I agree, it is a good way to determine a candidate's ability and interest in their work. It does a pretty good job of predicting if a candidate will be a good fit. The big problem is, if employers consider a lack of github to mean "this candidate does not show initiative", that's going to exclude candidates who for a variety of reasons may not be able to work on technical projects in their spare time. Those candidates are more likely to come from underrepresented groups like people of color or women, which will continue to cause our industry to lack diversity and equal opportunity.
I agree, it is a good way to determine a candidate's ability and interest in their work. It does a pretty good job of predicting if a candidate will be a good fit. The big problem is, if employers consider a lack of github to mean "this candidate does not show initiative", that's going to exclude candidates who for a variety of reasons may not be able to work on technical projects in their spare time. Those candidates are more likely to come from underrepresented groups like people of color or women, which will continue to cause our industry to lack diversity and equal opportunity.
Theres no hard evidence that underrepresented groups will lack a gh profile. Why do you say that?