All you have to do is want it - Phoenix Perry on diversity in computing

Right now I am in the process of joining Goldsmiths, University of London's Department of Computing as a Lecturer in Physical Computing. The first thing that struck me was the diversity, not only in the student body but also among my co-workers in the computing department. How did they do it?

They actively recruit, hire and accept faculty and students who look like outsiders in traditional contexts. However, if you pull back and look at the bigger picture, they are exactly who should fill these roles.

In the past, when I’ve asked why there were so few women working around me, I have heard refrain of, “There were no qualified women who apply.” This weak excuse is like the chorus on a really bad pop song.

Why can’t you recruit women to your company or department? Do you have any women in leadership roles? If women don’t see other women, we might just not apply. This is as true in the classroom as in the boardroom. Images of representation are vitally important. If you are re-enforcing the nerdy male tech stereotype, women simply will not be as interested.

Do the women who apply appear to be less qualified? Did you stop to think that we might not look like the applicants you would consider appropriate? We could have broader educations. Maybe we have strong interests in literature or art. We might be self taught. Often, we’ll consider ourselves less skilled than we are because we have a bad case of impostor syndrome.

Did you evaluate soft skills, volunteer work and community engagement? The sad truth is the social systems at work in culture work against women in computer science. We have to struggle to find our way. Often that leads to decisions you might just not understand. Those choices actually make us better suited for the position, not less qualified. You just need to evaluate us on our own terms verses yours.

Why do the women you extend offers to refuse? Have you thought about the fact it might be how your office looks? Studies show that environments that are stereotypically male and play to the stereotype of the nerdy guy discourage women.

If you’re interested in advancing technology, two of the best places to work are academic research and industry. Both of these places have long hours, are known for not promoting women, offer no child care, pay women less and often advance sexist cultural paradigms in inner office politics. To quote The Guardian, “statistics obtained in 2013 by Times Higher Education revealed that only about one in five UK professors are female, with the percentage of female professors at some universities as low as 8 or 9%.”

As it turns out, when I applied to one of the 11 open positions as a women at Goldsmiths I was not alone. It was shocking to see so many women interviewing for positions traditionally few women apply for. Lecturer positions in Physical Computing and Games and Graphics had no problem attracting women applicants.

Through an active, sustained effort, Goldsmiths avoided all of the above traps. They got it right. Their male to female full time staff ratio is nearly 50/50.

In short, it looks like a healthy place to work, study and engage. They create a positive environment. As a result, while most places are busy fretting about their diversity statistics, Goldsmiths is creating the future.

Last week I was on campus to visit with some new friends to dream about our future possible collaborations. As I entered the computer science building, I passed two young women holding hands. This beautiful sight in a computer science building made me feel just a little bit lighter about the future.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day.

 

Find out more about the Department of Computing at Goldsmiths.

This article was originally published on Medium (13 October 2015) and is republished here with the permission of the author. Read more from Phoenix on Medium and Twitter.