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It takes courage and determination to succeed in a career
where only a handful of workers look like you, talk like you and think like
you.
It takes more courage to pursue and attain high-level positions
historically held by people of a certain race or gender. In my opinion, the
reasons why it is so difficult to succeed in these kinds of professions are
two-fold.
The Decision-Makers Align with “Familiar” Ground
Imagine you have a vehicle and it dies on the road one day.
The vehicle is, say, a Ford truck. You have an interview for a new job position
in a couple of days and decide it is time to buy a new vehicle. This truck
drove you from point A to point B with very little problems, but you do not
have time to get it fixed. No one will be able to take you to the interview on
that day, and there are no Ubers or Lyfts anywhere near you. You need a vehicle
now, so you get a ride from a friend or family member to a dealership. I forgot
to mention that the Ford truck that just gave up on you is not the first you
had. As a matter of fact, your last two vehicles were Ford trucks that lasted
for a combined total of 18 years. This most recent Ford truck drove with very
little problems for the last eight years. So, Ford trucks have been treating
you well. Though you might have enough money to buy, say, a Mercedes sedan or a
BMW, you will likely not buy those cars. You probably would not want to
downsize to a Ford GT or Ford Focus just because it is faster or more fuel
efficient. Why? Trucks have been treating you well thus far. There is no reason
for you to try anything else. Also, you do have an interview in a couple of
days, so you will likely want to stick with what you know.
Keep in mind, this is only an example. I’m not equating
people to cars. I’m also not advertising for Ford. This car can be any popular
brand you like – Chrysler, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Honda, Alpha Romeo, whatever. It
doesn’t have to be a truck either. The reason for this analogy is to stress
that decision-makers will likely go with what has been working for them in the
past. This is especially true for companies that have lasted for many years
(some spanning decades) and have built an impressive reputation within that
time. The decision-makers at the higher-levels of these kinds of companies have
likely hired and managed one type of person. Unless faced with pressure or some
drastic situation that would cause them to re-evaluate themselves, they will
likely continue hiring these types of candidates even though more qualified
candidates might exist. This brings me to the other reason why succeeding in
these kinds of professions is incredibly difficult for certain minorities.
The Support, Though Present, Is Not Willing
Simply put, the employees who could push for a more diverse
workplace are either small or are not willing to. By the way, when I say
‘employees’, I mean every worker from the janitor to the CEO. In my opinion,
diversity reflects an active culture. This means employees are willing to do
all they physically (and legally) can to get their points across. Participating
in surveys, attending social parties, etc. are all ways to bring exposure to
certain company issues, including a more diverse workplace ranging from the
janitor to the CEO. However, if employees within a company are tight-lipped, upper-management
won’t budge. Game-changers and innovators would, therefore, have to find other
ways to make themselves noticeable.
It is from these high-pressure and slowly-changing
environments that diamonds are formed. One such diamond is the subject of
today’s spotlight of Immigrant Pride:
Nigeria – Ms. Yetunde Sanni. Ms. Sanni is the shining example of curiosity,
determination and focus. I highly encourage my viewers to read a piece from Ms.
Sanni on TechPoint.ng called “The
joys and struggles of being a Female Nigerian Developer”. It does not
matter if you are already a lady developer, or an aspiring lady developer.
There are many points Ms. Sanni highlights that you can use to improve your
presence in the workplace.
As a young lady growing up in crowded Lagos, the
once-capital of Nigeria, she decided to become a computer scientist, so she could use her
knowledge to solve the city’s traffic problem. 1 She took coding to
heart and participated in multiple computer science events, hosted seminars and
held talks.1 What really touches me, and what I believe speaks to
her focus as a professional computer scientist, is her indifference in how she
operates in what she calls the ‘brogrammer’ culture.1 Whether she is
in a company of all men or all women, her work ethic is exactly the same. This
is a model anyone can adopt – man or woman.
Her professionalism in the workplace is equally matched by
her activism and advocacy for equal opportunity and participation for lady software
developers and programmers aspiring to enter, and already are in, the industry.
She co-founded Tech-in-Pink with another African, lady programmer, Ms.
Gertrude Nyenyeshi. I look forward to talking about her when we launch Immigrant Pride: Kenya. I urge all of
you to check out the website. She posts blogs where she provides tips on certain
coding problems, hosts chats and encourages networking amongst lady developers
of different backgrounds.2 You can find more information on the
site’s About page.
It is from the efforts of innovators and inspirations, like Ms.
Sanni, that diversity in workplace will become a reality and will span the
entirety of the tech industry from low-paying to high-level managerial
positions. Through her active participation in diversifying the workplace with
qualified lady developers, she is effectively strengthening the foundation for all
minorities to succeed. Her attitude towards work and active participation in
making a more diverse workplace possible, is something that any minority, whether
man or woman, can adopt. Therefore, The Modern Youth chooses to honor Ms. Yetunde Sanni as this week’s face of Immigrant Pride: Nigeria.
Now is time for the music/movie version of the post. When I
was looking for Nigerian artists, I was touched by a music video from one such
Nigerian artist who took a more traditional, theatrical approach to portraying
the issues young, ambitious women face during the preliminary stages of their
careers. The artist’s name is Lindsay Abudei. The music video is based on her
song, “Out the Magazine”. I really liked it and I know you will, too. Enjoy!
Lindsey
Abudei. | Out The Magazine(Official Video) Lindsey Abudei. | Out The
Magazine(Official Video)
Special thanks to Devcenter
for their article of ”10
Female Nigerian Developers You Should Follow”, as the article helped me
locate Ms. Sanni. Also, thanks to Lindsey
Abudei for sharing such a beautiful music video. Kudos to all those
involved. Feel free to like, share and comment on the video on its official page. Finally, don't forget to vote for Immigrant Pride's next land of origin responsible for the world's current and future immigrant inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. Until next time….
Related Posts:
Kicking off M.Y. Immigrant Pride: Celebrating Immigrant Contributions to Society
Immigrant Pride, Nigeria: Dr. Seyi Oyesola, Cobhams Asuquo, Bringing the Operating Room to Ordinary People
"Forget" by Pogo: A Song of My Childhood
References:
1 Sanni, Yetunde. “The joys and struggles of
being a Female Nigerian Developer”. Techpoint.ng.
Created: December 28th 2015.
Accessed: March, 20th 2018.
2 “About”. Tech
In Pink. Accessed: March, 20th 2018. http://techinpink.com/about/
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