Podcast Description
“And it’s also one of these put up or shut up moments where you like ‘care so much about this’ but here we are in this situation where the company you’re at right now isn’t doing enough, isn’t aligning with your values. And we’re trying to put lipstick on a pig and make it look like we’re so generous.”Shannon Byrne is a software engineer based out of Oakland, CA. She’s currently searching for her next position.LinkedIn
Additional Resources
https://twitter.com/KimCrayton1/status/1283460610143985665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1283460610143985665%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.trello.services%2Ftweets.html7B22secret223A22YjBA7AnC9JhZnMQqTWf5ZsfiSSbscA9SmFTryoryyamzXKPiFjBHVrmXDy6mHBVL222C22context223A7B22version223A22build-5415222C22member223A2255e97874dbb2337d37e76966222C22permissions223A7B22board223A22write222C22organization223A22write222C22card223A22write227D2C22organization223A225b509813b0d9fe70470296b9222C22board223A225b5098454efea8c1ff937ab4222C22card223A225f11f2583307e8438c8d4b3a222C22command223A22attachment-sections227D2C22locale223A22en-US227D
Transcription

00:30Kim Crayton: Hello, everyone. And welcome to today's episode of the #CauseAScene podcast. I have a special guest with me today. As many of you know, I had decided to take the month off, but you know, when I'm ready to cause a scene and somebody else is willing to cause a scene, I bring them on. I would like to introduce Shannon. Shannon, could you please introduce yourself to the audience?Shannon Byrne: Yeah. Hi. My name's Shannon. I am a software engineer. I live in Oakland, California. I've been in the industry for about seven years now, and I kind of—I still struggle with my relationship with the tech industry. I find myself still having, like, so much optimism when I walk into a new job of like, "Oh, we are building something here. We are trying to make a difference." And then I find myself kind of disillusioned [laughs] over and over, but I still want to move forward, and I... yeah, that's the situation I'm in now. [Laughs]Kim: All right. And this is something I forgot to ask you, which I have started asking my guests; if you would please share your pronouns.Shannon: Oh, she / her.Kim: All right. So, as I always start every show... again, my brain is on vacation, so that's why I forgot to ask your pronouns—Shannon's pronouns—beforehand. We always start to show the same way. So can you answer two questions? Why is it important to cause a scene? And how are you causing a scene?02:10Shannon: OK. So why it's important to cause a scene is that nothing changes if we just let it stay the same, right? Like if we are all OK with the way that people are getting treated, you know, from my perspective in the tech industry specifically, but also in the world at large right now, if we don't do anything, then nothing changes. And so what it takes is for people in their environments to make changes and speak up when they see something that is wrong. And that is the perspective that I've had.And I also find myself to be in a very lucky position, a very privileged position, as a white female developer in the Bay Area. There are tons and tons of positions out there, tons of places that need developers who do good work. And I am a developer that does good work. And if I am in a place where I see that I'm not being treated right or that other people aren't being treated right, I'm going to speak out against that.And I'm going to do it in a way that is as considerate as possible, that is trying to lead us to the company making the changes that need to be made, but that is firm and continuous until I feel that people are being treated with justice, and that we're in an inclusive environment. And if that doesn't happen, then people get, like, more and more frustrated with me, in jobs, right?And so, I think that I'm just trying to do little things in the environm...