Racism in the tech industry

Aug 4, 2021 51 Comments

I was having a conversation with a couple of friends over the weekend who DO NOT work in tech and they made a blanket statement that racism is pervasive in the tech industry.
I made the argument that - like any other large industry there are bad apples and tech has its fair share of racism / sexism / gender pay-gap and other discrimination issues but I honestly felt that it was not pervasive and that it was a corner case in most companies. The companies themselves have handled it poorly in many cases and need to do a better job.
I’m a brown dude and have had a few incidents myself but nothing that has prevented myself from growing and thriving in the industry. I’m very well aware of the instances of racism at FAANG and other companies in the recent years by people of all color. This also includes the racism by brown people against other brown people.

I hold the belief that in general tech needs to do better but I don’t believe racism is widespread in tech. It is still a place where hustle and merit eventually win.

My friends think I’m ignorant. I’m genuinely looking to learn and change my beliefs. Am I wrong ? Do I need to better educate myself ? What do you think ?

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 TOP 51 Comments
  • Stupid options for this poll.
    Aug 4, 2021 0
  • Netflix
    scremlin

    Go to company page Netflix

    scremlin
    Like with anything, when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.

    Is there racism present in every industry? Yes, of course yes.

    Is it this gargantuan issue stopping everyone who isn’t white from entering, advancing or being comfortable? NO

    Are some things more difficult for some and not as difficult for others? YES. But that’s life. We all have our advantages and disadvantages and it’s good to work toward leveling the playing field so there is equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome.

    People that want to get on a soapbox and yell that racism is this hyper widespread and malicious thing are just looking for ways to be offended. Using that word is a conversation ender. There is no moving forward from it. The accusation alone derails everything and leaves no room for anything else, as it should, so maybe we should all stop throwing it around so carelessly.
    Aug 4, 2021 10
    • Adobe
      kloikl

      Go to company page Adobe

      kloikl
      I wouldn’t say you’re racist but you’re definitely very uneducated about the nuances of social and racial injustice and it’s very evident from your nonsense comparisons. I didn’t reply cause it takes a lot of effort on my end to explain the details and honestly I don’t think you will change your views on an anonymous app. I just say that your tone reeks of privilege and that’s very hurtful to people who have been on the receiving end of racism. You are actively minimizing the struggles of people who have to constantly deal with unnecessary challenges and not because they are disabled or because they chose an economically unappealing job. Of course (I hope) you are not knowingly trying to normalize racism. But that doesn’t make it any better. In fact, for someone who thinks we need to change the status quo, you haven’t done the bare minimum that’s educating yourself. I don’t even want to get into how ridiculous it is to compare disability and income/talent disparity with racial injustice.
      Aug 6, 2021
    • Netflix
      scremlin

      Go to company page Netflix

      scremlin
      I find it interesting that you are making the assumption that I don’t know what it’s like to deal with unnecessary challenges on a near daily basis.

      Also, using a topic like disability to illustrate a point isn’t a comparison between what is worse. It’s using something that more people could understand since people with disabilities have more outward daily struggles that are easily visible and understood even if someone doesn’t want to acknowledge them. It’s the act of finding a suitable and understandable analog in order to have a more nuanced conversation without devolving into feelings alone.

      But please do go ahead and just write people off because they don’t agree entirely with what you say, but still see merit in your point of view. I’m sure that will go well.

      You were somewhat correct about one thing although still misunderstanding my position. While I am open to changing or adjust the way I look at things. I will never just make the sweeping generalization that racial injustice is the cause for everything negative that happens to anyone. That’s just not possible. Racial injustice is very real and is the cause of a lot of turmoil, but at some point we all have to decide how much we want to let the things we can’t control dictate our lives. If someone wants to hate me or anyone else because of some immutable trait then There is little I or anyone can do to change their mind unless they are a willing participant. So why not take that energy and focus on making things better for yourself and the people that will come after you? Instead of constant virtue signaling and blame throwing, why not take a chance to try something, it might not be be a perfect solution but it’s better than just calling everyone racist and patting yourself on the back for a job well done.
      Aug 6, 2021
  • Slack
    sl@ck

    Go to company page Slack

    sl@ck
    Racism is pervasive in the US. Period.
    Aug 5, 2021 5
  • Amazon
    pipisreal

    Go to company page Amazon

    pipisreal
    Indians love to hire Indians
    Aug 4, 2021 3
    • Amazon
      pipisreal

      Go to company page Amazon

      pipisreal
      Not as much as Indians love hiring Indians
      Aug 5, 2021
    • Shell Federal Credit Union / Eng
      RationalOP

      Shell Federal Credit Union Eng

      BIO
      Credit Union Developer
       RationalOP
      And US immigration likes to keep country wise GC quota same for years and doesn’t seem need for improvements
      Aug 6, 2021
  • I mean. There's a pretty obvious bamboo ceiling at FB. Percent of leadership vs employees is very mismatched and almost all of the representation is women.

    But we've learned to live with and accept racism. It's not getting fixed in my lifetime
    Aug 4, 2021 3
    • Facebook
      randm_hero

      Go to company page Facebook

      randm_hero
      What do you mean by bamboo ceiling? Curious to hear more of your perspective
      Aug 5, 2021
    • Using that logic, there's no evidence of sexism or racism / diversity problems in the industry. But yes I see your point. It may not be racism.

      I'll just leave the stats that a disproportionate number of Asian (non Indian) execs in the industry are there because they founded their own companies vs being promoted into it. Clearly the skills are there but they weren't being recognized for it
      Aug 5, 2021