5 ms·

I totally agree. Basing hiring decisions on the color of someones skin or the form of their genitalia is one of the most blatant forms of discrimination. The f

I totally agree. Basing hiring decisions on the color of someones skin or the form of their genitalia is one of the most blatant forms of discrimination. The fact that it is widely accepted by our society makes me sick to my stomach. I am a female and I just hate it when a company recruiter says he can get me a job in a position I know I am not at all qualified for. Additionally I got scholarship money when going to school when those much more dedicated than me did not simply because they had something hanging between their legs.

falcor84 12y ago
This is a loaded subject, but I'd like to say that (in my perspective) given a mostly uniform team (e.g. all males), it's a big plus to the atmosphere to hire someone from a different background (e.g. a woman). This may not be fair to the candidates who do not get hired, but it can be a very rational choice for the team to increase diversity and thus possibly improve culture/team spirit, and reduce "echo chamber" effects.
- RealDiversity 12y ago
  This does make sense. If done in moderation there is nothing wrong with hiring minority groups. The problem arises when those minority groups are so unqualified that they actually burden the team with their presence. In my case I have been put in the awkward position of working with 4 male coworkers on a project I knew nothing about, I was getting paid the same as them while contributing nothing to the project. I felt humiliated and asked to be paid as an intern but my manager just smiled and said I was there for support and that my coworkers enjoyed my presence on the team as it was "A breath of fresh air to have a female in the work place". I quit the next week.
  - falcor84 12y ago
    I agree with your premise, but without having more information, I don't exactly understand your story. From my experience, it's not unusual for a new employee to take weeks and even months before getting NEAR to the level of productivity of their more experienced peers. I also agree that having a sort of differential pay system for new hires could make sense, that is very uncommon. The usual, when hiring, is to allow for an unavoidable period of learning and adjustment, during which a new employee "loses" money for the company, to be hopefully made up for in the long term. This isn't specific to minorities, but impostor syndrome is a very real thing in the software industry, and minorities tend to suffer more from it - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome#Demographics
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]

falcor84 12y ago

This is a loaded subject, but I'd like to say that (in my perspective) given a mostly uniform team (e.g. all males), it's a big plus to the atmosphere to hire someone from a different background (e.g. a woman). This may not be fair to the candidates who do not get hired, but it can be a very rational choice for the team to increase diversity and thus possibly improve culture/team spirit, and reduce "echo chamber" effects.

RealDiversity 12y ago
This does make sense. If done in moderation there is nothing wrong with hiring minority groups. The problem arises when those minority groups are so unqualified that they actually burden the team with their presence. In my case I have been put in the awkward position of working with 4 male coworkers on a project I knew nothing about, I was getting paid the same as them while contributing nothing to the project. I felt humiliated and asked to be paid as an intern but my manager just smiled and said I was there for support and that my coworkers enjoyed my presence on the team as it was "A breath of fresh air to have a female in the work place". I quit the next week.
- falcor84 12y ago
  I agree with your premise, but without having more information, I don't exactly understand your story. From my experience, it's not unusual for a new employee to take weeks and even months before getting NEAR to the level of productivity of their more experienced peers. I also agree that having a sort of differential pay system for new hires could make sense, that is very uncommon. The usual, when hiring, is to allow for an unavoidable period of learning and adjustment, during which a new employee "loses" money for the company, to be hopefully made up for in the long term. This isn't specific to minorities, but impostor syndrome is a very real thing in the software industry, and minorities tend to suffer more from it - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome#Demographics
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]