Eleven years of FFconf, and what hasn't changed (1m03s)

Amina opens by noting how much the web has changed in the eleven years FFconf has run — half the world now online, Chrome and the iPhone, mobile-first as a norm — and how little the industry's diversity has changed in the same period.

"11 years ago about one quarter of the global population were active internet users... today that's more than doubled to around half the world"

"it's been five years since the most well-known tech companies first released diversity reports"

"despite their business successes, none of these big tech companies has made much progress in diversifying their workforces"

The diversity numbers (2m39s)

Apple's technical staff went from 20% women in 2014 to 23% in 2018; Google moved its Black technical share by less than a percentage point; Facebook's Hispanic share moved by 0.1%. UK computer-science graduates were 80% male this September — and one US facial-recognition system misidentified Black faces 5–10× more often than white ones.

"we have a persistent and structural problem with diversity in our engineering community"

"the share of US technical employees who are Black rose by less than a percentage point since 2014"

"a US government study found a top-performing system misidentified Black people five to ten times more than white"

A call to action (6m22s)

This talk is unapologetically a call to action: you have the power to make the web a better place by opening the door for new developers, in a way that fits your schedule and benefits you as well as them.

"this dear friends is a call to action — in no uncertain terms I am asking for your help"

"I want to convince you that you have the power to make the web a better place"

"there's something that everyone can give in a way that is convenient and beneficial to all"

My personal story (11m18s)

She worked in finance and investment across sub-Saharan Africa, had a baby, suffered chronic sleep deprivation and depression, and pivoted: typing work from home into Google revealed that 80% of the appealing jobs were software-engineering roles. She didn't know any engineers — except one school contact in Jordan from fifteen years earlier, who introduced her to a developer mother, who became the start of the kindness chain that carried her into the field.

"I called upon our dear friend Google and typed 'work from home' into the search engine"

"80% of the jobs that looked attractive to me were for software engineers — the only problem was I didn't know any"

"this theme of receiving help from strangers who didn't ask for anything of me in return has been the theme of my journey"

Bootcamps vs the self-taught route (16m36s)

A bootcamp in London costs around £8,000, plus the opportunity cost of not working, plus childcare for new parents — excluding most of the people the industry says it wants to bring in. The self-taught route is cheaper but you have to find your own teachers, your own peers, your own structured curriculum and, hardest of all, your own first job.

"people from underrepresented groups are not going to enter our industry as mid-level developers... they are going to come in as entry-level and junior developers"

"bootcamps cost money — around £8,000 for one in London. And there's also the opportunity cost of not working for the duration of the bootcamp"

"I couldn't have done it without the kindness shown to me by developers willing to give their time for free"

The tech-interview problem (21m43s)

Junior job adverts demand commercial experience in several languages, frameworks and tools. Take-home tests cover computer-science fundamentals irrelevant to the role and arrive on a Friday expecting a Monday return without asking whether the candidate can spare the weekend. The industry needs a recruitment revolution.

"tech interviews and recruitment processes are often flawed and can discriminate against those from unconventional backgrounds"

"one HR recruiter I interacted with gave me a technical test on Friday, and without asking any questions, expected it back on Monday"

"we need nothing short of a recruitment revolution in our industry"

What professional developers can give (24m19s)

A non-conventional route into tech is challenging, and you are the bridge. Even if you've been coding one month you can help someone who started two weeks ago. The chain effect is real — every mentor she had was paid for by someone they mentored later. And teaching forces you to consolidate your own knowledge.

"change is in your hands... I am here because professional developers like you gave me their time, energy, and support for free"

"even if you have been coding for just one month, you have something to give"

"the best senior developers are the ones who can empower and enable their teams"

Concrete ways to help (28m00s)

A menu of options: codebar / Code First Girls / Exercism for pairing and code review; LinkedIn DMs from people who already work where the candidate is applying; Medium posts, Twitter threads, YouTube videos, livestreamed office hours; conference buddy schemes; the Pac-Man rule of leaving a gap in your conversation circle so a newcomer can join.

"Exercism, which I am a huge fan of — mentors offer code reviews on submitted coding challenges, I've often found the mentors go above and beyond"

"I recently learned about the Pac-Man rule — this is where you keep an opening in your physical circle in the group you're speaking with to show that anyone is welcome to join your conversation"

"you can help with this by being a great open source citizen... giving positive and constructive code reviews, keeping documentation up to date, offering help to new contributors"

Anticipated objections (33m22s)

I'm too busy — do something tiny regularly, like a Monday-morning Twitter DM checking in on a mentee. I've only been coding a month, I don't know enough — you do, and Google fills in the rest. I don't know where to start — pick anything from the menu and try it; the important thing is to begin.

"do something really small, regularly"

"some of my most enjoyable moments are pairing with someone when we both don't know the language we're coding in"

"I invite you to be part of the solution"

To engineering managers and budget holders (35m27s)

Most "junior" job postings demand commercial experience and are not actually entry-level. Truly entry-level schemes (the Guardian's Digital Fellowship, 8th Light, Sky, BBC) need to be the norm not the exception. Plan for a 3:1 senior-to-junior ratio, give time-in-lieu to engineers who volunteer at meetups, run monthly office hours, sponsor diversity scholarships, lend out office space.

"expecting diversity statistics to change in our industry without creating an open door is doomed to fail"

"let's also note that we cannot hire juniors without putting in place proper support frameworks"

"if your engineers volunteer at a meetup in the evening, let them have the equivalent amount of time off the next day"