Thread by @swardley

When it comes to diversity, I am not convinced we have a "pipeline" problem. Instead I am far more convinced that we have inclusion and retention problems. I can't help but suspect the "pipeline" argument seems to be used as an excuse for not tackling the real issues ...

... it seems remarkably convenient for the existing structures that the argument for a lack of women in senior tech positions is to blame women for the "lack of women wanting to be engineers" ... I personally think the pipeline argument is mostly nonsense used to hide the ...

... issue that women tend to leave the IT industry because it's frankly sexist, not inclusive and the effort does not seem to be put into redressing this inbalance beyond tickbox exercises on characteristics.

I don't buy into the "experience" argument especially given my understanding of situational awareness in exec circles. To be frank, I've had enough of inaction. I take a view that all companies should have 50% representation in all executive positions in 12 months or be delisted.

I prefer the Norway model, take immediate Gov action to redress the obvious inbalance and allow the system to resettle over a few decades to the new norm based around inclusion rather than spend a few decades fiddling with pipelines whilst inclusion and retention issues continue.

However, I do think a pipeline argument can be created over the issue of poverty because we seem to have been actively excluding people especially in this isolation economy due to lack of Government support. But that is a seperate issue. Don't mix your discriminations.

Use appropriate methods based on context. For some discrimination tackle retention and inclusion. My preferred approach is a shock to the system and letting it reset over time. For social discrimination we need to tackle support and inequality i.e. UBI, nationalised services.

X : What about cultural fit?
Me : Arghhh. Culture, the word that anthropologists can't agree on the meaning of despite one hundred years of discussion used as a hand wavy excuse for inaction? Make my blood boil why don't you ...

... ok, home truth time. You want to know my prejudices? In my experience, men don't reach emotional maturity until they are in their late 30s / 40s ... sometimes later, sometimes never. I suspect it's why we end up with leaders who often seem to act like kids.

For me, men in leadership positions should be the exception not the rule. I view our system as being messed up, an artificial construct reinforcing past privileges. I am not surprised that our environment is a disaster ... that's what happens when kids run the place.

If we let the Wee Lad run our home, it would be mess, a half completed spaceship with life size statues of captain underpants and chocolate fountains everywhere. I can't help but notice similarities when I look at society from moonshots to statues to vanity grand projects.