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RehanSaeed
[Comment] Racism in Software Development & Beyond
This is a superb article and very thought-provoking.
I'm also from the UK, and as a straight white male, I've never encountered this because of my innate privilege, and to be honest, I guess I've been very ignorant of the current status quo. The recent events in the US that have spilled out into the world have had several impacts, at global, national, and now also personal levels.
I'm certainly making changes in my life to better reflect my personal views - and when selecting candidates in the past, I don't believe I've used any bias in choosing a successful candidate, but I honestly can't say for sure that that is the case. What I can do, is ensure going forward that I am making clear, conscious decisions that remove gender, race, age, etc. from my decision-making process as not to be discriminatory.
As for our Government, I don't know if there is anything we can do to change this. The last election has demonstrated how our FPTP electoral system doesn't easily allow us to expel the racist party that forced through Brexit, mishandled COVID-19, and our Foreign Secretary suggesting that the Take a Knee symbolism was taken from Game of Thrones [1]. That's almost as bad as US VP Mike Pence refusing to even say Black Lives Matter [2].
This is unacceptable, but I honestly don't know what I can do to contribute to change :-(
[1]: "Dominic Raab criticised for comments on BLM protesters taking the knee" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/18/dominic-raab-taking-the-knee-feels-like-symbol-of-subjugation [2]: "Asked repeatedly to say 'Black lives matter,' Mike Pence says 'all lives matter'" https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/mike-pence-black-lives-matter-all-lives-matter/index.html
This is a superb article and very thought-provoking.
I'm also from the UK, and as a straight white male, I've never encountered this because of my innate privilege, and to be honest, I guess I've been very ignorant of the current status quo. The recent events in the US that have spilled out into the world have had several impacts, at global, national, and now also personal levels.
I'm certainly making changes in my life to better reflect my personal views - and when selecting candidates in the past, I don't believe I've used any bias in choosing a successful candidate, but I honestly can't say for sure that that is the case. What I can do, is ensure going forward that I am making clear, conscious decisions that remove gender, race, age, etc. from my decision-making process as not to be discriminatory.
As for our Government, I don't know if there is anything we can do to change this. The last election has demonstrated how our FPTP electoral system doesn't easily allow us to expel the racist party that forced through Brexit, mishandled COVID-19, and our Foreign Secretary suggesting that the Take a Knee symbolism was taken from Game of Thrones [1]. That's almost as bad as US VP Mike Pence refusing to even say Black Lives Matter [2].
This is unacceptable, but I honestly don't know what I can do to contribute to change :-(
[1]: "Dominic Raab criticised for comments on BLM protesters taking the knee" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/18/dominic-raab-taking-the-knee-feels-like-symbol-of-subjugation [2]: "Asked repeatedly to say 'Black lives matter,' Mike Pence says 'all lives matter'" https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/mike-pence-black-lives-matter-all-lives-matter/index.html
Also did a lot of hiring in my last role. I was probably biased in some way or another, since I'm human. I don't think there is a solution this problem at the human level except recognising our own human weaknesses and trying to fight them.
At the large organisation level, bringing more transparency to the pay and conditions employers hand out and also the the numbers of minorities they hire sounds like a good first step to me. In theory that'll embarass them into adressing the issue.
Excellent article. I have been in software since 1997 and to be honest my personal experience has been positive and have not encountered abuse online or other wise. I have however seen plenty of abuse directed at people of colour and women working in this industry.
Only once with a job application did I feel that race was an issue.
It's been great to see inclusivity at conferences I have attend like Prognet, DDD events and Umbraco events.
