Three ways to begin fixing Silicon Valley's 'pipeline' problem

[Commentary] There's a lot of talk about the "pipeline" as the root cause for technology's lack of diversity -- the idea that women and minorities aren't seeking out relevant education, therefore they cannot be hired for technical or executive jobs. This ignores the fact that the lack of diversity in non-technical roles like administration and sales mirrors a shortfall in technical positions in Silicon Valley. Further evidence shows that current diverse candidates graduating with technical degrees are still not seeing the wealth of opportunities that the technology industry promises. If you're a CEO, hiring manager, or decision maker at your company and you'd like to do your part, here are three ways to get serious about diversity:

End employee referral programs: By doing this, you're instantly considering a more diverse pool of applicants.
Start a residency program: This is a low-risk move that allows companies to hire people that might be otherwise be passed over for a perceived (or real) lack of experience. Now you have no excuses.
Listen to us: There's no shortage of people doing their best to speak up. Yet, what I see time and time again is a dismissal of these people's experiences or qualifications, including my own. Addressing Silicon Valley's lack of diversity truly starts by listening to the stories we are trying to tell you. If you ignore us, if you think you know better than us about how to develop an inclusive environment, if you think you can uncover the "real" reason why we aren't getting hired at the rates we deserve: You are wrong. Sharing our experiences does not invalidate your own. So just listen.

[Andy Newman is a filmmaker, writer, and works for Big Cartel]