"They Just Aren't Interested In Tech"

Disclaimer- this post represents my point of view, not necessarily that of my employer or any groups I linked in the solution section.

I was about to write a simple post citing skiing as an example of how exposure, opportunity and financial means effect what people are "interested" in, since its one of the most frequent arguments raised when talking about the composition of the tech field.

I went to gather some data, and immediately ran into:

Skiing is a homogenous, insular experience. Much like golf, with an average household income of $95,000; sailing, and hockey... skiing’s participation demographics are embarrassing....

? For the sport to be healthy and robust, it should represent the country as a whole, which includes socioeconomic and racial diversity. To ensure future generations are able to enjoy it, we must reach new participants by lowering the barrier to entry and making the sport more affordable and accessible. ?

..the socioeconomic and racial makeup of the sport remains steady. In 1976, 70 percent of skiers made more money than the average American; today’s figure is 72 percent. In 2014, seven percent of skiers were African-American and 13 percent were Hispanic, compared to 12 and 17 percent nationwide.

....Littleton guides for the Truckee-based nonprofit Gateway Mountain Center, which brings children from inner cities to the mountains...Over the years, dozens of kids have kept in touch, asking for internships and other opportunities to get into the mountains. "

? Does it sound insane to say that people of color and people with income of less than 95k just aren't and couldn't be interested in skiing?

ABSOLUTELY INSANE... and yet, this same logic is one of THE MOST COMMON EXCUSES for why women and an extensive list of minorities are under represented in tech.

A lot of the arguments that try to support "they just aren't interested" are wildly devoid of real life experience, logic, and common sense at best, and clearly sexist, racist, ageist, and classist at worst.

The most repugnant arguments even OPENLY state that womens' brains, (and not so openly but still rampantly that POCs' brains) "are just wired differently", and thus "just aren't interested in tech". More on that later...(for those who will inevitably want to argue this with me please make sure to read to the end)

Now.. Lets get to some of the FACTUAL REASONS tech is disproportionate and what role "interest" plays.

Its pretty obvious that tech faces some of the same barriers as skiing, sailing, and golf when it comes to "interest".

For people to be involved and INTERESTED in these sports, USUALLY they have to have:

* Opportunity to experience them. Live near or be able to travel to mountains, bodies of water, and golf courses. Access to skis, boats, golf clubs.

* Exposure to the experience - to personally know people who do the activity or to be involved in an experience including the activity (like the non profit that takes the kids to the mountains to ski, when families do those activities together so kids grow up with it and view them as "normal", when theres a public mini golf or low cost golf course nearby, when community sailing clubs exist and provide the boats and safety equipment, if you have a lake house and sail every summer )

* Financial means - Golfing is EXPENSIVE, skiing is EXPENSIVE, sailing is EXPENSIVE. These are not the hobbies of the majority of the world. On top of the cost of the activity itself and the equipment, there has to be ability to take time off of work, pay for accommodations, and often have training/lessons in how to do the activity.

Now lets translate that to tech-

* Opportunity - Are there non traditional entry ways for tech established in local communities, like in-person fast track immersive software development programs? Can a person use scholarships, GI Bills, or financial aid to pay for them? Do local two year colleges offer degrees or certifications in tech roles? Are those programs offered hybrid, remote, or with evening or weekend schedules? Is there an active tech community with in person meetups and events? Are internships and apprenticeships in the local tech community only open to college students or recent college grads?

*Exposure - Do women, POC, neurodivergent, single parents, career changers, and those from non traditional educational/career path etc see their similar peers holding and succeeding in roles in tech? Are there programs within schools, especially those in very rural or lower socioeconomic areas, to expose kids to this career path? Are school counselors, workforce programs, reintegration programs, career fairs, and educational systems suggesting and presenting information about tech related jobs, especially to populations that are under represented? .(....or are they pushing options that are gender role biased and "realistic" labor options to those who are lower socioeconomic status?)

* Financial means - Most programs to learn tech require a mac book, or other expensive equipment. $800-1500 for a computer is out of reach when the majority of America lives paycheck to paycheck. Self taught is doable, but there is a large gap to cross between learning and getting hired in that route, and you still need a computer. College tuition is expensive and most people who are not fresh HS grads with parental help or large loans, can not take off work for 4 years without income to complete a program and be able to pay for it ($12,688k - $53k per year, or $50k-$200k per degree, tuition only for SC). Yes, there are slower college paths to take while working, but realistically, its very hard to work, take college classes, raise children, deal with life etc for 6-9 years and stick with it to one day get a chance to be an entry level developer! In person, immersive, fast paced software development programs are also expensive ($10-$15k) but offer a much quicker entry point to tech. They also require 12-20 weeks to complete without working, plus having a savings fund to live off of while looking for employment as well as up front payment up front most of the time

According to the United States Census Bureau, the median wage for a woman in SC is $23,362, or $11.69 per hour.

Average rent for a 3 bedroom is $900-1500 in SC.

SO, lets get back to the reality of who has "interest".

Even when looking at just three (pretty surface level) factors of opportunity, exposure and financial means, we can easily and rationally conclude that there are many people who have very real barriers to even getting the reasonable chance to become interested in [tech, skiing, sailing, golfing].

There are also dozens of other factors that play into who has the privilege of having which interests that are out of scope of this article. Its pretty hard and unlikely to become interested and invested in any career path or sport that you don't have representation in, don't have access to, and face roadblocks and dead ends to even learning/entering.

If we started to addressed those, THEN we could throw in the various "isms" that come into play as well as social systems, culture, conditioning, wage disparity, gender roles, physical and virtual access, and the seemingly never ending list of factors that effect career choice, retention, and success.

The good news is that people are resilient, adaptable, tenacious, and innovative! Even with barriers, people can overcome situational roadblocks, and they do all the time. The frequency and intensity of the roadblocks has a very real effect on the outcome though. The population of under represented groups in tech gets lower as the layers of hurdles get bigger and often intertwine (gender -> education -> race -> socioeconomic status-> disability -> etc etc). No one is barred from achieving what they want, but (at least in scope of this article), first they have to (have a chance to) discover what they want!

The truth is NOT that women and under represented groups aren't interested in tech. A major issue is that these groups don't have the same encouragement, opportunity, and exposure to tech as a career path. When they are interested in tech, financial means are often a reason their interest becomes sidelined or postponed.

Few people really benefit from just listing the problems, so lets talk about...

External Solutions-

• There is much more diversity represented in code school student populations vs university populations for many reasons. Please consider providing a full or partial scholarship, donating to a fund to help pay living expenses for a student, or donate a computer to your local code school (local example - https://carolinacodeschool.org/support).
• If you are trained in tech, please donate some of your time to help work with people who are interested in tech, but are just dipping their toes in the water. (local example, mentor for SCCodes.org)
• Encourage your company to start an internship/apprenticeship or participate with a state accredited internship/apprenticeship program that is not exclusively for recent college graduates. (local example -https://www.developcarolina.org/).
• Get involved with or start local tech groups, and participate in local conferences and community events so you can function as representation for others. People need to "see someone like them", and/or see someone who cares about them, in tech. (local examples- https://www.womenwhocode.com/greenville, https://blog.carolina.codes/)
• Speak to kids in Elementary through High school by pairing with local programs that expose kids to STEM. Ask the local school district to create a program if they don't already have one. Speak at your child's career day. Ask local government and politicians to launch these initiatives and fund them. People cant choose college majors and career paths they have never heard of.
• Educate and advocate at the city/county/state level how having easily accessible tech training programs benefits every level of society, especially in areas that are plagued with poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, high crime rates, low tax revenue, and lack of business infrastructure and sustainability.
• Dig into why the company you work at doesn't have more <insert group> people in tech, with an open mind, and not looking for blame. Is there a bottleneck where that group usually gets stuck. Are we offering interviews to a proportionate # of people from those groups who apply, and is someone making that decision regularly?
• Highlight how a career in tech has benefitted your specific life situation in your conversations, posts, etc. (I can take my kids to appointments with no problem, I get to be creative, I love my co workers, I can support my kids by myself, I have a platform to advocate for others, I have great health insurance, I have PTO, etc etc etc.) Whats an expected normal benefit to most people in tech is a dream to billions of other people, and it sparks the first layer of interest bc people are interested in thriving -vs- barely surviving.

Internal Solutions -

We are all raised and/or conditioned with some kind of bias and or ideology that we know doesn't really jive with valuing all people for their intrinsic value. Unfortunately "diversity", "bias", and "discrimination" have become polarizing buzz words that raise tensions and arguments more than they raise progress. The blame for that lies on both ends of the spectrum. Its part of why tech is what it is though.

HOWEVER, we all have the ability to be introspective and really look at :

• "Do my words and actions actually represent what I believe?"
• "Is < -- > really what I think/believe/know/stand on, or is this a phrase, idea, or belief that I have been repetitively told/exposed to and haven't really explored"
• "Do I still hold pain from an experience with <insert person/group here> that makes me generalize and 'punish' <insert group here>."
• Am I uncomfortable when I think of working with someone who is < female, black, from a bootcamp, has an accent, neurodivergent> "
• "Do I think about other peoples life experiences"
• "Do I view people that have hard life situations as 'playing victim' "
• "Do I take any action to really engage with people who are very different than me"
• "Is it logical that an entire group of people with millions or billions of people in it (possibly half of the entire population), that is present in all regions of the world, with a wide array of life experiences, would unilaterally have a very low interest in the exact same [career, sport, hobby]"
• "Is it easier to just say <group> isn't interested in tech, than it is to explore a problem that I might not have a solution to?"

Important -

• Just because one group can generally face similar challenges, does not require a different general group to be the enemy. We know that a small handful of people with negative actions and beliefs can greatly effect a larger group for generations at a time. The systems and beliefs that started these issues long ago have created what we experience now. Even though some people cling to whats wrong, the MAJORITY of people are not carrying those through to the future. Men are not the enemy. White people are not the enemy. People who make six figures are not the enemy. Bosses are not the enemy. Colleges are not the enemy. The enemy is indifference and inaction.

Its time to throw away easy answers and sugar coated catch phrases. Today lets start with ... " (its not my fault), they just aren't interested in tech"

P.S. For those of you who wanted to read about my least favorite yet one of the most prevalent excuses people use, heres my short rant ?? .

If you are going to comment with arguing, please make sure to invite your mother, daughter, and token <insert whatever group> friend that you reference in all of your defenses to the comment section with you to witness it.

How many times have you heard "men are logical, women are emotional / want to take care or people", so naturally "they just aren't interested in tech" First of all, that sentence makes me want to vomit (on the person who says it). ANY HUMAN can be, and most of them are, both logical and caring! Yes men and women have differences, just like each individual has differences, and most of those differences are actually far heavier on the nurture influence than the nature influence.

Secondly, tech jobs require logic, creativity, problem solving, communication, time management, and the ability to be a human that other humans actually want to work closely with while the team wrangles the wild west of the never ending tech frontier. Those are qualities that both men and women, and people of all races, backgrounds, cultures, and eduction possess, period.

Thirdly, if you are a man (or any gender) and you ignore/refuse to acknowledge your emotions you are probably a raging jerk. Men are not devoid of emotion.You dont just get logic OR emotions ??. If you use this logic/emotion argument as your basis, the issue is not that women aren't interested in tech, its that they are probably not interested in working with you and your undoubtedly overflowing pool of dysfunctional behaviors on a daily basis.

THANKFULLY the vast majority of people I have met who hold technical jobs DO NOT think this way. Oddly most often it comes from rogue recruiters hiring managers sales people or extremely out of touch CEOs, incidental comments from people that have absolutely no connection to tech jobs, and every so often the random tech bro that drops a reference to his salary, his alma mater from 20 years ago, and his opinions on crypto and pour overs into every conversation.

Most of them are probably just repeating the same excuses they heard multiple times down the line and exposing their unmanaged personal issues. It doesn't dehumanize them, it illuminates the rampant issue of accepting the status quo, and also the importance of emotional intelligence education and counseling.

No hate to recruiters, hiring managers, salespeople or CEO's in general, its just been my observation since I have a lot of each in my network and theres always a few outliers. Some hate to that one kind of tech bro tho frfr ??, you know better!

--- Stay classy, San Diego ??