As Tech Firms Come to Oakland, So Do Hopes of Racial Diversity

My personal theory is that the idea of a brogrammer is a scapegoat boogieman that exist so people can talk trash. "Hipster" isn't a bad analogy, I think there are some gaps in the comparison but will have to think about how to articulate them.

The perception, if not reality, was that software development was the domain of "nerds" and it was a sort of safe zone where most people were like minded fellow nerds. Nowadays, as startups and entrepreneurship have gained momentum, the sphere of people that are coming into the tech world has widened. A portion of those "newcomers" are the people that previously would have found jobs in areas like finance.

So now you have this nerd paradise enclave (tm) being "invaded" by young frat guys in pink pastel button ups who captained their high school football team. And the nerds are reacting a little poorly to that and giving those guys the "bro" and "brogrammer" name.

It's funny sitting between those two worlds (nerdy prep school grad athlete). I'm guilty of making fun of "bros" and people who live in the marina (in sf), but for me it's just poking fun. I think the more traditionally nerdy of us aren't being so charitable with the term.

I say this as an Asian who has most likely benefited from being hired/selected by companies/institutions to be part of their overall "minority" percentage. And yes, I agree with you that people are too quick to lump all Asians into one group...I've found that my experience growing up as a child of Vietnam War refugee parents in the Midwest has been significantly different than the experience of 3+ generation Chinese/Japanese-Americans.

There are lots of successful companies in Asia, Europe, Africa, India, etc, who are super successful and aren't diverse, racially, socioeconomically or by gender. Now, it does become more important if your company globalizes, but you'll probably hire a local and likely not locally diverse workforce to conduct operations in country.

So I think the focus should be diversity for its own sake, rather than trying to couch it as something else.

No one is saying they should hire unqualified people.

There's another industry that lacks proportionate participation from all visible minorities: veterinary medicine.

> “Contrary to societal trends, veterinary medicine remains one of the least diverse professions in the United States,” the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges said on its site.

> The veterinary community has been working to change that notion, promoting veterinary medicine as a meaningful career path for science-minded students by reaching potential veterinarians long before college with the message that the career can include more than just working with animals. There are also jobs in public health policy or food inspection, said Dr. Beth Sabin, associate director of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Notice that the policy is not shame companies into increasing more diversity, it's let's educate people before they hit the workforce about the benefits of studying and becoming a vet.

So, yes, education but also culture which eliminates cultural barriers --which tend to begin in the home as well as peer groups where someone who wants to study something not popular in that group is steered away from pursing such avenues. It's not feminine, or you're going mainstream, etc (i.e. breaking with subculture dynamics)