For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
161: Making Space with Bärí A. Williams
01:48 - Bärí’s Superpower: Being a Black Woman
05:20/22:50 - Admitting and Knowing What You Don’t Know
- Intersectionality and Culture
10:00 - Born and Raised in Oakland
- Gentrification
- What is the Deficit of the City
- Being Connected to Your Roots
19:30 - Unintended Consequences
- Building Algorithms That Fact Check
- You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
- Facts Are Not Facts Anymore
- Tutorial to Boy Scouts About Getting Stopped by Police
- Keeping the Kids Alive
33:15 - Where is the Light (In the Technology)
- Technology is the Mirror of the People Creating It
- Creating an Open Space
- Prioritizing Important Events
42:34 - Getting Organizations to Buy Into the Open Space Concept
48:50 - Who’s Job is it to Educate the Children About Bias
- Allyship
- Seeing White Podcast
58:47 - Diversity or Inclusion
- Lagging Metric or Leading Metric
- Draw People In With Inclusion
01:03:59 - Taking Space and Making Space
Reflections:
Arty: Multigenerational roots, becoming your own being, being raised to be proud of yourself and say what you think. Be the roots for the people around you. There has been a loss of grounding.
Chanté: Bärí is the real deal. It takes only a few to change history. Being real is valuable.
Jacob: Wants his son to know that he won’t have to worry when being pulled over, and he should be troubled by that fact.
Bärí: What do you connect to, who do you connect to? What and who are you thankful for? Think about that.
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Special Guest: Bärí A. Williams.
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