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Advice On Being an Ally to Women in the Software Industry

Ben Halpern on March 08, 2019

First, a quick note about #shecoded on DEV. We're proud to be elevating voices of women in the community today, International Women's Day 2019. ...
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Desi • Edited

Thanks for posting this! I had a frustrating moment at work yesterday and when venting to a (male) co-worker afterward, his response was "yeah, I noticed that was happening." If you're a dude in tech and see female-presenting co-workers being talked over, invalidated, or anything else, that's a great moment to be an ally and call it out!

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Luciano Graziani

This is a fabulous thread for identifying wrong behaviour! twitter.com/sbarolo/status/1036685...

I too apply the "stay quite" advice. I think it helps to open your mind about other perspectives. It's a good advice to apply to other situations too!

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Ben Halpern

You learn so much by being a quiet listener!

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Jean-Michel Plourde • Edited

Follow underrepresented folks online. It's a great way to pitch in and learn about different types of personalities in the industry. Following a bunch of folks who wrote in the #SheCoded tag on DEV today is a great place to start.

I made this my mission when I joined twitter. I could have easily just follow a bunch of white men sharing the same ideas and career goals, but I decided this platform would be to follow people that are the complete opposite of me. From time to time, I had the impression that I was just seeing rants after rants and found that anoying. Then I stopped and thought: I see this frequently and repetition seems "annoying" but there is real injustices that I wasn't seeing even if they are right under my eyes.

I'm glad I did this from the start. Everyday, I'm exposed to difficult realities other have to live with, it makes me rethink how I see life with my biases and privileges.

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Judith

Your message is real and demonstrates a truly thoughtful, empathetic response to the issue of inequality. In a perfect world all men would adopt your grace and humility. I know I speak for all women by applauding your efforts.

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Ben Halpern

Thank you Liz!