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Crushing the IT Gender Bias Thriving as a Woman in Technology — Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman CRUSHING THE IT GENDER BIAS THRIVING AS A WOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman Crushing the IT Gender Bias: Thriving as a Woman in Technology Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman Westminster, CO, USA ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-4414-2 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-4415-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4415-9 Copyright © 2019 by Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adapta- tion, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. 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Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the author in this book is available to readers on GitHub via the book’s product page, located at www.apress.com/ 9781484244142. For more detailed information, please visit http://www.apress.com/ source-code. Printed on acid-free paper This book is dedicated to the next generation of technology. May you look like the world and shape it to serve more of the world we live in. I also dedicate the time it took to write, my energy, and my heart that went into this book to my children—they are the reason I do everything in this world and are my legacy. Contents About the Author vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi Chapter 1: The Numbers Behind the Stories 1 Chapter 2: The Complexities Behind the Challenges for Women in Technology 15 Chapter 3: Turning Good Intentions into Positive Changes 31 Chapter 4: Knowing Your Path Is Owning Your Path 65 Chapter 5: How to Find Mentors and Secure Sponsorship 87 Chapter 6: Moving at the Speed of Light 107 Chapter 7: Stories from the Trenches 127 Chapter 8: Closure and New Beginning 153 Index 173 About the Author Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman has over two decades of technical experience and has worked for small startups as well as large companies, including Oracle and Microsoft. Kellyn is one of the most recognized women in technology in the database community and presents on deep technical topics at database, DevOps, big data, and development events. Her social media presentations and written material are well respected for her thought leadership and technical content. She is the author of four technical books and has published books and articles around diversity and inclusion. She is also a long- term mentor and sponsor of women in both the database and development communities. Acknowledgments I’d like to thank my wonderful husband, Tim Gorman, for his immense support and love. Having a partner who truly values equality in a marriage makes an incredible difference in this world. Tim, you are my partner in this trip we call life, love, and in tech. I couldn’t ask for a better person to share this journey with. I also want to thank Microsoft for demonstrating no matter how many challenges there are for diversity and inclusion, they are proof that small and real changes can make a difference. As I had started to realize that change needed to be done with those around me and no way could I change the world, Microsoft has chosen to focus on what they could change inside the company and it shows. Now that I’ve been employed with Microsoft a year and after 20 years in the industry, I’m working on a team with more than two women. It’s the first time in over 15 years. In a team of five, three are women, and two of us are in deeply technical roles. Microsoft is the one company I’ve experienced where diversity and inclusion are a higher priority everyday and part of every goal. It’s not just a check in a box. This policy to change the status quo in tech and a dedication to making a difference can bring, even for a war-worn, battle maiden like me, peace and harmony. Introduction When my career first began, I was on a team of five women Database Administrators (DBAs). Within 9 months, one of the five who was hired at the same time as I was left the industry. She was young, single, had a degree in Computer Science (CS) with a focus on database technology, and had no children. I had difficulty understanding how I, a divorced mother of three, with a young baby and no CS degree, would make it if she couldn’t. Over the next 6 years, I was too busy with my own career and raising children to notice that I’d gone from an all-female DBA team to the lone woman on the team. As my career continued to advance, my traditional idea that women were Database Administrators and men were in networking and server administration changed to a point where the cultural norm that men were in IT and women were a rarity in the industry became the reality around me. It wasn’t until an unsettling situation experienced by a peer forced me to examine what the real culprit was, and I discovered most policies around discrimination and harassment were rarely capable of deterring from gender bias impacting diversity. I felt the need to speak out, but it was clear that I needed to begin research to understand it all. Bias is a complex biological mechanism that developed historically as part of heuristics and is built out of experiences and cultural upbringing. Historically, heuristic traits are built to protect us from consuming plants that look similar to those we already know are poisonous or avoid similar environment situations that previously put us in danger. We learn by experience and example, but to do so, a human will simplify and categorize their surroundings to ease the demand for deep investigation of safety concerns. To give you a less dangerous example of how heuristics works, if I were to give you a lime, you expect to be handed a small, round, green citrus. If instead you were offered a red, fingerling lime, a banana- shaped minority of the lime family originally from Australia, a percentage of people will have great difficulty accepting the fact that it’s a lime. It doesn’t fit within their expectation of a what a lime looks like. This protective process that bias sources from has a significant purpose though, as it is used to identify environmental dangers, such as poisonous foods and physical threats, will also arise in this benign situation, resulting in a percentage of individuals reject- ing the lime that doesn’t meet their expected criteria. We are all subject to heuristics, both men and women, although some personality types are more dependent upon their heuristic tendencies. They don’t like to be outside their comfort zone, breaking with tradition or open to change. xii Introduction The overall goal of this book is If we don’t know there’s a problem, how can we fix it? As our use of heuristics is with a protective measure, it can be unconscious, and as part of bias is built off of culture and upbringing, heuristics can be integrated into our society seamlessly. A second goal of this book is to share with women in the industry insight, knowledge, and support to help them succeed. My own journey has led me to realize how difficult culture and bias are to address, let alone change, but with change can come great growth and benefits for everyone. Without this change, the tech industry’s growth is stunted; it’s unable to evolve and develop to its full potential. The products produced by a nondiverse technical industry will be limited in the ability to fulfill the needs of the customers they’re expected to represent. C H A P T E R 1 The Numbers Behind the Stories A fact is a piece of information backed by evidence and data, unlike an opinion, which is based on personal experience and views. As bias is sourced from a person’s experiences and point of view, it is only natural that some readers may doubt its existence. This chapter will include experiences, as well as the data behind them, to help us along on our journey. My Realization of Bias After I’d been in the industry for a decade, I had one of the last opportunities to work with a female peer, who we’ll call “Ann.” Ann had been my lead DBA back in 2004, and I had a great respect for her technical skills, as well as her capabilities as a leader. After I’d been a witness to her previous year filled with challenges and confusing management decisions, she was forced to leave the company we were employed at. A conflict had arisen between her and a male peer, “George,” and continued to escalate without relief from management or HR until she finally resigned. I felt helpless on how to assist her as I was friends with both individuals involved and had recommended both to their roles which lead to their employment at the company. I knew, without a doubt, I was observing George’s insecurities around Ann’s natural leadership skills. © Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman 2019 K. Pot’Vin-Gorman, Crushing the IT Gender Bias, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4415-9_1