The latest articles on DEV Community by Marina (@avalai). https://dev.to/avalai https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F526649%2F9d72a1d0-a0f1-4afb-b244-5e7a8a1c9350.png https://dev.to/avalai en Marina Wed, 09 Mar 2022 03:09:37 +0000 https://dev.to/avalai/women-and-diversity-in-company-culture-4p5l https://dev.to/avalai/women-and-diversity-in-company-culture-4p5l <p>For the past year, I worked at a company that grew from a small startup to a respectable mid-sized (100+) organization. The company had a positive culture at the beginning, which created a solid foundation for us. As we grew, however, we also had to put a lot of thought into growing and expanding that culture, and adding more inclusive elements. Here are a couple of the challenges we faced, and some of my thoughts as we went through them.</p> <h2> ♀️ Women in Tech ♀️ </h2> <p>Our company was very diverse overall, but still only had ~5 female developers when I left. I was asked several times by our recruiters for tips on how they could attract more female developers. I don't have a lot of advice here! I'm just a normal person. Things that are important to me in a company are things that I want to believe everyone wants: plenty of paid sick days and vacation, good medical benefits, an inclusive company culture, great people to work with.</p> <p>That being said, I <em>loved</em> working with other women in tech. We had a women in developer monthly lunch club, and a slack channel where we could support each other. We also had a company-wide women's channel and another monthly meet-up for that group. Those events were sometimes the highlight of my month, and made me feel much closer and connected to my colleagues, especially in a remote workplace.</p> <h2> 🏳️‍🌈 Pride &amp; Diversity 🏳️‍🌈 </h2> <p>Many of your colleagues may identify with a minority community, but they are <em>not</em> responsible for educating you or the rest of the company about it. Asking people to tell their story publicly is an extraordinarily personal, and in some case invasive, request.</p> <p>If you would like someone to talk to your company about inclusivity, consider options such as specifically reaching out to colleagues who regularly talk openly about the topic; paying a speaker; or even asking <em>all</em> employees to share related experiences and resources (YMMV).</p> <p>Lastly, remember that not everyone wants to talk about their gender, sexuality or culture at work. Make assumptions as little as possible. You don't need to <a href="https://twitter.com/JoAnnaScience/status/1498379199446278148">express an opinion on everything</a>. And listen to your colleagues if they are telling you that the way you're trying to help is actually harming.</p> <p>I wrote this post to contribute to dev.to's <a href="https://dev.to/shecoded"><em>Nevertheless, She Coded</em></a> initiative for 2022. My opinions are my own.</p> wecoded theycoded womenintech culture