STEMwiches

Someone at the the excellent resource EffectiveUI wonders if two unrelated things are related to each other:

Does being out in tech matter? This is a question I asked myself last week when I was preparing to be on a panel at the Google offices in Boulder, Colorado to speak to LGBTQ youth about careers in the tech industry and being out at work. Coming out is a continuous process rather than a one-time event, but I’ve grown accustomed to the ease with which I can do it now. In fact, when I started interviewing for positions a few years ago I made a point of coming out during the job interview process. I had decided I’d rather expose any discomfort from the start and use it as a tool to gauge company culture. At EffectiveUI, I have the luxury of not having to think about the privilege of being a queer woman in tech.

Someone in tech can prefer any kind of sandwich they like to, and to any degree. Potential team members who don’t care for ham sandwiches will pre-select themselves out of the dev team that really really wants them to prefer ham sandwiches over others. Candidates will simply seek another team that likes steak and cheese with just as much intensity, or a team that doesn’t bother with the preference at all and just focuses on making widgets as proposed.

It really works itself out, but persistence will breed exodus, or worse yet, pushback. Don’t be surprised when it comes.