https://github.com/sweetpand/grc18

https://github.com/sweetpand/grc18

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• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/sweetpand/grc18
• Owner: sweetpand
• Created: 2019-10-24T17:06:18.000Z (over 5 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2019-10-24T17:09:13.000Z (over 5 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-01-10T01:52:51.985Z (5 months ago)
• Size: 8.79 KB
• Stars: 0
• Watchers: 2
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md

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README

        
# Grace Hopper Notes

#ghc

# 1. Keynote Speech

## Padmasree Warrior

* work across boundaries — work can be integrated with family (not mutually exclusive)

### Women Leaders

**Powerful Women Leaders**

1. Mary Dixon Kies

2. Ada Lovelace

3. Harriet Tracy

**Characteristics of a woman leader are changing with time**

Now: 

* influencer

* movement starter (_don’t be apologetic to be a feminist_)

* we don’t have to be different

* be yourself

* community builder

* share experiences

Before:

* isolated, very different from everyone else

**Eyes on the Stars, Feet on the Ground**

### What can we do?

* increase women engagement / highlight them

	* spotlight those doing cool stuff

### Stats

* in 2018 - women hold 24.04% of tech jobs

	* in 2017 - 22.99% (some improvement given # of tech jobs)

## Jessica Matthews

* young entrepreneur + black woman -> ceo/founder of uncharted power

### Her Story

* she is woman, black, and first-generation

	* didn’t match the status-quo

* dual-citizen

	* found infrastructure power is lacking — esp in Nigeria

	* **agency** to solve a problem can be helpful

		* empower locals to have agency to change problems

* she wasn’t trying to start a business -> she would have been too scared

### The problem

* working at refugee camps

	* girls CANNOT play soccer once they hit puberty

* **don’t silo** energy sources -> combine energy sources

* square peg in a circular hole

* her product -> 70% cheaper, 80% faster, 50% reduction in payback period — needed for developing areas

* a feminine perspective on tech

	* more collaboration

	* more sustainable

	* more communication

	* men have **ego**, want to do it all themselves

* being underestimated can be the best thing

	* no one will be intimidated by you and try to bring you down

	* more diverse

### What can we do and advice

* say “GROUNDBREAKING” about ourselves — women don’t do it as much as men

* don’t be afraid to THINK_WORK_LIVE our authentic truth

* **just because it’s not your plan doesn’t mean it’s not your destiny**

* **being that fresh face allows you to be GROUNDBREAKING**

# 2. Pivot or Die

## Panelists

1. Kaaren Hanson

	* director of product design at fb

	* **you don’t know your boundaries til you hit them**

	* a guy will say, “I nailed it”, but a woman won’t (even if she does just as well)

		* men assume experience is more positive for themselves than women even if same score

		* so — just tell yourself (if you’re a woman) — if you were a guy, you’d feel good about yourself

2. Sara Khoury

	* director of ux design at google

	* **comfort and growth don’t go together**

	* she started at startups

	* **follow intuition**

	* her path:

		* 1st pivot - family

			* make plan + budget

			* risk -> how to go back to work?

			* reward -> priceless

			* led to an identity shift

			* she wrote a letter to herself about why she was doing it and what she wanted to achieve after going back to work

		* 2nd pivot - get back into the workforce

			* research + design was internal at her company

			* found job @ job board — not through her network (which she los due to leaving work) — as senior vp

			* made name for herself as an exec

			* when she got comfortable and secure, opportunities show up 

			* **it’s a rocket ship — get on it**

			* panic — “what if we fail?”

				* coping mechanism:

					1. Go to calendar

					2. Find any day 3-6 weeks out

					3. Focus on getting to that date

					4. Repeat 

	* planning plays an important role, but **intuition** is needed to make decisions

		* develop intuition by going too far, making mistakes, and learning

		* so — listen to your gut

3. Margaret Schmidt

	* vp eng, intuit

	* none of her career was planned

	* pivots from moments when bored -> got too comfortable

	* find things that **give you energy** and chase those - even if hard

	* most meaningful pivot - at tiro after 16 years

		* take initiative to help when needed, even if out of the box

		* don’t stay within bounds of job description

			* volunteer the role if still doing day job 

		* make decision, then say ‘let me know if you want to over-rule me’ -> execs/bosses won’t have time to think of better option

## Q/A

### 1. Bigger is better (job titles)… is that true?

* impact is not determined by your title

* focus on growth and learning

* own your career

* “management track”??

	* **don’t do it!!** … now

		* if you have organizational skills, you’ll be pushed into management eventually

		* if you do it too early — you’ll become irrelevant

		* 10,000 hour rule -> 5-10 years

### partner’s careers … balancing pivots between two people? 

* note — it was interesting how much focus and thought was put into these women’s family and partners — this is probably not a question that a male software engineer/techie would ask or be concerned about. Food for thought :) 

* 2 people at startup with a fam is hard

	* take turns with risky job

* if bf doesn’t clean toilet, dump him now

	* need someone who’s truly a partner

### how to handle weaknesses?

* say yes to every opportunity related to weaknesses

* “in comfortable shoes, you forget you have feet” — **don’t get too comfortable** — _common theme_

* **keep getting up** - _common theme_ (it’s going to be hard, and you can only persevere — and find your ppl)

### do you have a backup plan?/

* have $$$

* with jobs — there will always be other jobs

* **when you know what you really want, the universe will conspire to make it happen**

### advice for new grads?

* people were told — ‘you’re here because you’re a gal’  or affirmative action

* **toughen up** - gain the scars

* say, **fuck you**

* keep pushing, and be ready

* help friends and other women

* **honing your craft - get VERY good** - _common theme_

	* become an expert

### when ready to pivot — walk away from company/reputation or stay internal? 

* walk away - learning app, reinvent self

* stay - can get sponsorships/move up faster

* **pick what gives you energy** - _common theme_ - don’t do just because it’s suggested or the norm

### these panelists are ‘Jill of all trades’ — is there still opportunities for new people?

* more specialization t large company — predictable, but can volunteer for new things outside of scope

* more creative freedom at startups, new types of roles, can build a spectrum of skills

# 3. Mind the Gap

**shoot for the moon… if you miss, you’ll land in the stars**

* a startup is 95% team and 5% idea

* why startups don’t fail

	* complimentary skillsets

	* support + respect each other’s roles

	* adaptability

* when evaluating a startup idea, look at:

	* market (is there need?)

	* competencies (can you build it?)

	* passion points

* launching v.s. not launching

	* better to launch early — discover more, less risk of ‘polishing a turd’ — you don’t know the users’ reception

# 4. Driving Social Impact

* panelists: 

	* Sandra liu huang

	* erin coffman

	* shripriya mahesh

	* era ozkan

	* Minnie ingersoll - code for America, google.org

### How to determine long-term impact?

* “what’s measured is treasured”

* believe people they work with make the right decisions — give agency to the local people - _common theme_

* ensure what you’re building is sustainable, and has ownership+involvement of locals

* if more stable in the short-term, helps in the long-term

* empower beneficiaries

	* i.e. help with the design

		* ownership ==> relevancy

* focus on the right outcomes

	* learning -> earning

* ask - **why do these problems exist?** - don’t just solve symptoms

* tech alone won’t solve the problem, in fact is far from it

	* need process and programming

* think, can there be a new system??

### How to stay oriented on a practical level?

* how to motivate team when project is very long-term? 

* what can we do now that’ll be most leveraged? 

	* i.e. in biotech ->  how to accelerate basic science today? 

		* more collaboration between labs (**no silos!!**)

	* set half goals every 6 months

* **no war is won according to plan, but no war is won without a plan**

* we need to build **with urgency** but coordinate for **sustainability**

* think about the user journey 

	1. Iterate with end-user

	2. Release minimal viable product often

	3. Repeat

* barriers:

	* cultural barrier

	* cost

	* language

* knowledge transfer is important to make sustainable

* “what’s the ideal journey?”

	* for each type elf user/participant

	* something working itself is not ideal

* understand the user - _common theme_

	* go out to where the tech will be used

	* immerse self in experience and get context **on the ground**

	* 100+ users

### is it possible to take that time? i.e. is it ok to think, ‘we can’t predict, so we’ll build first’? 

* sometimes there are creative approaches to fill roles you’re not trained in

* ‘you need to move slow to move fast’ -> make sure you don’t build too fast without direction

* have a diverse team — very critical to represent many perspectives

	* not productive initially, but good long-term

* **collective impact** - no single sector or solution will fix the problem

	* need to bring diverse group of stakeholders

	* work together to transfer knowledge

	* ^^ this applies to biotech/medicine too!

* like scaling production -> research has to be scaled too

* take a step back -> what’s the root of the problem we’re trying to solve?

	* don’t solve symptoms of the problem only

* have metrics to measure how you’re doing

### ‘how do I have meaningful impact?’ - non-profits v.s. for-profits

* social impact and business aren’t separate things

* have to be a profitable business to be sustainable

* in your career:

	1. Choose company with a mission

	2. Ask questions - to all teams

		1. Who are we serving?

		2. What’s the user problem?

		3. How do we know we’re solving it?

	3. Demand accountability

* impact can be driven from any vantage point

* regardless of where you are, you can **drive impact**

	* individual level:

		* remote mentoring to ppl abroad

		* code sign product for different populations

		* fly into areas and help setup projects — wifi connectivity

* we need all these sectors to solve these problems

* **be excellent at the thing you want to do** - biggest chance to have impact

* be thoughtful about your impact

* there is a huge opportunity to apply tech innovation to problems otherwise not focused on

## notes from q/a

* language barrier is an important consideration (tech is useless if can’t be adopted by different communities)

* integration is **v** important so it helps entire society and is sustainable

* **software eng feels too far removed from the problem — how to still feel impactful?**

	* highlight wins + stories of users

	* hear stories of users + keep close to that

	* go out of your way

	* systemic approach - ask management how does this fit in?

* **how to be humble and not burden communities?**

	* build relationships

	* figure out **when, who** to meet

		* be respectful of their time

	* ask for feedback!

 

# Can hiring be need blind?

## Different companies represented:

1. [Greenhouse Inclusion](http://www.greenhouse.io/inclusion)

	* prevents unconscious bias

	* has resume highlights - hides name, college, names

	* anonymized take-home exercises

2. Cockroach Labs

3. [Blendoor](http://blendoor.com/)

	1. Founder [story](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanienlampkin) is quite interesting

		1. Went to Stanford + MIT

		2. When she applied to Google — they said she ‘wasn’t technical enough’ and suggested she go into Sales/Marketing

	2. People say it’s a ‘pipeline problem’ 

4. Interviewing.io 

	1. Tech screen **first**

	2. No resumes, just technical interview before further interviews

	3. **branch.interviewing.io** - for good

		1. For underrepresented communities

	4. Stat -> 40% of people who got thru on interviewing.io are from non-traditional backgrounds (we see that at Freenome too)

* what is bias? 

	* example -> changing name Emily to Greg leads to 2x response

	* factors: name, age, gender, race

	* even women have this bias! Especially against Female POC

* better approach:

	1. Merit-based (interviewing.io)

	2. Anonymized Resumes (Greenhouse Inclusion)

	3. Either way -> collect metrics and **data** on how your’re doing

	4. Ask for candidate feedback

	

### practically, how long does it take to implement identity_blind process?

* has to be bought in by exec team

* huge **time** investment

* a process change is needed — people look for low-hanging fruit -> bad

* to drive change, there has to be a tectonic shift in how hiring is done

* someone may not look a certain way on paper

* school name is **not an indicator of performance** 

	* except for some demographics (black people, etc)

		* it helps them prevent bad unconscious bias

			* i.e. founder of Blendoor may not be seen as ‘credible’ without her Stanford degree - which is unfortunate bc that shouldn’t matter

* **call people out!!**

	* i.e. referring only people who look like and are like yourself — propagates more of this lack of diversity

# 5. Developing Your Personal Brand

Brand = what people say about you

* people challenge you — tell you what you can or cannot do -> challenge them! 

* market your skills that speak the same language to different people

	* learn how to pitch yourself

* take initiative to become the **‘go-to’ person** 

	* declare yourself as a leader

* be **intentional** about building a brand + skills

* startups have worse sexism than a big company

* ‘if you can’t beat them, beat them anyway’

## how to start a brand? 

* no one knows what they want to do

* think about what you aspire to be -> in terms of adjectives

* people don’t strive big enough

* look at job descriptions and circle what you want to be

* oppose **well-intended, terrible advice**

	* i.e. get an MBA to look like every other applicant (why would you want to blend in?)

* **take a NICHE problem and make it yours!!** - _common theme_

* never apply for a job again

* it’s okay not to know

## how to figure out transition

* ask questions that show what you like

* so people talk about you when you’re not there —> you’re a developer + _____something!_______ 

* build network and get introductions

* become an expert so you can talk about an issue

* women are bad abs talking about accomplishments

	* why?

		* imposter syndrome

		* modesty horn -> feel _physically_ uncomfortable

		* rescue fantasy -> raised to believe, if I work hard, someone will rescue me (that’s **bs**)

* stop downplaying yourself

	* if you know your strong areas, put yourself into a situation with strong feedback lab

		* i.e. control engineering your life

* when going to investors -> if you have a company, but it doesn’t do much yet

	* tell them, **believe in me as a person** - build a myth about yourself so investor believes in _you_

	

* being brutally honest is good - radical candor

* **first they ignore you**

	* **then they laugh at you**

	* **then they fight you you**

	* **then they join you**

* if you’re really an entrepreneur:

	* lots of NO

	* it’s so hard

	* have to be a bit crazy - listen to your craziness

* even if lots of push back, keep talking, and then people will eventually respond

	* then find the person who gets so excited - then u golden

# 6. Breaking up the Boys’ Club

Read [this](https://www.amazon.com/Brotopia-Breaking-Boys-Silicon-Valley/dp/0735213534)!

* in the 40s/50s - women were well represented in software (and men in hardware)

* [‘The Computer Girls’](https://boingboing.net/2015/07/31/the-computer-girls-1967-c.html) - Cosmo 1967

* What happened?

	* in 60s/70s -> desperate for talent, tech companies (?) used personality tests

		* ‘good programmers like solving puzzles’

		* ‘good programmers don’t like people’

			* so, more men

				* **but**, there’s no evidence that people who don’t like people are good at the job

				* in fact, it makes more sense the other way around - building for the user

	* so, they pushed women out

	* women with a CS degree dropped from 37% to 18%

* movies didn’t create stereotypes, **the tech industry created and REINFORCED the pipeline problem** -> dominated by **white men**

* if you don’t look the part, people will naturally ask tougher questions

* even today (look @ facebook, PayPal)

	* call themselves a ‘_meritocracy_’, even though the founders admit that they hired their friends (i.e. look like them)

		* this myth is damaging

	* Silicon Valley is a modern _utopia_, where you can change the world .. if you’re a man

	* meritocracy is impossible, because everyone comes with different privilege

		* never an even playing field

	* ‘[meritocracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy)’ was actually coined by a British sociologist do describe a **dystopian society** 

* **Silicon Valley embraces hard problems (sending people to space, self-driving cars, curing cancer)**, but when it comes to Diversity & Inclusion, they say **it’s too hard**

* so naturally, girls who code are scared

	* **you cannot be what you can’t see** - not enough role models

	* be something the next generation can see

* women are 2x more likely to quit tech

	* so.. 

		* help women thrive 

		* create your own path

* steps a company can take

	* (good intentions aren’t enough)

	* ex. Google

		* before -> Sergey and Larry explicitly cared about hiring women 

			* they **blocked hiring** until x women were hired 

		* after growth -> their other priorities took over, lost women representation

	* can’t stop after meeting some quota - continue year after year

	* unconscious bias training isn’t enough - need to **give tools** to conquer bias

	* example:

		* don’t start interviewing until 2 women, 2 POC

	* have **hindsight**

	* be explicit

	* if you say you care, it attracts more people

* take-aways

	* know your value

	* be true to yourself

	* companies _want_ to be on the right side of history

	* we’re up against a lot

	* embrace the fact that you’re a woman

	* find people who are championing this effort

	* diverse team = **no blind spots**

	* it’s not all on women - men should speak up too

	* **this game is rigged**

# The arc of history is long and random, but you have the opportunity to bend it.