Antipatterns for Diversity

Stop doing the same thing but expecting different results

As developers we put considerable effort into optimisation. We are always tinkering, trying to make things better, and striving to remove antipatterns from our code and our development processes.

Yet for some reason we have not been as good at applying this spirit of optimisation to the problem of increasing diversity, even though most people these days agree that, like good tests, agile methodologies, and virtual environments, diversity is a “good thing”.

My position is that just as there is no single easy way to write good code there is no single easy way to increasing diversity. There are, however, several things that companies and organisations do which actually work against diversity. This talk will explore these antipatterns for diversity, including uncritical belief in meritocracy, lack of understanding of the realities of marginalisation, null processes, misunderstanding of “culture fit”, and an unwillingness to change, as well as some ways that teams, companies, and organisations might work to combat them.