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)
101: A Difficult Conversation with Sonia Gupta
02:02 – Sonia’s Superpower: Talking about white supremacy and dealing with the fallout.
05:27 – Feeling Rightness and Motivation to Stand Up for Your Beliefs
10:15 – Seeing Your Advocacy and Efforts Make a Difference
12:17 – When People Disagree
16:26 – Ingroup vs Outgroup Empathy
21:17 – Intersectionality
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
26:07 – Navigating Situations with Empathy
28:25 – Staying In Your Own Lane While Advocating For and Amplifying Others
35:39 – Educating Yourself About Race
So You Want to Talk About Race
Other Resources from Sonia:
- Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
- The History of White People
- Damon Jones on racism
- Adrian Jackson on "not all white people"
38:39 – Doing The Work
Reflections:
Jessica: The place for these conversations is not Twitter!
Coraline: Personalizing advocacy.
Jamey: Our advocacy is powerful because it comes from a place of passion.
John: The fixed vs growth mindset in regards to racism.
Sonia: We can all be advocates and we can all be actors.
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Special Guest: Sonia Gupta.