marketing leader that I admire, Wil Reynolds, recently shared information about his own company’s diversity (SEER Interactive) on Evolving SEO’s podcast.

Something he said stuck with me:

If you have a bunch of white guys developing a product, and then something like black lives matter happens — they can’t relate.

He said that long before the Google developer's manifesto was released.

A closer look at Google’s workforce diversity makes me wonder.

As a digital marketer, Dove's most recent ad leaves me with a lot of questions too.

How could something so racially offensive earn the approval of Dove's marketing leadership?

Yes, I'm Uncomfortable. You Should Be Too. This is WRONG.

Whenever I read case studies that reveal those insanely wide disparities in the tech workforce, it makes me uncomfortable.

The numbers don’t lie. And unfortunately, white tech workers don't know how to relate.

White people don't know what it's like to have to "whiten" their resume just to give themselves a fair shot at getting a job.

Oh Sh*t. I’m White. But If This Was Early 19th Century...

Yeah, I’m "white" — my parents are of Italian descent — And in today's world, Europeans / Mediterraneans are considered to be "white."

But if this was the early 19th century, I could have been lynched just for being Italian-American.

There’s a fascinating Quora thread on this topic as well.

My family has the classic immigrant story. My name alone makes me a standout. 

I was somewhat self conscious of it when I was a kid, but I embrace it now.

The perception of Italians in America has long changed, but not for black people. Why is that?

I Grew Up In The Bronx. Where Diversity Is Beautiful.

I was raised in the Bronx, New York — one of the most diverse neighborhoods in THE WORLD. 

Growing up in the Bronx was amazing.

I had the classic New York City upbringing, the kind you would imagine from watching Hey Arnold.

We played stick ball on “da block”.

That obnoxious Mr. Softee Jingle is forever engraved in my brain.

You could hear the 6 train whizzing by all hours of the night.

We’d get a “BACON-EGG-AND-CHEESE" on a roll for breakfast. It was a classic New York upbringing, and I loved every moment of it.

I was fortunate enough to be exposed to a wealth of cultural diversity as a kid.

My early exposure to diversity proved to be more important than I ever imagined it would be. It's something I'm truly grateful for.

Growing up in the Bronx helped me build character, respect for others, and a strong sense of self-awareness.

Being a Musician Helped Too.

Musicians come from all over the world to be in New York.

For me, it's a wonderful feeling - I get the opportunity to learn from and work with people who are culturally and ethnically different than me.

Even today, many of my friends are musicians, so my upbringing was inherently diverse.

When musicians of different backgrounds “jam out” together, they are helping each other build new skills.

One of my favorite things to do is get in the studio and rock out with other musicians and producers. You check out my latest video below:

College, When Things Got Weird.

It wasn’t until I went away to college in a very small town in Upstate, NY that I realized I was going to be part of an overwhelmingly white, upper-middle class student population for the next several years of my life.

You might have heard of this quirky little town in Upstate, NY called Cortland.

(Likely for its hardcore partying) and famous Cortland vs. Ithaca showdown.

Huffington Post even did a write up on the 2013 riots. Yeah, sh*t was crazy.

It felt weird being there. I was so used to the diversity of the Bronx. I went from riding my bike to the corner bodega store, to being surrounded by (mostly) white kids from Long Island who drove their Mercedes Benz to class.

Graduate School. 25% of Enrolled Students Were White.

I studied marketing and communications at New York Institute of Technology, and it was a very different story.

It felt like I was the minority in all of my classes.

But the truth is that whites were still the majority of the enrollment percentages, but only by slim margins.

I was so used to being the overwhelming majority, that when I was just barely the majority — it felt like I was the minority.

It was refreshing to engage with people from all walks of life again.

Most of my classes were tech related; lots of UX / UI design and media production.

I actually thought I was going to be a designer, but ended up becoming more interested in SEO.

Even Oprah Got Racially Profiled in a Swiss Luxury Store.

A shop clerk in Switzerland told Oprah SHE COULDN'T AFFORD A DESIGNER HANDBAG.

This is something that white people can't understand. It won't happen to them.

Imagine You're Racing Against Someone (And You Were Given an Unfair Head Start).

Systemic Racism is not "in your face" racism, but it exists at every level of society.

• Wealth
• Education
• Employment
• Incarceration
• Housing (Redlining)
• Surveillance
• Healthcare

Just think back to NYPD's unconstitutional "stop and frisk" policy, which unfairly targeted minorities.

Take the time to educate yourself, and you will learn that socioeconomic oppression is a real thing. It doesn't show itself in plain sight. It hides behind politically manufactured systems. That's what makes it so dangerous.

Rand Fishkin summarized it quite clearly with this statement:

“Some of us start with clear, unfair advantages rooted in history. Failing to acknowledge that distribution and pretending there’s an equality of privilege is a form of willful ignorance.”

Aside from leveling the playing field by investing in education / technical training for the underprivileged, we need more corporate effort and responsibility as well.

I think we (the tech community) are making some strides in the right direction, but we're still too far away from where we should be.

So, Am I Really Just Another White Dude in Tech?

F*ck nah!

But if you're a white dude in tech that willfully ignores the glaring diversity issues that plague the industry — that’s unacceptable.

You'll never take the New Yorker or Italian out of me.

We should all be able to proudly embrace who we are, where we're from and what we stand for.

And hopefully that means fighting back against injustice and standing up for what's right.

For me, it's not just about being from the Bronx.

It’s having the balls to make my voice heard by writing these kinds of articles.

It’s called giving a sh*t.

I hope you do too.

Follow me on Twitter -----> @gaetano_nyc