A Little Story by Yours Truly

My third fiction publication is up today at Daily Science Fiction!

Topically, this is a departure from my other stories. It's not science fiction by any definition. It's fantasy - or magical realism or slipstream - whatever subgenre label you'd like to apply is welcome. Sometimes it's fun to let my imagination run wild, free of natural science constraints. This one defies any known physics or biology, but it explores related themes that fascinate me.

Immortality. Knowledge. Free will. 

These ideas are pertinent to our future, especially as data and analysis at high levels (World of Watson) becomes prevalent and accessible by a majority of people, and of course, if the singularity takes us all into the cloud. When death isn't on the line, and every detail of your life is perfectly known and recorded, what will you do to make your future interesting?

 

The Green Elephant

I've been reading a lot lately about the lack of diversity in STEM-based jobs and entrepreneurial ventures, and what to do about this. Being someone who's working in this industry, and has been for twenty years now, I find this terminology facile. 

I've worked with people of European, Korean, Chinese, South Asian, Persian, and Vietnamese descent. So when I hear lamenting over the lack of "people of color" in the technology workforce, I have to wonder what they're talking about, and I think I have the answer. It's not about the color of your skin or hair or eyes. It's about money. 

The people who are conspicuously absent from my list? People of African and Latin-American descent. Those are the "people of color" who aren't well represented in this industry.

The focus on color (or appearance) is a red herring. Follow the money: engineers and tech-entrepreneurs often come from middle or upper economic classes. They had access to good education, healthcare, and extracurriculars as kids. They were people who got into good colleges, which then opened doors into STEM jobs.

Of course there are exceptions. That's how you prove the rule, right? But the truth is, if you have money, your children are more likely to succeed financially. If you have money and you encourage your child to enter a STEM field, same result. 

This is the reason most executives (in the USA) are European-American ("white") men. It's the reason why most venture capitalists are, too. It's the reason why women are underrepresented in all walks of life. It's why the Asian population is so heavily represented in the tech-sector.

Money, power, and success are closely related. I realize this isn't news, but why are we failing to talk about it in the context of "diversity in tech?"

In all these essays that bemoan unconscious bias and overemphasis on company culture (both of which are real problems), why aren't they talking about economic advantages? I realize that nobody likes to talk about money - we are in the land of opportunity, after all - but we have to bring that into the conversation if we're going to effect change. 

Money doesn't make you smarter or dumber or more or less capable of coding, but it sure does change your likelihood of spending hours in front of a computer in your formative years. Math may be the great equalizer, but you still have to learn to do the math.

Identity, or How I Learned to Balance on One Foot on a Small Piece of Earth

I was born female. I'm starting out on pretty firm ground. 
But girls aren't supposed to have short hair. 
Dig a circular hole around me.

I liked watching "The Smurfs" and "Scooby-Doo" and "The Dukes of Hazard" and "CHiPS" when I was a kid. 
But Indians have no claim to American 80s culture. 
Dig another hole.

I love Star Wars with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.
But Star Wars is for boys. 
Dig another hole.

I love books by Asimov, Herbert, Clarke, Bradbury. I liked Timothy Zahn's first Star Wars sequel books. I subscribed to Analog, Asimov's, and SF&F for years.
But hard science-fiction is not for liberals. 
Dig another hole.

I studied physics and astronomy. I love math. I have degrees in electrical engineering. I work in the tech sector where I'm often the only woman in the room.
But women don't like STEM fields. 
Dig the holes a little deeper.

I like to paint and draw and dance.
But engineers aren't creative. 
Dig the holes a little wider.

I like parties and books by Jane Austen and wine.
But that's not geeky. 
Dig them deeper still.

I've played Master of Orion and World of Warcraft, Halo and Portal, Pac-Man and Tetris.
But girls aren't gamers.
Dig them wider still.

I speak Tamil. I know how to wear a sari and cook sambar.
But that's not American. 
Turn the holes into pits.

I dated before marriage. I married a white man.
But that's not Indian. 
Turn the pits into craters.

I took his last name. I had his child.
But that's not feminist. 
Turn the craters into canyons.

I was happy to leave the child and go to work every day.
But that's not motherly. 
The canyons grow deeper.

I hate shopping. I like romantic comedies. I hate high heels. I love dressing up.
But that's not ... anything! 
The canyons look bottomless.

Now I'm standing on a tiny bit of land, enough to balance on one foot, and staring into the abyss. Everything that's part of who I am is falling away.

typedef void  ME;

So to all the lonely, sad [your identities here*] who are feeling marginalized right now, who feel like everything they believe in is being taken away, I have this to say: Guess what? 

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.

But I am stronger than the abyss.
I can dance on foot and be who I am.
So can you.

And if we stand together, side by side, we'll find ourselves together on level ground, and we can stop shouting at each other across chasms.


*Possible examples:

  • white male nerd
  • gay conservative
  • geeky black woman
  • female atheist
  • LEGO-loving princess