What I Learned from My Mother, My IT Career, and Speaking to 8th Graders

Earlier this week, I spoke at the Black Mountain Middle School ("BMMS") Academy's Career Day. The Academy is an innovative sub-school inside of the larger BMMS in the Poway Unified School District ("PUSD"). Academy students commit to being responsible leaders, and to academic excellence. The Academy students start school a month sooner than their peers, and they go to class for an extra hour each day. Parents also are asked to volunteer each semester to help the students succeed. That commitment to excellence allows the average Academy student to score 10 to 15 points higher than the already high California state test scores that the average PUSD students achieve.

I spoke to three groups of 6th and 8th graders about my Information Technology career and why I thought it was a potentially good career choice for them. Topics I touched on included:

• My education and why I decided I didn't want to be a lawyer (Thanks Phil).
• The unique history of Fish (patents for the light bulb, telephone, and Wright flyer).
• The importance of patents.
• Why students should learn how to code now and how that would be beneficial regardless of their career choice.
• What other options are available to them in the Information Technology field.
• The importance of making good choices in life and being helpful to others.

Most importantly, I spoke to all students in the classrooms about the need for more women in technology. I urged each of them to consider careers in technology. I told them about the different roles available to them, including being a programmer. I told them about our past and current female coders on our team. I mentioned that we have proud women who are business analysts, solution architects, trainers, and technical testers on our team. I'm excited to report that in each session, at least one young woman in each class said she wanted to be a coder when I queried the class on who wanted to be a programmer at the beginning of each session. Hopefully, PUSD will continue to foster and grow their dreams as they move onto High School.

Why do I care?

I was raised by a strong single mom who struggled to keep food on the table for my half-brother and me. The cycle of poverty was real for us. For example, when I was really young we lived in a tipi in a field above the Rio Grande. My mom lost several jobs when we got sick, and she had to stay home to watch us. Because of that struggle, I am acutely aware of the issues that women face at home and in the workplace. I also care because my wife struggled to simultaneously be a successful lawyer and mom of twins who were born with special needs. It became nearly impossible for her to work full-time due to the demands of our kids.

In 2017, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), women made up 26% of the computing workforce.

Some more stats from NCWIT:

• 37 percent of 1985 Computer Science bachelors degree recipients were women
• 18 percent of 2016 Computer and Information Sciences bachelors degree recipients were women
• 57 percent of 2016 bachelors degree recipients were women

A 19 point drop from 1985 to 2016 in Computer Science degrees is a failure by society.

At Fish, our team is lead by Loretta Auer, and without getting into specifics, she has taught many of us that humanity in the workplace matters. Other women on our team also lead by example; they are proud moms, coaches, and coworkers. Without them, our team would not function.

Diverse viewpoints help drive innovation. I know this from personal experience. I regularly discuss the importance of looking at issues from different perspectives. When I'm testing one of our apps, I try to use it from the perspective of someone else in our firm. A favorite analogy that I use to explain the importance of a diverse work environment is the baseball team cliché. You can't win a baseball game without a diverse group of individuals who serve different roles. The importance of diversity is touched on in many different books on innovation. Fran Johansson, the author of a book that I recently finished reading summed the importance of diversity and its impact on innovation well: "we have the best chance of coming up with great new ideas when we mix diverse perspectives, fields, cultures, and backgrounds."

"we have the best chance of coming up with great new ideas when we mix diverse perspectives, fields, cultures, and backgrounds"- Johansson, Frans, The Medici Effect

Lastly, I care because I recently learned that I have three sisters that I didn't even know existed until last month. My family and I get to meet them and my biological father for the first time this weekend. 

Circling back, I hope I made a good impression on those young women and men at the Academy, and all our future leaders.

I know Fish cares too.