►
From YouTube: Debugging Diversity, Anjuan Simmons - CodeConf 2015
Description
Despite the media attention given to the diversity in tech problem, many technology practitioners don’t see how a lack of diversity affects their daily life. So, it is not surprising that they neither understand the magnitude of the problem nor how they can fix it.
In this talk, Anjuan Simmons employs the principles and language of debugging, something technology practitioners understand well, to help them understand diversity and their role in solving the problem.
About CodeConf
CodeConf improves the software community by providing a forum for thought-provoking talks and forging social connections. The third installment of the CodeConf series took place in Nashville in 2015. Attendees came together to discuss open source, best practices, documentation, and community.
For more information on this year's CodeConf, go to:
https://codeconf.com/
A
I'll
just
put
it
here
all
right:
I
am
all
that
stands
between
you
guys
and
lunch,
which
means
that
I'm
going
to
start
talking
very
slowly.
I'm
kidding,
I'm,
kidding,
I'm,
a
sufferer
project
manager
and
so
I
have
time
my
words
to
exactly
19
minutes
and
43
seconds
and
I
see
all
my
cue,
a
people
taking
out
their
stopwatches
so
good
job
for
you
guys
as.
A
As
we
said,
my
name
is
n1
I
love,
shipping
software
shipping
software
is
something
that
I
had
the
honor
of
doing
for
almost
two
decades,
and
I
just
love
getting
working
software
into
the
hands
of
users.
I
love
shipping
suffer
so
much.
That
is
something
that
I
just
say
everywhere
we
got
a
ship.
We
got
a
ship
right
and
I'm
known
for
a
phrase
that
shipping
covers
a
multitude
of
sins
that
if
you
get
software
shipped
out,
then
you
will
be
able
to
usually
be
forgiven
of
other
mistakes.
A
A
I
love
the
way
that
she
laughs
the
way
that
her
eyes
widened
when
she
laughs
I
love
the
jokes
that
she
tell
she's,
hilarious
and
I
love
being
a
geek
dad,
seeing
her
get
involved
in
math
and
science
and
other
aspects
of
what
you
learned
in
first
grade
a
few
months
ago.
My
wife,
let
me
know
that
she
wanted
to
talk
to
me
about
something
that
happened
to
my
daughter
at
school,
so
I
came
home
from
work
and
I
thought.
Okay.
A
So
what
she
learned
to
spell
a
new
word,
we
should
get
her
to
that
scripps
national
spelling
bee
and
get
going
with
that
cuz.
I
think
that
that
she'll
be
killer,
but
the
new
that
my
wife
had
to
share
was
something
that
was
an
unexpected
but
not
unsurprising.
My
daughter
is
the
only
black
student
in
her
first
grade
class
and
they
were
giving
an
assignment
to
draw
a
picture
of
their
family,
and
so
my
daughter
started
doing
that,
and
so
she
drew
a
picture
of
her
two
brothers.
A
A
We
saw
huge
companies
like
Google,
Facebook,
LinkedIn
and
others
jumpstart
the
diversity
technology
discussion
a
couple
years
ago
by
publishing
their
diversity
numbers.
However,
while
numbers
are
necessary,
they
are
insufficient
to
fully
solve
the
diversity
problem
in
tech.
In
fact,
many
of
you
probably
saw
those
numbers
and
thought
well.
What
does
that
have
to
do
with
me?
After
all,
I'm
just
the
developer
or
maybe
I'm
a
system,
admin
or
suffer
project
manager
and
I've
never
done
anything.
A
Horrible
I've
never
shot
up
a
church
full
of
people
simply
because
of
the
color
of
their
skin
I've,
never
groped,
a
woman
in
a
bar
and
you're
right.
Those
behaviors
are
horrible
and
I'm
glad
that
everyone
in
here
has
never
taken
part
in
them,
but
neither
did
my
daughter's
first
grade
classmate,
but
her
actions
were
still
destructive.
A
Diversity
is
not
primarily
a
numbers
game,
it
is
a
perceptions
game
and
these
perceptions
really
are
easy
to
understand.
After
all,
you
don't
have
to
be
much
smarter
than
a
first
grader
to
get
them
in
many
ways.
It's
fitting
that
I'm,
giving
this
talk
in
Nashville,
which
is
the
capital
of
Tennessee,
the
last
state
to
secede
from
the
union
right
before
the
Civil
War
Alexander
Stephens,
who
was
the
vice
president
of
the
Confederacy,
which
included
this
state
and
my
home
state
of
Texas.
A
When
the
war
began
to
break
out,
he
gave
a
speech
about
the
new
nation
that
the
southern
states
had
created.
Is
this
called
the
cornerstone
speech
and
I
quote
its
foundations
are
laid
its
cornerstone
rest
upon
the
great
truth
that
the
Negro
is
not
equal
to
the
white
man
that
slavery
subordination
to
the
superior
race?
Is
this
natural
and
normal
condition?
And
while
you
may
take
out
slavery
from
that
term,
you
could
replace
Negro
with
women
with
gay
people,
lesbians
transgendered
the
handicapped.
A
We
are
still
subject
to
these
perceptions
and
it's
easy
to
see
how
damaging
these
perceptions
are
when
acts
of
violence
are
reported
in
the
news,
but
the
sort
of
ways
that
they
expect
our
society
are
far
more
destructive,
while
flags
can
be
removed
from
state
capitals
and
we
can
tear
down
statues
the
perceptions
that
drive
inequality
are
much
harder
to
destroy
and
I
believe
that
we
and
the
technology
sector
are
far
more
vulnerable
to
the
pain
caused
by
a
lack
of
diversity.
Precisely
because
we
think
that
we're
different
right
talk
is
cheap.
A
That's
expected
behavior
tracing
refactoring
and
sample
code.
So,
let's
start
with
the
principle
of
expected:
behavior
so
I'm
a
scrum
master
for
a
team
that
is
desperately
trying
the
ship
software
and
we
have
a
lot
of
bucks.
In
fact,
I've
seen
so
many
bugs
that
I
see
them
everywhere.
Right
I
go
to
the
supermarket
and
when
I
check
it
out,
I
see
how
buggy
the
retail
experiment
experiences
right.
I
hate
going
through
checkout
lines.
A
It's
such
a
broken
experience
and
I've
been
married
for
13
years
and
I
have
a
lot
of
friends,
who've
gotten
divorced
and
they
began
dating
again
and
a
lot
of
my
buddies,
bringing
their
younger
girl
friends
to
meet
me.
And
so,
when
I
see
the
bugs
in
that
situation,
I
have
to
just
tell
myself
refer
to
the
next
release.
A
We
cannot
understand
the
problems
caused
by
a
lack
of
diversity
in
tech
without
knowing
the
expected
behavior
of
technology
environments,
whether
it's
a
workplace,
a
conference
or
a
happy
hour,
most
white
males
in
tech,
understand
and
benefit
from
the
behavior
patterns
they
expect
from
others.
However,
they
often
fail
to
see
how
under-represented
groups
are
often
denied
those
benefits.
Let
me
give
you
an
example:
I
have
a
friend
who
is
the
founder
of
a
successful
startup
called
the
muse
and
Kathleen
has
shared
an
experience
that
hurt
I've
heard
echoed
by
many
women
in
technology.
A
So
she
goes
to
a
happy
hour
where
other
founders
are
a
meeting
to
just
talk
shop,
and
you
know,
share
battle
stories
and
whatnot
and
not
every
time,
but
often
enough,
while
she's
there
talking
with
other
founders,
someone
returned
to
her
and
say
so,
whose
boyfriend
are
you
now?
How
many
white
males
in
here
have
been
mistaken
for
someone's
boyfriend
at
a
happy
hour?
All
right,
I,
don't
see
any
hands
right,
white,
males,
white
mouse
and
maybe
okay
I,
don't
see
any
hands
right,
but
it's
something
that
happens
to
women.
A
Often
it's
something
that
women
have
to
deal
with
and
it's
something
that
is
an
expected
behavior
than
while
white
men
benefit
from
women
often
don't
enjoy,
and
we
see
that
people
of
color
women,
member
of
the
LGBT
group
are
exposed
on
an
almost
daily
basis
to
behavior
that
the
majority
culture
in
tech
would
never
expect.
The
ability
to
see
these
lapses.
In
expected,
behavior
is
vital
to
helping
the
technology
sector
understand
that
the
key
problem
behind
diversity
is
a
lack
of
inclusiveness.
A
So,
let's
go
to
tracing
so
we
all
know
tracing
right.
You
know
that
software
is
often
so
subtle,
you're
thinking
see
the
code
actually
running,
and
so
your
output,
the
the
results,
made
it
to
a
text
file
to
a
screen,
and
by
doing
that,
is
easy
to
see
any
defects
in
the
underlying
code
and
just
as
you
can
trace
code
to
detect
small
defects
in
it.
A
You
can
also
turn
on
your
diversity
tracers
and
see
the
often
subtle
ways
that
women
and
minorities
are
often
excluded
from
the
information
and
even
exposed
to
micro,
aggressions
that
men
often
totally
don't
see.
So
let
me
give
you
another
example:
there's
a
friend
of
mine
who's,
a
woman
of
color,
and
she
has
often
been
the
only
black
person
on
her
IT
team,
and
she
once
worked
with
the
co-worker
who
had
ridiculous
ideas
about
black
people.
He
assumed
that
she
had
been
abused
by
her
parents
as
a
child.
A
She
assumed
that
her
current
boyfriend
abused
her,
and
it's
amazing
that
someone
who
was
abusing
her
was
so
fascinated
by
her
fictitious
history
of
abuse.
She
went
on
to
other
tech
jobs
and
she
was
often
compelled
to
join
the
team
at
beer
taverns,
even
though
she
hates
beer
she
has
was
often
forced.
In
fact,
she
felt
forced
to
learn
classic
rock
songs
and
you
guys
may
love
classic
rock.
She
simply
wasn't
a
fan,
but
in
order
to
play
rock
band
with
her
friends,
he
had
to
learn
classic
rock
and
around
the
office.
A
When
there
was
someone
new
to
the
office,
she
will
often
be
mistaken
for
an
administrative
assistant
or
a
member
of
the
security
team
when
she
was
a
developer
and
her
experience
is
the
norm
for
what
people
of
color
often
go
through
in
tech,
we
all
too
often
have
to
lose
our
lives
to
earn
a
living.
Now
someone
had
their
diversity
tracers
on.
Maybe
they
could
have
spotted
this.
For
example,
why
do
we
assume
that
everyone
wants
to
drink
alcohol?
A
Artists
go
to
refactoring,
so
the
principle
refactoring
is
similar
to
the
principal
what
we
do
with
code
that
we
refactor
it
and
that
we
change
the
internal
workings
and
structure
of
the
code
in
order
to
make
it
easier
to
maintain
easier
to
read,
and
so
by
improving
the
internal
structure.
We
don't
want
to
break
the
functionality.
We
want
it
to
simply
run
better
now.
A
A
A
lot
of
people
began
using
the
airport
test
when
they
were
doing
interviews
but
I
think
that's
a
horrible
way
to
hire
people,
especially
if
you
want
a
diverse
workplace
first,
how
does
a
hiring
managers
personal
taste
determine
if
someone
is
fit
for
a
job?
Second,
the
airport
test
is
often
used
to
see.
Will
this
candidate
fit
the
culture
of
the
company?
A
Well,
if
your
culture
is
mostly
white,
males,
then
guess
who
usually
fails
the
airport
test,
people
who
are
not
white
males
and
in
really
how
many
hiring
managers
have
been
stuck
at
an
airport
with
a
black
person
or
with
often
a
woman,
and
so
the
airport
test
is
a
way
to
perpetuate
a
non-diverse
in
bar
I'm
it.
So,
let's
refactor
the
airport
test
into
the
workplace
test
instead
of
wondering,
if
you
wouldn't
mind
being
stuck
at
an
airport
with
the
candidate,
asked
just
ask:
how
have
you
saw
problems
at
your
previous
work
place?
A
How
have
you
reduce
the
amount
of
buds
that
happen
after
we
push
code
to
production?
How
have
you
help
people
who
are
new
to
the
team
be
integrated
and
begin
producing
value?
The
workplace
tests
takes
the
eye
out
of
the
selection
process,
that's
put
there
by
the
airport
test
and
replaces
it
with
the
needs
of
your
company.
So
let's
stop
trying
to
hire
cultural
rock
stars.
A
Let's
make
the
company
the
rock
star,
by
making
it
more
inclusive,
all
right
sample
code
right,
so
there's
the
principle
of
sample
code
and
that's
simply
the
idea
that
when
you're
dealing
with
a
bug
and
software
often
it
helps
if
someone
has
already
solved
that
problem,
maybe
they
have
code,
that's
in
production
or
they
have
it
in
a
local
branch.
So
they
just
say:
oh
yeah
I
did
this
here
and
they
simply
lend
you
the
code
to
help
you
find
bugs
easier.
Now,
then,
the
same
way
that
you
can
lend
someone
cold.
A
So
men,
when
you
hear
about
a
golf
outing
that
the
fellas
talked
about
playing,
picker,
backup,
basketball
during
lunch,
let
the
women
know
right
and
if
you're
having
a
discussion
about
technology
and
I've
seen
this
over
and
over
again,
where
the
the
woman
who
wrote
the
code
is
right
there,
but
they're
ignoring
her
simply
turn
to
her
and
say
I'd
like
to
hear
what
she
has
to
say
and
by
doing
that,
you're
lending
your
male
privilege
to
women
to
help
them
contribute
to
the
environment
and
also
be
recognized.
Now.
A
I
did
this
a
couple
of
years
ago,
when
I
was
doing
a
proposal
for
South
by
Southwest
Interactive.
Now
it's
a
very
competitive
process
to
get
a
proposal
accepted
into
South
by
and
having
been
successful
a
couple
of
times
before,
I
knew
that
one
of
the
key
part
of
being
successful
is
who
you
have
on
your
proposal.
A
So
I
know
that
you
guys
have
heard
me
talk,
and
you
have
heard
about
these
diversity
debugging
tools
and
you
may
be
asking
well
what
do
I
do
with
this
right?
I've,
hopefully
empowered.
You
with
ways
to
debug
the
diversity
issues
in
tech,
but
I
want
to
offer
a
suggestion
of
what
you
can
do
now.
All
think
when
we
talk
about
marginalized
groups,
and
technology
is
often
women
talking
with
women
people
of
color,
talking
with
other
people
of
color
members
of
the
LGBT
group
talking
with
other
members
of
LGBT.
A
But
why
don't
these
conversations
happen
with
among
people
who
have
privilege?
So
you
can
start
by
finding
someone
who
has
a
privilege
that
that
that
you
have
so,
if
you
have
male
privilege,
find
another
man
and
talk
about
what
people
who
lack
male
privilege
go
through
poor
guy
to
the
side.
I
do
gamergate
and
just
talk
about
it.
If
you
have,
if
you're
a
straight
guy,
our
straight
woman
right
find
someone
who
is
a
member
of
LGBT,
I'm,
sorry,
who's,
not
a
member
and
just
talk
about
issues
that
affect
the
LGBT
community.
A
Maybe
gay
marriage
right.
The
Supreme
Court's
may
issue
a
ruling
really
shortly
about
that.
Had
that
conversation
and
so
consider
this
your
pull
request
and,
like
all
pull
requests,
you're
saying
I'm,
going
to
divert
from
the
way
the
technology
and
diversity
I'll
thought
about
in
the
main
and
try
to
share
how
my
thinking
has
changed
and
hopefully
that
they
can
will
be
merged
into
the
main
line.
We
can
all
enjoy
more
diverse
technology
environments
together.
So
those
are
your
pull
request.
Please
use
them
wisely
and
enjoy
lunch.