Let me jump out in front and say that, in all the recent discussion about sexism in tech (speaker lineups at conferences, brogramming, etc.), it’s been difficult to get any take-aways we can all agree on. Smarter people are saying more important things than I ever could or should here, so I’ll leave it to them. For instance, there’s a “Diversity Roundtable” edition of the Let’s Make Mistakes podcast that I found interesting.
Anyway, I’m going to stick my neck out there and offer a focused, meaningful piece of action that you can use today (tonight, specifically). And, though I’m generally against taking it to a company like this, I think it’s gone on long enough.
Tonight, GoDaddy will continue its annual campaign to use cheesy, sexually-charged advertisements to sell domains and other services—generally those less involved in the overall web community. This is what they’ll show, apparently:
Most people find it distasteful, sure. But, the fact is, GoDaddy is the go-to company for millions of people who are unfamiliar with the alternatives. They’ll see they can buy a domain name at a low price, maybe throw in some other options, and send GoDaddy their money because they don’t know any better.
On the other hand, if you’re at all involved in the tech community at large, you probably feel like you have better reasons to dislike GoDaddy: your own experience with them, their CEO hunting elephants, or their (now former) support of the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA). I’m not here to argue about that stuff, either, nor do I connote my own opinions. My point is that millions of people don’t know about this, and only judge GoDaddy based on their pricing and ubiquity.
But, all that aside, we’re still in the middle of a long, long discussion in our industry about attracting people who aren’t white males (which I am). No matter your thoughts on quotas or strategies, we can certainly all agree that commercials that objectify women by a company who (for better or worse, and at least in part) represents the tech community in the Super Bowl is not going to attract women into our industry. And the starting line—the place where kids and young adults decide what they’re going to do with their lives—is where we get the best and the brightest, filling our industry up with appropriate diversity, because we’re being inviting to everyone, and no one feels like they’ll be dismissed or objectified. They will see this commercial tonight; their parents will see this commercial tonight.
A Literal Call to Action
But, tonight, when you’re probably going to be somewhere relatively near a television, you have a chance to engage in a conversation. Forget elephants, SOPA/PIPA, and server downtime—for now. And forget boycotts and other dramatics.
This isn’t about refusing to give GoDaddy another dollar. This is about reclaiming an industry and rebuilding it to make it more inviting to everyone, regardless of gender or ethnicity or socioeconomic status. We’ll have enough work to do as tech prices come down and the third-world enters the industry that we ought not also have to keep fighting a massive company’s marketing decisions.
I’m asking you to do two things tonight:
- Offer alternatives to anyone who will listen—and that includes domain registrars, hosting companies, etc. I’m not saying to tell people not to shop with GoDaddy; instead, offer alternatives that didn’t just put that 30-second spot on national television.
- Engage in any discussion that comes up, and defend the tech community. Those ads don’t represent the average person’s view on women, and those in other industries ought to know, as well as those deciding what industry they’ll get into later in life.
This might be the best singular moment each year to steer the future of the tech community in the right direction. Don’t disregard it and roll your eyes this year—use it to invite people into a better understanding of the web.