A talk at the Diversify event at Spotify in Stockholm, Sweden, outlining the issues of diversity and how working on the web used to be a very inviting and open space and has been replaced by a highly competitive world made for a small niche in the employee market.

1. DiversiFIGHT
Chris Heilmann (@codepo8) - Diversify, Spotify, Stockholm, November 2014

2. HERE I AM, SPEAKING AT
A DIVERSITY EVENT…
MALE
ABLE BODIED
GEEK
WHITE
✓
½✓
✓
✓✓✓✓

3. DIVERSITY IS A VERY
IMPORTANT ISSUE.
AND CURRENTLY A
VERY HOT TOPIC.

4. IT IS ALSO A
RIDICULOUSLY COMPLEX
ISSUE.
RACE?
GENDER?
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION?
RELIGION?
HAIR COLOUR?
ABILITY?
ORIGIN?
AGE?

5. AS PEOPLE OF THE WEB
AGE, WE TEND TO FAVOUR
QUICK, GENERIC
SOLUTIONS FOR
COMPLEX ISSUES.

6. WE ALSO AREN’T THE
BEST WHEN IT COMES TO
PATIENCE.

7. PREMATURE
OPTIMISATION.

8. THIS DOES NOT WORK
HERE.

9. WE NEED TO FIX
OURSELVES.

10. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE
DIVERSITY, WE HAVE TO
OVERCOME OUR BIASES.

11. THIS IS HARD.

12. CONSCIOUS BIASES ARE
NOT HARD TO BATTLE.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wheatons-law

13. YOU ARE NOT ANONYMOUS - BEHAVE ACCORDINGLY
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19

14. UNCONSCIOUS BIASES
ARE MUCH HARDER.

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLjFTHTgEVU

16. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/index2.htm

17. UNCONSCIOUS BIASES
ARE PART OF WHAT WE
ARE.

18. HOW AND WHERE WE
WERE BROUGHT UP.

19. FUN WITH STEREOTYPES

20. “OH GOD, HAVE UNHAPPY GERMANS…
NOTHING GOOD HAS EVER COME FROM THAT!”

21. BEYOND THE LAUGHS…
IS IT OK TO? MAKE FUN OF SOMEONE’S ACCENT?
MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE NOT
UNDERSTANDING YOU?
MAKE ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON
SOMEONE’S ETHNIC BACKGROUND?
HAVE A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP IN
THE OFFICE / WITH A CLIENT?

22. RISE ABOVE WHAT YOU
ARE AND WHERE YOU
CAME FROM.

23. BE AWARE OF YOUR
BACKGROUND AND
HOW IT INFLUENCES
YOU.

24. THIS IS TOUGH TO DO.

25. THANK GOD FOR
TEENAGE REBELLION!

26. THANK GOD FOR HIGH
SCHOOL AND COLLEGE.

27. I WAS SO, SO LUCKY!

28. EARLY INTERNET
WORKING DAYS.
NO RELEVANT
DEGREE
NO DEVELOPMENT
PROCESSES
NO MEDIA
ATTENTION
NO RULES - KNOW
THE BUGS, MAKE IT
WORK!

29. THE RESULT:
A SUPERBLY DIVERSE
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
PRINT DESIGNERS
SCREEN DESIGNERS
PROGRAMMERS
WRITERS
BUSINESS ANALYSTS
PROJECT MANAGERS
DATABASE ADMINS
WEBMASTERS/
MISTRESSES

30. IF YOU HAD THE
KNOWLEDGE, YOU WERE
ALLOWED TO WORK.

31. MANY DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTS.
SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERPRISE
CMS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ECOMMERCE
B2B
MAPS/GEO
PHOTO/MEDIA
BANKING

32. LEARNINGS:
SHARING BEATS
COMPETING
DIFFERENT PEOPLE
ARE BETTER AT
DIFFERENT THINGS
NO ENVIRONMENT IS
FOREVER
THE ONLY CONSTANT
IS CHANGE

33. THE MAIN LEARNING:
THE MORE
DIVERSITY IN THE
TEAM, THE BETTER
THE PRODUCT.

34. FAST FORWARD TO NOW.

35. THERE ARE MORE JOBS
THAN PEOPLE AND
COMMUNICATION WITH
RECRUITERS IS BROKEN
http://christianheilmann.com/2014/11/18/we-have-a-massive-recruitment-problem/

36. ROCKSTAR • 💩

37. A WORLD OF
COMPETITION.

38. A WORLD OF HIGHER
BARRIERS OF ENTRY.

39. A WORLD OF
THROWAWAY PRODUCTS.

40. A WORLD OF KEEPING
EMPLOYEES IN THE
OFFICE AND BUSY.

41. A WORLD OF PANDERING
TO THE BROS AND
KEEPING THE
HIGHSCHOOL LIFESTYLE.

42. WORK HARD,
PLAY HARD,
MAKE MONEY!
http://bangkok.coconuts.co/sites/bangkok.coconuts.co/files/styles/article_header/public/field/image/americanpsycho200013_0.png

43. OVERALL: A WORLD THAT
HINDERS DIVERSITY.

44. WE’RE STILL BEHAVING
LIKE THE REBEL
ALLIANCE, BUT NOW
WE’RE THE EMPIRE.
http://petewarden.com/2014/10/05/why-nerd-culture-must-die/

45. I WANT YOU TO FIGHT
FOR MORE DIVERSITY.

46. WHAT CAN YOU DO?

47. MINGLE MORE!

48. DON’T ASSUME EVIL
WHEN THE CAUSE
COULD BE
CONFUSION.

49. FEAR IS NOT AN
INCENTIVE AND
DISCOURAGES
CHANGE.

50. TEACH AND BE AN
EXAMPLE.

51. CALL OUT BAD
BEHAVIOUR
IMMEDIATELY.

52. MAKE IT EMOTIONAL:
!
“HOW WOULD YOU FEEL
IF SOMEONE SAID THIS
ABOUT YOU/DID THAT
TO YOU?”

53. DEMAND A WORK
ENVIRONMENT THAT
INVITES DIVERSITY
BEYOND WHAT IS
LEGALLY NEEDED.
IS THERE A PROPER
HR DEPARTMENT/
PROCEDURE?
WHAT ARE THE
LONG-TERM
BENEFITS?
IS HAVING A SOCIAL
LIFE POSSIBLE/
ENCOURAGED?

54. FIND DANGER SIGNS IN JOB POSTINGS…
http://joblint.org/

55. LISTEN, HELP, BE NICE
TO PEOPLE AND
RECORD AS MANY
GOOD EXPERIENCES AS
YOU CAN.

56. Chris Heilmann
christianheilmann.com
@codepo8
Thank you!