Alex Qin, Founder of The Code Cooperative, talks with Lisa Martin & John Troyer at DockerCon 2018 in San Francisco, CA. #DockerCon #theCUBE https://siliconangle.com/2018/07/02/disillusioned-programmer-fights-empathy-ethical-responsibility-tech-dockercon/ Disillusioned programmer fights for empathy, ethical responsibility in tech The technology sector’s diversity problem has long been under scrutiny, yet it has managed to persist for decades as the industry experiences exponential growth through the proliferation of data and rapid consumer adoption. Despite both the ethical issues around tech’s lack of inclusion and the proven benefits of workforce diversity, women, people of color,\ and gender non-conforming individuals remain significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. As tech’s impact scales, so does the danger of its unchecked homogeny, the ramifications of which can be seen vividly at both an individual and societal level. “When it comes to building technology, right now the gatekeepers of tech are kind of a homogenous group [who] build tech solutions for the entire world,” said Alex Qin (pictured), director of technology at Gakko Inc. “But actually, the people who are best equipped to solve problems are those who have experienced them.” Qin recently sat down with Lisa Martin, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, and guest host John Troyer, chief reckoner at TechReckoning, during the DockerCon event in San Francisco. With the insights gained from persevering through a career rife with prejudice, Qin is creating opportunities for marginalized groups to help close tech’s diversity gaps — and introduce some much-needed empathy into the powerfully trendsetting industry. This week, theCUBE spotlights Alex Qin in its Women in Tech feature. ‘Tech isn’t the meritocracy that I thought it was’ When Qin initially joined her college’s engineering program with dreams of becoming an astronaut, she immediately fell in love with programming, despite the ever-present awareness that she was in the minority. “As I entered the computer science world I realized … there’s not that many women here, and actually I’m treated very differently. … Because I loved it so much, I just kind of powered through,” she said. In the academic and professional career that followed, Qin faced aggressive pushback to her progress from both teachers and contemporaries who constantly questioned her knowledge and abilities, and objectified her. “People didn’t necessarily want to work with me, didn’t believe I was a good programmer, even though I was at the top of all my classes. … I couldn’t really escape the stigma attached to my gender in this field,” she said. In her talk at DockerCon, entitled “Shaving My Head Made Me a Better Programmer,” Qin relays the appalling instances of sexual harassment and assault she’s experienced from men in tech throughout her career. After a number of incidents, one of her teams even decided Qin should be accompanied by a male chaperone at conferences to prevent against the targeted abuse she was receiving — a generosity laced with indignity for the professional. “Nowhere felt safe. Not my job, not the tech world, not even code. … All this happened by age 22. I was one year into my career … just trying to do my job. … I seriously considered quitting programming and becoming one of the 50 percent of women in software who leave at some point in their career,” she said. In an effort to forge a community and find ways to combat these issues, Qin began meeting with other women in the field who offered advice that included shaving her head to repress the physical femininity that appeared to be hindering her. The haircut succeeded in curbing her objectification, and for the first time Qin’s skills were valued by the industry at large, concretely proving her theory that the issue was rooted in the heavily biased perceptions pervasive in tech. The revelation that these challenges were systemic encouraged Qin to build a new mission through tech.“When I realized that tech isn’t the meritocracy that I thought it was, I started on this new quest to make tech as diverse and inclusive as possible so that people from all backgrounds, all genders can learn to code … happily and safely,” she said. Encouraging students to build tech for a better world A homogenous workforce leads to dangerous blindspots, both in industry culture and the products and services it creates. While tech’s impact is scaling globally its internal representation remains shockingly low, an oversight that must be corrected to ensure corporate responsibility, according to Qin. ... Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the DockerCon event: