What founders told us about diversity in software engineering: It’s a pipeline problem
Greg Leffler
Director of Developer Evangelism at Splunk. Former SRE Leader and Editor at Large at LinkedIn.
LinkedIn recently surveyed startup founders in the U.S. about some of the challenges they’ve faced. My colleague, Caroline Fairchild, summarized the data in this post, but I wanted to take a closer look at the survey results that are specific to software engineering.
One concern that remains prevalent in the technology industry is that the population of software engineers is not as diverse as the general population. To begin, many founders don’t even consider diversity to be a top priority. In fact, we found that white founders are more likely to view “finding the best talent, regardless of diversity” as an obstacle to having more racial or gender diversity. Some 50% of white founders agree with that statement, whereas only 32% of non-white founders do. There are a few theories about why this is the case, but one of the most mentioned ones is the “pipeline problem” — since the training to become software engineers isn’t necessarily built for everyone, there isn’t adequate representation.
This theory proved to be popular among the 322 founders or co-founders responding to LinkedIn’s survey. When asked to identify the biggest problems in trying to hire a more diverse pool of software engineers, the majority of respondents (60%) indicated that the pipeline was to blame. Male founders were more likely to give this reason compared to female founders, suggesting that women who have successfully made it through the pipeline may have insights into how to make it into the industry despite the difficulty doing so.
Fixing the pipeline problem isn’t something that can be done by founders alone, but one thing that has been shown to increase diversity in software engineering is the creation of specific diversity initiatives. Despite this, only 6% of the founders surveyed confirmed that they had created official diversity initiatives to target software engineers. Intel published a white paper (pdf warning) on their Diversity in Technology initiative, giving specific examples of what they’re doing and what kind of results they’re seeing. One thing that’s especially promising about these initiatives is that Intel recognizes the pipeline needs work, and the company has funded several scholarships and support programs for underrepresented groups in tech, totaling nearly $15 million. Going further, Facebook reportedly adopted a version of the Rooney Rule, requiring that the group of people considered for senior hires includes at least one underrepresented person.
Not convinced this is a problem in our industry? Many LinkedIn members have already weighed in on the subject of diversity in the engineering industry. For example, Premier’s Director of Engineering Katy Sherman writes about why approaching the problem from the standpoint of “We need more women in tech” is wrong. Full-stack developer Rachel Smyth rebuts Sherman’s viewpoint and gives her take on the real obstacle. Another engineer writes to reveal that even her name has caused her difficulties in the industry.
Startups don’t have it any easier: A Stanford alumna and engineer started a toy company and explains some of the issues that still face female founders. And yet one college brought gender parity to its computer science class, and the woman responsible told LinkedIn: “It’s not difficult.”
Ultimately, diversity (especially in the tech industry) is a good thing — having a diverse group of people creating the products and services that we build makes it more likely that the products and services will appeal to the entire population. The results from LinkedIn’s survey suggest that founders understand that the pipeline is a problem, but that few are willing to take action to create programs that actually attempt to fix the issue. If you’d like to help make the industry more diverse, read this post from Tumblr Product Manager Bo Ren, consider becoming a mentor, or volunteering to teach at a school. Making the industry more welcoming is like refactoring code — it just needs a little bit of effort on everyone’s part, and will pay dividends for decades to come.
Tell us what you think about diversity in software engineering by writing a post of your own (include the hashtags #SWE and #TechTalksDiversity to help make sure we don’t miss it) or in a comment below. Your piece could become part of our content series, where professionals discuss solutions to make the tech industry more diverse and inclusive. Read some of the other stories in the series here.
Experienced Software Development Leader
7 年Greg Leffler, great article. I have been in the software industry for 20 years. Throughout my career I have worked with many talented women in the IT field. It is a shame that so many women leave the industry or face negativity based on their gender. Some of the comments here are downright offensive to me. Women face this challenge in the IT field and it is indisputable. I have NEVER worked with a woman in the IT field who wasn't an integral member of my teams or was in some way less capable than the rest of the team. I wish I had some suggestions as to how to improve the situation. I can say that I am committed to creating an environment where women can feel comfortable in the tech industry and I feel diversity in any sort of team is a good thing. Open to suggestions on how I can help on a larger scale.
Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Mathematician
8 年My wife earned a degree in Computer Science (honors). My daughter earned a degree from GaTech with a degree in Nuclear Engineering (honors). My daughter-in-law is pursuing a PhD in Computational Chemistry. My other daughter is pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. These amazing women have made the choice to learn STEM (which requires substantial effort). Other women make different choices; this is a common mistake to avoid in statistics. Would you force women to take STEM? Would you deny women the right to study Law or Medicine? I earned a degree in Mathematics (honors), and so did my son. Would you deny anyone the right to study STEM, or deny anyone equal access to employment? Would you deny anyone opportunity or force them to pursue a career path, to satisfy your desires?
A.I. Writer, researcher and curator - full-time Newsletter publication manager.
8 年Male leaders have to put quotas on VC and CEOs in corporate culture, the culture has to reflect the consumers and user experience. To blame the pipeline is I suspect leaders not fully taking responsibility. It's not just STEM ed, it's the entire culture tech companies propagate.
Recruitment Business Partner - Lockheed Martin
8 年just teach kids Software from the minute they get to school.... simple. i wish someone had when i was a kid.
Named by Forbes as one of the “7 Anti-Racism Educators Your Company Needs Now.” I help develop anti-racist employers & employees. Front lines of racism pandemic educating minds to save lives & livelihoods.
8 年Great article Greg Leffler! I'd love to be included in your series #SWE. The "inclusion of women, underrepresented groups" in technology and business is not a high priority, it is a future goal or illusion strategy. These problems are decades long overdue to be solved. Technology industry is solving some of the world's most pressing problems in every industry, and changing the way we live, work and play, yet it remains stagnant and stalling in solving it's own problems. Inclusion begins with RESPECT, ENABLERS, ENGAGEMENT and OPPORTUNITY! "So how can inclusion scale if most industry leaders and influencers in tech don't and won't engage beyond their cliques, clubs and leading conversations. Tech leaders and influencers must play a critical role in transforming their powerful peers and partners faces of inaction into action and become enablers in creating inclusive environments and inclusive investing, yet they remain a stagnant resource in supporting inclusion initiatives. Building new cultures of inclusion and diversifying a company's workforce must start top-down with the support of all it's leaders, simply put to scale inclusion! Technology careers are proven pathways to a greater economic future in the 21st century, thus all groups must have a equitable opportunity to be included and succeed.“No group should put up with waiting decades to be included” It’s just outright unacceptable & inequitable to exclude those whom use your products and services and say we’ll "correct our exclusive cultures in 30 to 117 years". That’s a lifetime.” No company or investor starts with a goal to wait 30 to 117 years to see profits or return on investment, they take action to scale their bottom lines and investments at inception. Those companies or the investors in those companies would not want those groups to wait 30 to 117 years to use and purchase their products and services. #TechTalksDiversity year after year with no action, but many false equivalence companies, organizations and investors at play. Inclusion is failing and new organizations with new problem solving processes and heuristics innovated for inclusion, and that reach the excluded must also be included and supported to help scale inclusion today, tomorrow and the future. Underrepresented groups aren't scaling in technology, venture capital and America's Innovation economy. The companies whom continue to keep diversity at bottom of their to-do list and undervalue inclusion will eventually face huge risks to their brand images and bottom lines. "The illusion leaders who pretend to be inclusion leaders" for self gain off of the plight of the excluded will be exposed and will face new found unpopularity to their influencer statuses. Companies should be as diverse as it's users and consumers, without exception!