Why Isn’t Silicon Valley More Diverse?
Let’s talk about diversity in Silicon Valley with “science, whenever possible, rather than anecdotal evidence”. Eric Ries addresses what makes Silicon Valley such a hub for white men and what you can do about it. Read the entire post on TechCrunch.
On Gender
If we agree that all humans exist on a bell curve of skill when it comes to math or computer programming, are the differences great enough to explain why Y Combinator has an estimated admissions rate of 4% women? Eric presents Terri Oda to explain it best.
Two Methods To Create a True Meritocracy
- Eric reviewed resumes with name, gender, place of origin and name blacked out. He found himself interviewing different looking candidates, even though he thought he had no bias.
- Admit a diverse group of participants to start-up programs but don’t talk about diversity. Founder Labs is a pre-incubator program that is 50/50 women & men but that was never advertised. You’ll attract a more diverse group of applicants if they see your graduates are diverse.
Photo by Christian Rondeau
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About Me
Jazmin is the Director of Awesome for Tekserve, the independent Apple computer store in NYC. She helps women start technology companies through Women 2.0 in San Francisco and Founder Labs in New York City. Her recent public speaking engagements include preventing payment fraud, low-cost marketing best practices, web design, training, social media, customer surveying, and responding to customer complaints. Jazmin holds a Bachelors of Science in Management Information Systems. Her passions include travel, tea, Audible books, and Zumba. 
