This really varies. Among managers I personally know - we all agree that even if X engineer is basically contributing less to the team significantly… it doesn’t matter because they’re underrepresented and the company would never fire them. Instead, at most, they’ll be managed out.
Diversity pipelines and standards very much exist and are alive even within small startups all the way to FAANG. Even in the interview process - it’s very different. I was talking to a black woman who is transitioning out of being a software engineer - we were talking about leetcode and prep.. and she said she just talks her way out of those problems, she doesn’t ever have to actually solve them. This is explicitly different from my experience and most experiences of men I know - where you get LC mediums and hards and you have to have a solution on the board and it needs to be optimal otherwise you won’t pass. This was a repeated thing for her across many jobs she interviewed for from startup to FAANG. Completely different bar for hiring and often even for staying.
I’ve also been in the hiring loops for these candidates - no technical questions asked but if your bog standard Asian/white/Indian man interviewed you can bet they’re going through the system design and leetcode grinder. They’ll be put on a PIP at first sign of not conforming or having below average performance.
I used to think maybe only the hiring process was different but the entire thing is different. I’ve seen how the meat is made too much across too many companies. Women fearing they only get hired and retained because they’re women is justified - because it’s just true. Fortunately - most women I’ve run into are good engineers and try probably harder than some should because of imposter syndrome. That said - most men I’ve met are also good and are because they’ve had to grind so hard to get where they are. (Silicon Valley being so intensely difficult to break into repeatedly. Interviews here are very hard)
Diversity pipelines and standards very much exist and are alive even within small startups all the way to FAANG. Even in the interview process - it’s very different. I was talking to a black woman who is transitioning out of being a software engineer - we were talking about leetcode and prep.. and she said she just talks her way out of those problems, she doesn’t ever have to actually solve them. This is explicitly different from my experience and most experiences of men I know - where you get LC mediums and hards and you have to have a solution on the board and it needs to be optimal otherwise you won’t pass. This was a repeated thing for her across many jobs she interviewed for from startup to FAANG. Completely different bar for hiring and often even for staying.
I’ve also been in the hiring loops for these candidates - no technical questions asked but if your bog standard Asian/white/Indian man interviewed you can bet they’re going through the system design and leetcode grinder. They’ll be put on a PIP at first sign of not conforming or having below average performance.
I used to think maybe only the hiring process was different but the entire thing is different. I’ve seen how the meat is made too much across too many companies. Women fearing they only get hired and retained because they’re women is justified - because it’s just true. Fortunately - most women I’ve run into are good engineers and try probably harder than some should because of imposter syndrome. That said - most men I’ve met are also good and are because they’ve had to grind so hard to get where they are. (Silicon Valley being so intensely difficult to break into repeatedly. Interviews here are very hard)