Table Of ContentCrushing the
IT Gender Bias
Thriving as a Woman
in Technology
—
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman
CRUSHING THE IT
GENDER BIAS
THRIVING AS A WOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman
Crushing the IT Gender Bias: Thriving as a Woman in Technology
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman
Westminster, CO, USA
ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-4414-2 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-4415-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4415-9
Copyright © 2019 by Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman
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Printed on acid-free paper
This book is dedicated to the next generation of
technology. May you look like the world and shape it
to serve more of the world we live in.
I also dedicate the time it took to write, my energy,
and my heart that went into this book to
my children—they are the reason I do everything
in this world and are my legacy.
Contents
About the Author vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Chapter 1: The Numbers Behind the Stories 1
Chapter 2: The Complexities Behind the Challenges for Women in
Technology 15
Chapter 3: Turning Good Intentions into Positive Changes 31
Chapter 4: Knowing Your Path Is Owning Your Path 65
Chapter 5: How to Find Mentors and Secure Sponsorship 87
Chapter 6: Moving at the Speed of Light 107
Chapter 7: Stories from the Trenches 127
Chapter 8: Closure and New Beginning 153
Index 173
About the Author
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman has over two
decades of technical experience and has worked
for small startups as well as large companies,
including Oracle and Microsoft. Kellyn is one
of the most recognized women in technology
in the database community and presents on
deep technical topics at database, DevOps, big
data, and development events. Her social media
presentations and written material are well
respected for her thought leadership and tech-
nical content. She is the author of four techni-
cal books and has published books and articles
around diversity and inclusion. She is also a long-
term mentor and sponsor of women in both the
database and development communities.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my wonderful husband, Tim Gorman, for his immense support
and love. Having a partner who truly values equality in a marriage makes an
incredible difference in this world. Tim, you are my partner in this trip we call
life, love, and in tech. I couldn’t ask for a better person to share this journey
with.
I also want to thank Microsoft for demonstrating no matter how many chal-
lenges there are for diversity and inclusion, they are proof that small and real
changes can make a difference. As I had started to realize that change needed
to be done with those around me and no way could I change the world,
Microsoft has chosen to focus on what they could change inside the company
and it shows.
Now that I’ve been employed with Microsoft a year and after 20 years in
the industry, I’m working on a team with more than two women. It’s the first
time in over 15 years. In a team of five, three are women, and two of us are in
deeply technical roles. Microsoft is the one company I’ve experienced where
diversity and inclusion are a higher priority everyday and part of every goal.
It’s not just a check in a box. This policy to change the status quo in tech and
a dedication to making a difference can bring, even for a war-worn, battle
maiden like me, peace and harmony.
Introduction
When my career first began, I was on a team of five women Database
Administrators (DBAs). Within 9 months, one of the five who was hired at
the same time as I was left the industry. She was young, single, had a degree
in Computer Science (CS) with a focus on database technology, and had no
children. I had difficulty understanding how I, a divorced mother of three, with
a young baby and no CS degree, would make it if she couldn’t.
Over the next 6 years, I was too busy with my own career and raising children
to notice that I’d gone from an all-female DBA team to the lone woman on
the team. As my career continued to advance, my traditional idea that women
were Database Administrators and men were in networking and server
administration changed to a point where the cultural norm that men were
in IT and women were a rarity in the industry became the reality around me.
It wasn’t until an unsettling situation experienced by a peer forced me to
examine what the real culprit was, and I discovered most policies around
discrimination and harassment were rarely capable of deterring from gender
bias impacting diversity. I felt the need to speak out, but it was clear that I
needed to begin research to understand it all. Bias is a complex biological
mechanism that developed historically as part of heuristics and is built out
of experiences and cultural upbringing. Historically, heuristic traits are built
to protect us from consuming plants that look similar to those we already
know are poisonous or avoid similar environment situations that previously
put us in danger. We learn by experience and example, but to do so, a human
will simplify and categorize their surroundings to ease the demand for deep
investigation of safety concerns. To give you a less dangerous example of how
heuristics works, if I were to give you a lime, you expect to be handed a small,
round, green citrus. If instead you were offered a red, fingerling lime, a banana-
shaped minority of the lime family originally from Australia, a percentage of
people will have great difficulty accepting the fact that it’s a lime. It doesn’t fit
within their expectation of a what a lime looks like. This protective process
that bias sources from has a significant purpose though, as it is used to identify
environmental dangers, such as poisonous foods and physical threats, will also
arise in this benign situation, resulting in a percentage of individuals reject-
ing the lime that doesn’t meet their expected criteria. We are all subject to
heuristics, both men and women, although some personality types are more
dependent upon their heuristic tendencies. They don’t like to be outside their
comfort zone, breaking with tradition or open to change.
xii Introduction
The overall goal of this book is If we don’t know there’s a problem, how
can we fix it? As our use of heuristics is with a protective measure, it can be
unconscious, and as part of bias is built off of culture and upbringing, heuristics
can be integrated into our society seamlessly. A second goal of this book is
to share with women in the industry insight, knowledge, and support to help
them succeed.
My own journey has led me to realize how difficult culture and bias are to
address, let alone change, but with change can come great growth and benefits
for everyone. Without this change, the tech industry’s growth is stunted; it’s
unable to evolve and develop to its full potential. The products produced by a
nondiverse technical industry will be limited in the ability to fulfill the needs of
the customers they’re expected to represent.
C H A P T E R
1
The Numbers
Behind the
Stories
A fact is a piece of information backed by evidence and data, unlike an opinion,
which is based on personal experience and views. As bias is sourced from a
person’s experiences and point of view, it is only natural that some readers
may doubt its existence. This chapter will include experiences, as well as the
data behind them, to help us along on our journey.
My Realization of Bias
After I’d been in the industry for a decade, I had one of the last opportunities
to work with a female peer, who we’ll call “Ann.” Ann had been my lead DBA
back in 2004, and I had a great respect for her technical skills, as well as her
capabilities as a leader. After I’d been a witness to her previous year filled with
challenges and confusing management decisions, she was forced to leave the
company we were employed at. A conflict had arisen between her and a male
peer, “George,” and continued to escalate without relief from management
or HR until she finally resigned. I felt helpless on how to assist her as I was
friends with both individuals involved and had recommended both to their
roles which lead to their employment at the company. I knew, without a doubt,
I was observing George’s insecurities around Ann’s natural leadership skills.
© Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman 2019
K. Pot’Vin-Gorman, Crushing the IT Gender Bias, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4415-9_1
