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What does a Computer Scientist look like?
What does a Computer Scientist look like?
Before we continue, take a moment to imagine you are casting extras for a movie. You need to cast a person to sit in front of a computer in the background of a scene. They will not speak and the audience will not be able to see what they are doing on their computer. Try to form a picture of them in your mind, allowing yourself to notice any assumptions or biases that might surface. Use this form to specify the identities this person should have to communicate "This is a Computer Scientist" to the audience without any context beyond their appearance.
Looking at that list, how many of those identities do you share? Was it easier to name the identities you share or the identities where you differ from this image of a Computer Scientist?
We're not there... yet
We're not there... yet
According to research on diversity in the US tech industry published in 2022 by Zippia.com:
73.3% of tech jobs are held by men
7% of jobs are held by Black Americans (despite making up 14% of the US population)
women on average make 3% less than men with the same work experience doing the same job at the same company
the tech industry is behind other industries, employing a smaller proportion of women, Latina/o/x Americans and Black Americans than industries in general
and since buy-in from leadership has a significant impact on the success of interventions, it's also worth noting that while white Americans hold 62% of tech jobs, 83.3% of tech executives in the US are white
Here are some additional resources related to diversity in tech:
How did we get here?
How did we get here?
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