- On the one hand, it felt a bit like a Google circle-jerk about how progressive and diverse they are as a company. On the other hand, it is powerful to see disabled employees talking about how valuable their experience is when creating software for all users. I appreciate the emphasis on trying to eliminate, or at least minimize, implicit bias in the hiring process. From the PBS article, it sounds like this is one of the few practices that really works.
- During my college years, I was able to take a couple different implicit bias tests etc. Always an enlightening experience. More recently, I have become aware that my strongest bias is around education and making assumptions about people's intelligence based on their writing and spelling. This has been particularly important to recognize and try to mitigate when working in email-based customer service, where the only interactions I had with customers was in writing, and while teaching teenagers.
- I don't have a clear idea at all yet about what kind of projects I'd like to work on. I know that one of my strengths as a disabled developer, will be remembering to test everything from an accessibility standpoint. However, there are lots of aspects of accessibility in the broader sense that I may not be conscious of — roadblocks to financial access, language barriers, etc. In fiction writing, there is something called a "sensitivity reader," which is a person hired to read work before it is published. A sensitivity reader is often hired when the author is writing about a nuanced and socially charged topic that they don't have personal experience with. Examples might be: a character with a specific disability, a queer or trans character, a culture that is different from the author's etc. I don't know how often this sort of strategy is applied in software development, and perhaps that is really what the Google video was getting at, but working with people who have a different set of experiences and "problem radars," seems like the way to make tech that works for everyone.
- This has changed for me in the last year. Previously, I would have said that the aspect of my identity I am most conscious of in the world is my albinism. Albinism has two somewhat contradictory aspects: it is quite visibly different so I always stand out and attract stares, but the part of it that most affects my life is that it causes low-vision, which almost no one is aware of. So I am constantly recognized for looking a unique way, but have to fight for accommodations. BUT over the last year, I have started medically transitioning, and now my first thought when interacting with people is always "How will they read my gender?" When I initially came out, I thought my goal was to confuse people, to present androgynously so that people couldn't make assumptions. However, now that I have achieved that confusion, I find that people still make assumptions/judgement calls about how to treat me, and now they're all just wrong. So the question is always: which option feels less uncomfortable today, and is it worth the emotional labor to correct or educate.
- When I lived in Chicago, I was much more conscious on a daily basis that I was a middle-class white person moving through a city with a pretty big racial-geographical divide. Living now in Boulder County, where most people I interact with are also middle-calss white people with access to good education, it is absurdly easy to forget that that is a huge element of my identity, and many layers of privilege.
- I generally don't take access to things for granted. Even things as simple as going to the grocery store, because I don't drive. I think this has made me both resourceful and patient, and well equipped to adapt when things don't go as planned. I have also spent my entire life educating folks about albinism, often several times a day, and rather than resent that I have taken that on as a privilege and responsibility. Sometimes it's just not possible, or I don't have the energy to spare, but I have zero shame and a lot of pride around my disability, and will happily answer evenn the most ignorant questions. Another part of my identity is cancer survivor. I spent all of my 20s balancing complex medical care, having many surgeries, and traveling cross country to see specialists. The experience of that level of health concern so young has forced me to prioritize my own well being. I had to learn to recognize when I need breaks, when I need support, and when I need to step back and acknowledge that my health is more important than school, or capitalism. I know this skill will serve me well at Turing.
- Las fall, when I was teaching English lit to a class of 11th graders, I got to be the first person to ask them to introduce themselves with their pronouns. I knew there was a student who was queer/gender-nonconforming in some regard, as I had worked with them the previous year. Over the six weeks I worked with them, this student went from saying "I don't know, anything is fine I guess" in regard to pronouns, to approaching me after class and asking if I would try using "he/him." Not long after, he came out more officially to his classmates, his other teachers, and the school administration. This was a tiny private high school, and the same one I attended 15 years ago. He was the first student to come out and be courageous enough to have those conversations while still in school. I certainly don't take credit for him being a total badass, but I am incredibly proud that I got to be there and be a support and encouragement, and to some extent a role model, despite not fully being out myself at the time.
- I know coming into Turing that a lot these efforts are already in place on an institutional level. I hope that what I can bring to others is genuine curiosity, compassion, and cheerleading. I love to hear people's stories. It is important to me to be a safe person to talk to, to complain to, to celebrate with. I want to embody the belief that success for anyone with a marginalized identity is a success for all of us, and competition, guilt, and comparison don't serve us.
- I know that I am a good listener and rock steady presence. Despite plenty of anxiety in my own little world, my role in a group is always the calm, sensible, peacemaker. I think I am a very good judge of character, in that I see people's strengths and do my best to communicate in a way that works for them. My low-vision often puts me in positions where I look a bit foolish, or have to be ok with acting "odd," and that has definitely made me less self-conscious and very happy to laugh at my own mistakes. I don't claim or pretend to be a naturally cheerful or energetic person. I'm not great at small talk or casual socializing with new people. But I always always make an effort to be friendly, considerate of others' time and feelings, sensitive to the group dynamic, and willing to take on work.
One that continues to show up with vulnerability and openness, and a willingness to educate. Badass. Not a token hire.