ReadingNotes

When Women Stopped Coding

in 1984 the percentage of women in computer science flattened, and then plunged, even as the share of women in other technical and professional fields kept rising.
he share of women in computer science started falling at roughly the same moment when personal computers started showing up in U.S. homes in significant numbers.
These early personal computers weren’t much more than toys.
In the ’70s, that never would have happened: Professors in intro classes assumed their students came in with no experience. But by the ’80s, that had changed.

In the last 12 months, Facebook, Apple, eBay and Microsoft hired 1% more women. LinkedIn increased their female staff by 3%.
Google’s gender ratio stayed the same.
Microsoft gained 3% non-white employees, Facebook 2%; while Google, Apple and eBay increased their non-white staff by 1%.
LinkedIn lost 3% of its non-white employees.
Within the companies who expanded their ethnic diversity, Asian staff accounted for the majority of the increase, while the ratio of Hispanic employees remained static.
Apple registered the biggest jump: 3% increase in Asian hires.

Diversity efforts are most successful when they’re driven by a commitment from company leaders.
Diverse teams are smarter and more creative.
Diverse companies perform better.
Failing to attract and hire employees from underrepresented backgrounds leads companies to miss out on incredible talentnt .
Diverse companies can better serve a diverse user base .