Women in Tech Discuss the Gender Gap

Women in Tech Discuss the Gender GapWomen in Tech Discuss the Gender GapDoes all of the discussion about the gender gap in technology actually create mora challenges for women trying to make their mark in the field? We posed this question to three women in technology and also asked them to offer their insights on how companies can increase diversity in their workforce and create more inclusion.Here are their answersSheila Jordan, Chief Information Officer, Symantec Corp.Talking about the gender gap in technology helps to build awareness about the issue and thats fantastic. But I think companies need to make sure they focus first and foremost on recruiting the best people, and elend just trying to hire someone from a specific demographic group because the numbers suggest that group is underrepresented in their workforce. No professional wants to be an obligatory checkmark.The pipeline is where I think the real gap is. Not enough girls are choosing to pursue careers in technology. Add ressing that gap stspeciess with STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Symantec is very active with a number of STEM groups in Silicon Valley - Girls Who Code is one example. Were working with these groups to provide mentorship and role models, and to help showcase the art of the possible for girls who are interested in technology.There is a huge opportunity to increase that pipeline. And once that happens, employers will have a bigger and more diverse pool of qualified talent to hire from generally. That will help to close the gender gap in the technology workforce over time.Creating an environment where women can flurishThat said, companies still need to create an environment where women can flurish. In fact, I believe it is the responsibility of any company and its leadership to create an environment where all diverse thinking is heard, valued and encouraged. This goes way beyond gender. People need to be in an environment where they are comfortable and supported , and feel like they are a vital part of a bigger group working toward a common purpose.This is where technology companies - those at the forefront of innovation - really have an advantage. These are the places where technologists want to build their resume and skills, and apply what theyve learned in school or in their careers. So, if you want to recruit the best talent, period, remember that its all about the work. You need to create the vision.To my point about tech companies needing an environment where women can flourish, I would caution female candidates, as well, to make sure they apply for positions at organizations where they are most likely to thrive. If youre in a job where you love the work and youre doing really well, but you feel like people in the company are trying to change you, you might not be in the right environment. Im not talking about feedback or coaching - these things are very important because they make you better and stronger. I mean situations where y ou feel pressure to radically change who you are.Ive been fortunate that Ive had employers throughout my career that have allowed me to do my job and not lose my identity. When I walk through the doors of Symantec every morning, I am the CIO. I have a big job and a lot of responsibility. But I am also still Sheila. Im a girl, and I like to wear high-heeled shoes, lipstick and jewelry. Im not going to change - and Im not expected to.Aubrey Blanche, ?Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, AtlassianTalking about the gender gap in technology cant make the problem worse when you consider that not talking about it before didnt make it better. I do think discussing the issue is a step in the right direction, and were seeing many technology companies experimenting with solutions meant to address the gap and promote more diversity in the workplace. But I also think were just at the beginning of the journey toward making real change.At Atlassian, were taking an intersectional approach to th e way we think about diversity. We call it n-Space. The name is inspired by the non-deterministic Turing machine. In short, in the non-determinant space or n-Space, one input can have more than one valid output. So, the n-Space concept at Atlassian is that everyone has something unique about them that they bring to the company, or to their team, and we should celebrate and recognize that.Women are obviously a big focus in our diversity program, but we also try to think about the subgroups some of us occupy as well. An example would be women who are of a certain ethnicity and bring with them a particular background. Placing value on someones unique mix of personal qualities and experiences versus just categorizing them into a larger demographic group helps us to see that person as a whole person. It also aids in building empathy, which is essential to creating more diverse and inclusive teams and workplaces.Building connections to build empathyIts important for companies to create op portunities for people to see connections between themselves and others because that leads to empathy. When people have an authentic and empathetic reaction to another person, it is more likely that they will be motivated to create an inclusive environment for that person.One way we try to promote empathy in our teams is through storytelling. We provide virtual spaces where people can share their stories and perspectives, and discuss how their identities influence their experience at work and their careers. This approach has been really well-received.For example, one of our employees recently blogged about her experience returning from maternity leave - what it was like for her emotionally and the challenges she faced coming back to work. We saw this immediate outpouring of empathy from other women at Atlassian. Many said, I thought I was the only who felt that way More than that, we had many male employees who were equally supportive and said things like, I didnt realize this tran sition was so challenging. Now I know how to better support my colleagues when they return from leave.So back to the original question, I think talking about the gender gap is an important step toward building real solutions that can lead to positive change. Look at it from a product perspective We dont generally solve engineering problems by ignoring them. We identify the gaps. We identify the utilities that can improve our users experience, and we make a plan to build those features. I think we need to take a similar tack when talking about women in the workplace and trying to effectively recruit any person from a traditionally underrepresented background.Stephanie Shupe, Senior Software Engineer, Lookout, and Advisor to Women Who CodeAwareness is key in addressing the gender gap in technology. I think people generally agree there is a gender gap in the industry, and a diversity problem as well. But companies need to have specific goals around both issues if they want to make chan ge in their organization.Its about more than just looking at the overall composition of your workforce, though. You need to think about why diversity is important for the business, and whether you have the right people working on certain projects. Whatever audience you sell to or want to connect with, you need people on your product team who understand those audiences and can make sure youre developing a product that will meet their needs. If you dont have those people engaged at the product level, then youre missing the chance to grow your business.Companies also need to help their employees recognize and overcome unconscious bias - the prejudices that influence how we interact with others but often dont realize we have. Unconscious bias interferes with your ability to accept someone else without preconditions. You cant fully remove these biases, but being aware of them can help you to prevent them from interfering with your ability to collaborate or influencing your hiring.I am o n our diversity panel at Lookout. One way our company is working to keep unconscious bias in check when recruiting talent is by using a hiring panel composed of about six to eight people. We try to assemble a group of employees who are not only demographically diverse, but who can bring different qualities and perspectives to the hiring process. The whole panel needs to agree on a hire. If someone does not agree with a decision, the group needs to analyze the situation and ensure there is a legitimate issue and not a case of unconscious bias.Addressing two significant issuesThese are just examples of small steps that can help to close the gender gap and increase diversity in our industry. There are two bigger issues that need to be addressed, however, before I think youll see real change.One is that we need to keep girls engaged in STEM. Too many drop off the STEM track in middle school or high school - even in college. If they dont schliff their learning in STEM, its hard to get t hem to the point where we can hire them. So, there is definitely a pipeline issue.There is also a retention problem. Many women leave the workforce to have a child, or to stay at home while their children are very young, and then, given the very rapid change that occurs in the IT industry, they struggle to come back. Companies really need to do a better job of supporting women when they make a major life choice.I do think we are starting to see change, though. One thing that keeps me positive is how much the Women Who Code community has grown - and how it keeps expanding. It shows me that while there may be few women working in engineering or other technology roles within individual companies, together, we are a huge contingent.

How to accept reality without giving up your dreams

How to accept reality without giving up your dreamsHow to accept reality without giving up your dreamsIt is what it is. Itll become what you make of it. - old proverbWhatever we resist, persists.Most people dont want to be where they are?- ?they are not comfortable in their own lives.Whatever we fight, we make it stronger. What seems nasty or painful can be a burden or a source of growth. Being at war with reality is a choice?- ?you became a casualty or make peace with life.Acceptance is giving up the fight, not your dreams.Acceptance is anything but passiveA weed is but an unloved flower.? Ella Wheeler WilcoxMany people confuse acceptance with resignation. They believe it means lowering their bar, stop caring or just quitting. On the contrary, you cant improve something you dont fully accept first.Acceptance is experiencing life fully, without resistance. You stop trying to change what you cant control. And, instead, focus on what you can yourself.As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrot e, For, after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain. Acceptance is recognizing that it might rain whether you like it or not. An umbrella can keep you dry, but you cant stop the rain.Noah Rasheta uses Tetris as an analogy to explain how people deal with reality. To win, we must position the piece that comes next in the best way possible. We cant choose their shapes though?- ?we must adapt to whatever piece the game throws at us.When we try to control the game, we get stuck. Thats not the shape I was expecting. Thats not the one I need You dont win on Tetris by yelling but by positioning the pieces the best way possible. What you do matters more than how you emotionally react?- ?a lot like life.We get paralyzed when things dont go as planned- we see things through a lens of anger and fear. Acceptance helps us neutralize frustration. It gives us permission. Instead of getting stuck fighting reality, we jump into action.Acceptance is a choice?- ?you decide t o play with the pieces you get instead of expecting them to have a different shape.That doesnt mean condoning harmful situations. You simply recognize that you are in a specific situation but must choose what you are going to do with it. Acceptance is not passive behavior?- ?when you struggle against the pain you create unnecessary suffering. Most people fail to change because they start from the wrong place. You cant improve yourself, your workplace or relationships, if you dont accept your current state first.When we accept what it is, we gain clarity?- ?we focus on whats under our control. You work on what youll make of something rather than wishing something else to happen.Acceptance is not surrendering your dreams but to stop fighting a pointless war with life.The opposite of acceptance is avoidanceThe first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. - Nathaniel BrandenMost of our trouble is self-inflicted?- ?we keep expecting things to be different, versu s accepting them as they are. Thats why we are always trying to change other people too.We avoid the truth of life things are not under our control. We are not perfect. We cant change others. We cant control the future. We cant change the past. We cant expect people to think or react as we would. We will all die. When we accept this universal truth its easier to accept simpler matters.Acceptance is letting go of the need of control.You cant face what you dont understand. You cant act on what you fail to see either. The first of the twelve steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous program is admitting that we cannot control our addictions. Acceptance requires courage?- ?you must confront, not avoid, yourself.To accept reality, we must experience it first.Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) describes our mind as a herausforderung-solving machine.A problem is something unwanted?- ?we find a solution to get rid of it. Experiential avoidance is escaping from our thoughts, feelings, memories, and other undesired experiences?- ?even if that harms us in the long-run.For example, take the case of a leader whos not getting the results promised to his/her stakeholders. Acceptance means acknowledging that he/she must either adjust the forecast or change the strategy. Sticking to the same plan is avoidance?- ?to keep acting as if everything is fine.Mindfulness expert Tara Brach defines acceptance as recognizing the truth of this moment without resistance.Acceptance in ACT means opening up?- ?we make room for uncomfortable experiences such as feeling, sensations, urges, or emotions. We give them some breathing space and allow them to be as they are. We dont resist the truth of the moment.Opening up doesnt mean liking everything but not running away from what we dislike. To accept the actual feelings you have about a situation. You are open to experience it fully. When you take things as they are, you can choose a wise response over an emotionally charged reaction.Eckhart Tolle said , Always say yes to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? Surrender to what is. Say yes to life?- ?and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.Trying to suppress our internal experience?- ?in response to suffering?- ?is the opposite of acceptance. Saying yes to reality is not resignation. You confront the piece instead of complaining because you expected a different shape.Appreciation is focusing on your potential?- ?when you stop fighting reality, life starts working for you.Surrender to the momentSometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and become comfortable with not knowing. - Eckhart TolleHow do we transition from resistance to acceptance?We must surrender.Thats what Eckhart Tolle, the most popular spiritual author as per The New York Times, recommends. We must get past the like-dislike reactive relationship with reality. To allow the moment to be as it is. Re sisting reality adds stress to our lives.Are you creating unnecessary conflict between the inner and external world?Most people dont want to be where they are, according to Tolle. We dont want to be in traffic jams, airport security checkpoints or toxic workplaces, to name a few. Sometimes, walking out is a good option. But, constant escapism is dysfunctional?- ?we turn avoidance into a habit.Surrender means transitioning from resistance to acceptance?- ?we say yes to life.We realize that living is less painful when we dont expect specific things to happen in the future. We focus on doing our best with the pieces we receive. We stop defining ourselves in good-or-bad terms. And make space to observe what is.If you dont surrender to the moment, you will surrender your happiness. You cant appreciate what you have if you are always fighting reality.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) uses the term Defusion to describe the ability to separate ourselves from our thoughts. We must lear n to observe our thoughts, not to see life through them?- ?acceptance is gaining clarity by removing the fog.To surrender means accepting this moment, not the story you tell yourself about this moment. You cultivate the ability to face difficult thoughts and emotions in the service of achieving what you want the most.Stop asking why is this happening to me? Instead, focus on what you can do with what you have. When you stop placing impossible demands on your life, everything becomes more satisfying, more peaceful?- ?you dont need to be at war with reality.Acceptance is a skill that requires practice. You still will feel frustration or disappointment, but you wont additional and unnecessary pain. Practicing acceptance in everyday situations will help you prepare to accept more challenging ones.Surrender to the moment but dont give up winning the game of life.Gustavo Razzetti is a change instigator that helps people and organizations create positive change. He is on a mission to help 1,000,000 people become the best version of themselves.This article first appeared on Medium.

How to Write a Bestselling Subtitle

How to Write a Bestselling SubtitleHow to Write a Bestselling SubtitleBook subtitles- like book titles- are book marketing tools. But how does a book title help market and sell a book? A books subtitle shores up the book title and helps tell the reader what to expect to get inside the book.Even if youve written a great title for your book, a subtitle can provide more pertinent information to help draw the reader in and prompt him or herbei to open the book, learn more, and, hopefully, buy it. Subtitles Support the Book Title Subtitles are used to clarify or expand on the title of a non-fiction book. Titles that involve unfamiliar terms, or that obliquely reference book contents with jargon or a lyrical passage generally benefit from a strong, clear subtitle. While there are exceptions,novels dont usually employ subtitles. Examples of Great Titles and Subtitles Here are some examples of booktitles and their subtitles. Note how each title is further explained by itssubtitle and how the intended reader might be more inclined to be interested in the book as a result SEAL Team SixAt first glance, a reader seeing this on a bookstore table might mistake it for a book about aquatic mammals. The full title and subtitle,SEAL Team SixMemoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper, providesis a case in which the subtitle elaborates on the potentially unfamiliar or confusing terminology in the title.A Clearing in the Distance The book title is a lovely but not-very-explanatory line taken from the book. WithA Clearing in the Distance The Biography of Frederick Law Olmstead,the subtitle explains what the book is- an account of the life of the famed landscape architect. The Millionaire Next Door The title is intriguing, but it could be a memoir by Donald Trumps neighbor. With its subtitle,The Millionaire Next Door The Surprising Secrets of Americas Wealthy,the book has mass appeal. Who wouldnt want to know those secrets?Eat, Pray, LoveBefore she wrote this huge best-seller, Eliz abeth Gilberts wasnt a known quantity and her books title wasnt very explanatory. The audience of food-, spiritual fulfillment-, love-, and travel-longing women could more identify withEat, Pray, Love One Womans Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia. The early readers who wanted to share that journey from their armchairs helped to jumpstart the word of mouth. The book went on to sell gazillions, was made into a movie, and even inspired its own spin-offs. As a result of the fame, the 10th Anniversary Edition doesnt include the subtitle. It doesnt need to, anymore. When a Title Doesnt Need a Subtitle While even a very book good title can benefit from the further explanation a subtitle provides, some titles need no additional explanation. Some examples of situations when books dont need a subtitle are When the author is a household name or a celebrity Readers might assume thatYes, Pleaseis a book on manners...except that famous actress, writer, and comedian Amy Poehler is pictured smack dab on the book jacketalong with her name.When an author is famous in his or her fieldThe bookJohn Adamswas written by an extremely well known and identifiable biographer, David McCullough. Theres no subtitle on the jacket the book needs no additional information because McCulloughs name is enough to sell the book to his large audience. When the book is a novelFiction books generally do not have subtitles. What Makes a Good Subtitle? Here are some hints for writing a good subtitle Dont duplicate ideas A good subtitleaddsto the information provided in the title it shouldnt repeat it. Cover space islimited maximize the power of the title and subtitle combination.Consider using keywordsKeywords are important online book marketing tools. Keywords help search engines match your book with readers and help readers discover your bookand, for that reason, keywords might be helpful in the subtitle.Explain clearly While there is leeway with the title, the subtitle shouldnt be fanciful or jargony. Be succinct A subtitle isnt an excuse to ramble. Be as succinct as possible when expressing the idea that supports the title.