The first Laracon I attended also happened to be my first major conference speaking engagement. Nobody knew who tf I was.
There were also a very small number of women there there that year. (Kudos to @taylorotwell for improving that year over year!)
I was SO intimidated.
-
-
Pokaż ten wątek
-
I went shopping for the speaker dinner and bought a really nice dress. And then showed up to a room full of dudes in jeans
I’d followed many of them for years. One of them had basically taught me most of what I knew about programming.
I didn’t feel like I belonged there.Pokaż ten wątek -
So
@stauffermatt (who I’d also followed for years - his blog is one of THE major resources for Laravel devs) sat next to me and made sure to include me in the conversation. I felt much more at ease as the night went on. That’s not why I ended up working for him for 3.5 years.Pokaż ten wątek -
The next night, at the afterparty, a drunk dude cornered me and started getting inappropriate. He kept touching my arm. I was SO uncomfortable. I wasn’t as good at getting out of those situations then. (I could do a whole thread on just that.) I felt trapped. Matt noticed.
Pokaż ten wątek -
He came over and started chatting with us. And then, through some black magic, he navigated himself in between us. He was literally my shield from this dude. Later, he quietly checked in to make sure all was good. And it was! That was my first impression of the Laravel community
Pokaż ten wątek -
When his company had a job posting two months later, I immediately applied. Tighten wasn’t the name brand back then it is today, nowhere near close. But Matt had noticed I was uncomfortable and went out of his way to make me feel safe. I wanted to work for a boss like that.
Pokaż ten wątek -
It ended up being a lateral move salary-wise - they’d budgeted for a low-to-mid level dev, and I already had “senior” in my title at my old company. It didn’t matter. I turned down two other offers that would have given me a 5-figure raise and did it with a smile on my face.
Pokaż ten wątek -
If you go to
@TightenCo’s team page, you’ll notice how diverse the team is - and they’ve got the reputation for being one of the BEST Laravel agencies around. That’s not an accident. Everyone cares deeply about code, and everyone brings a different background to the table.Pokaż ten wątek -
I was involved in the hiring decisions on most of those people, and I can say confidently: the secret to a diverse team isn’t having a pool of mostly homogenous candidates and then picking the one that looks different. It’s having a diverse pool, and then picking the best.
Pokaż ten wątek -
You have to build a network for diversity. This takes YEARS. I want to write another thread or maybe blog on how to do this, but I’ll tell you how you can start today. Follow 10 people on Twitter who aren’t white dudes. Chat with them every so often. Do it without an agenda.
Pokaż ten wątek -
You can’t do it bc maybe you want to hire them someday, or worse (vomiting in my mouth as I write this), because you think there’s even a 1% chance that cute nerd girl is gonna date you. Follow them because they probably have a lot to teach you.
Pokaż ten wątek -
The most important thing you can do as an ally is to pay attention and notice when they need that shield. Even if they’re not there. Call your bros out on their racist jokes. Make women and PoC feel heard when they share their struggles, and know they’re not complaining about you
Pokaż ten wątek -
We NOTICE. We remember. We appreciate you, even if we are overwhelmed and frustrated and don’t have the energy to thank you in that moment. And when you post that job, or that you’re looking for speakers, we are WAY more likely to take that risk and apply
Pokaż ten wątek -
The good news? That shit snowballs. You know who is going to be the best recruiter for women? Other women.
Pokaż ten wątek -
You can’t expect it out of employees. If they take it on, know that it’s (hard) work, and adjust your expectations on their other deliverables accordingly. But if you and your company kick ass, we talk. We BRAG. We make intros. And your network will grow.
Pokaż ten wątek
Koniec rozmowy
Nowa rozmowa -
Wydaje się, że ładowanie zajmuje dużo czasu.
Twitter jest przeciążony lub wystąpił chwilowy problem. Spróbuj ponownie lub sprawdź status Twittera, aby uzyskać więcej informacji.
