diversity (in tech) 

Heard a speaker at yesterday say that we need to focus on diversity of thought - so hire people who look different.

I disagree with the underlying presumption that people who look the same must think the same. Isn't that to say: What you amount to, and what you think, are determined by your race/gender/appearance, etc.?

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diversity (in tech) 

@SecondJon
"must" and "determined by" are too strong, but I think there are often correlations between the characteristics you mention and the way people think. Eg, we often see polling data that show politcal opinions breaking down by gender or race. People have a known (probably subconscious) bias to recruit people who are like them, which is one mechanism by which entrenched biases persist in industries that are dominated by a particular demographic. Encouraging people to recruit people who look different is a blunt instrument to fix that. But given the amount to which recruitment in tech is unavoidably subjective, and given that many parts of the industry do have entrenched demographics, I think it can be the right line to take. Is there a better way? Maybe.. We should certainly look for it. But doing nothing promoted the status quo, which I don't think is optimal. Anecdotally, my own workplace has gone from 95% middle aged white men to a much healthier balance of people over the last few years, partly because we noticed this and made an effort to correct it. It has become a much better place to work, both technically and socially.

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