Building a Foundation for Silicon Valley’s Engineers
Makinde Adeagbo has worked as a software engineer and manager at Pinterest, Dropbox, Bridge International Academies, and Facebook. He is also the founder of /dev/color, which is hiring!
It’s not always obvious to people why an organization like /dev/color needs to exist. I’m often asked, “Why not focus on the earlier stages of the pipeline?” or “Isn’t it too late to make a difference by the time someone is in the industry?” These and other similar questions can be rolled up into, “Why does this organization need to exist?”
It is important to say upfront that we absolutely need efforts at every part of the pipeline to strengthen the representation of Black software engineers. Thankfully, there are some great organizations working to expose younger people to software engineering and tech well before they get to college.
We at /dev/color work on the later stage of the pipeline. The right support can make the difference between going home for the summer and getting an internship at a top company, between staying at an unchallenging job and joining an exciting startup, between remaining as a line manager and advancing into senior leadership. /dev/color provides Black software engineers with that support, making sure they enter and advance in the tech industry. We do this through one-on-one mentoring, building stronger networks within the group, and giving every member the guidance to achieve their goals.
Beyond the group’s formal programs, members help one another in a variety of ad hoc ways. A member recently entered the job market and other members provided him with several leads into companies where he wanted to interview. A younger engineer asked the community for tips on how to pick up Spark/Hadoop and others were able to help out with support. /dev/color members have even formed interview study groups to practice the technical job interview with engineers from industry.
Clearly, the organization has started making great progress towards its goals of advancing its member’s careers. But the programs and support mentioned above are only a part of the picture. The questions that were mentioned at the start of this post are interesting because they highlight a gap in understanding that exists between people in the majority and those of us that are scarcely represented in software engineering roles. I’m confronted with this empathy gap every day as I describe to people what the organization does. For potential members, they stop me after about 30 seconds and say, “I get it, where can I sign up!” For people who aren’t Black software engineers, the focus is on measurable outputs. While the focus on results and outcomes is important, the evaluation of /dev/color solely through that lens only captures a portion of the value. I describe the program the same way to both groups, but there’s an underlying understanding that Black software engineers have that others can’t easily see.
While we do a lot of tactical work to improve the careers of our members, there’s actually an even more important goal we have. And unfortunately, it’s the hardest one to measure. It underlies all of the work we do for people’s careers. Kyle Bailey, one of our senior members put it well recently…
I go to work every day and don’t see anyone like me in the office. Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine walking into a room filled exclusively with people of another race. You’d probably feel uncomfortable. That’s every day of my career. /dev/color gives me a place where I feel at home, where I’m surrounded by people who share my experiences…and that’s so valuable.
/dev/color provides an environment where each of our members feels like they truly belong in the top tech companies and in Silicon Valley as a whole. No matter how well we do on the easily measurable aspects of the program, we’ll have failed without establishing an underlying foundation of belonging. When we first looked for members to start /dev/color, almost every one of them latched onto the need for this feeling over everything else.
It’s easy to assume that everyone who works at a tech company feels completely comfortable in their work environment. These offices are often casual, fun and energetic places. As a typical employee there, you’re unlikely to directly hear someone around you talk about feeling out of place or feeling like they can’t be their full selves. But make no mistake, many of the members of /dev/color have expressed the toll taken on them in the process of adjusting to being ‘the only’ in each environment they enter. And for many folks, this process has happened over and over again since college or even high school. Having an outlet to learn, share and discuss with people like yourself is a welcome gift and a relief from that burden.
/dev/color is just at the beginning of building out this support system and we’re excited for what’s ahead. In the coming year, we’ll extend the reach of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter, and reach out to new cities for the first time. We’ll create even more opportunities for members to access resources to learn and grow in their careers. Our members will share more wisdom they’ve picked up, not just with other members, but the tech community as a whole. All this, built on the sense of belonging that is the fabric of what we do.
The holidays are approaching and many of us will go home to friends and family. That’s what /dev/color aims to be for Black software engineers in Silicon Valley. A home away from home. A place of warmth, support and belonging.
/dev/color is a non-profit organization that provides Black software engineers with the support & connections to enter and advance in the tech industry. To learn more, check out our website and follow our blog & twitter account.
Applications for new SF Bay Area members will be open through Dec 31, 2015. Encourage motivated college students and senior software engineers that you know to apply at devcolor.org/apply !
