Python is an Equal Opportunity Programming Language

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Sat, 7 May 2016 06:35 am, beliavsky at aol.com wrote:

> This not "equal opportunity". It is a quota system.

I must ask, what do you think the phrase "quota system" means?

Who is setting and enforcing this quota, and given that only about 1 in 20
Python programmers is a woman, do you think men are seriously missing out
on any opportunities?


> It's my 
> impression that in the U.S., Asians are over-represented among programmers
> relative to their share of the population and that whites and especially
> blacks are under-represented. Should we impose racial quotas on questions
> at conferences and call that "equal opportunity" as well?

I don't know. Are there systematic social forces that discourage whites or
blacks from taking up programming?

With an AOL email address, you're probably in the USA, and with an email
username like "beliavsky" I'm guessing you're probably Chinese. Nah just
kidding, you're probably of Eastern European or Russian ancestry, and
probably very white indeed.

- Do you feel systematically excluded and biased against because of your
skin colour?

- Do white-fellas like yourself find yourself repeatedly missing out on
opportunities because employers and managers bypass you as soon as they
realise you are white?

- When you do manage to find a job, do you feel that employers and managers
consistently hold you to a higher standard than your Asian colleagues,
expecting you to work twice as hard to get half the recognition?

- Do you get patronised by your colleagues because you're just a whitey?

- Do you find that there is a systematic and repeating assumption that
white-fellas like you can't program? Do people review your code with "It's
not bad, for a whitey"?

- Do you find that even when you are on an hourly rate, not a salary, you
consistently get offered lower pay for the same work as your Asian
colleagues?

- During staff meetings and conferences, do you find that your Asian
colleagues form cliques that exclude you, preventing you from establishing
the sort of networks that a professional needs?


If you can answer "Yes" to four or more of those questions, then perhaps
there is a case for something to combat the overwhelming anti-white racism
that you're suffering from.


-- 
Steven