reading-notes

Diversity in Tech

What occurred during the same time as the beginning of the decline of women in computer science?
- Personal Computers became more available and were adopted by primarily male users since they were essentially primitive video game consoles
- This lead to the stereotype of the nerdy/geek computer genius working alone in his basement
- This image did not appeal to most women and so they came to believe that computer science was not something for them, but rather for those nerdy/geek geniuses
Why does it matter that males had been playing on computers growing up?
- Since males grew up playing on computers they were more familiar with their use and how they worked
- This gave them an advantage when they went to university since professors began to assume that their students had prior computer experience
- This lead to women not feeling comfortable asking questions about computers and caused them to fall further behind or drop out of CS programs

When are diversity efforts most successful?
- Diverse teams become more effective than homogenous teams when tasks become increasingly complex and a wider array of skill sets and experiences are needed to find the best solution
Why do diverse companies perform better?
- More diverse companies are drawing from a wider talent pool and are thus more likely to have the best talent working for them
Give an example of how a diverse company can serve a diverse user base or vise-versa.
- A diverse company can create more products to cater to a more diverse user base, solving each population’s unique or niche needs