About ten years ago there seemed to be a slew of thirty year olds explaining what it was to be old. “Now that I am thirty,” they would say, “I understand …” I am not sure what it was they understood. I had stopped listening and faded off into my own head thinking, “uh oh, what if they find out I am fifty. They will never hire me.”
I once opened my eyes to the possibility that maybe one day, we could build software that could build itself. It was an idea that sat running around the back of my mind for a while, but sadly it was more of a solution looking for a problem than anything actually useful.
In the realm of natural languages there is a concept called linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. It states that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview.
Kent Beck is deservedly famous for creating Test-Driven Development (TDD.) According to himself, he did not invent it. He only rediscovered it.
We need to talk about work. "Work? What’s wrong with work?" you may ask. You would be right to do so. A couple of years back, I might have asked the same thing. From the outside, nothing is wrong with the world of work, nor the workplace. Especially in the tech industry, right? Most of us get pretty good perks and we no longer have to spend 40 years of our life fiddling around for 12 hours a day on a production line like our elders. Metaphorically speaking, of course…
Though I was well aware of toxic abuse in the workplace, I only really began to understand it when I was subjected to it. By sharing my story I hope to spark reflections and discussions that will contribute to create a healthier workplace in our industry.
An exclusive interview with Sheree Atcheson, an award-winning Diversity and Inclusion leader. She spends her time helping organisations create inclusive environments which embrace people of all walks of life. She currently works at Deloitte UK as the Tech Respect & Inclusion Manager, at Women Who Code as a Board-Appointed Global Ambassador, and as a Contributor at Forbes.
The only constant is change… and the hiring process. The way companies design their hiring process has always kept my attention. But during the last couple of years, with the increasing discussions and researches about inclusion and diversity, this became even more special. We are walking through a new and super interesting paradigm, but still in beta version.
I personally find it diminishing to be invited to a conference, hired at a company, and generally being treated differently because of my gender. This is something I cannot control, unlike my education, my experience or my attitude towards other people. If what everybody is looking for is to be considered the same as anyone else, shouldn't we look at these values that any human being can actually influence?
Over the course of the last couple of years more and more press has surfaced about companies and their unethical practices and processes —how they’ve manipulated or exposed user’s privacy or data for their own gain. This isn’t new, with many of the reported incidents having happened in 2012-2013 and before.