If the Shoe Fits: NIMBY Mindset Kills Meritocracy
by Miki Saxon
If you don’t believe that there is a gender gap in the startup world’s so-called meritocracy entrepreneur Roger Huang begs to differ.
The internet is being shaped by males to be comfortable for other males. For those of us fighting for an open, and inclusive Web, this is something that should change, and it’ll certainly take more than a new application.
Huang’s post is worth reading because it is well annotated with links to the research and articles for the stats he cites.
I’ve written about it, too, and have come to the conclusion after years of listening to bosses that there is an unacknowledged underlying problem.
Most tech people recognize the problem, but don’t see the NIMBY side of it.
NIMBY means ‘not in my backyard’, meaning fix the problem without affecting me, e.g., create low income housing, but don’t put the housing in my neighborhood.
Backyards can refer to company and mindset.
That makes it pretty simple; if all bosses cleaned up their own backyard there wouldn’t be a problem.
So while problems in other people’s yards and on the wider stage loom large, a NIMBY mindset shows their own backyard as weed-free and thriving.
Flickr image credit: Jason White
