Look at it this way. Yes, it's depressing. But when these companies got big and great, they weren't using these policies. I know, I was there in the early years and saw how it changed over time.
These practices are ultimately the undoing of these firms. Not now, not next year, but the future is moving away from them. The decadence that allows them to rationalise picking employees based on what they look like is killing their ability to innovate and tearing them apart internally.
I know so many experienced Googlers that leaked out of the organisation over the past 5-6 years or so, many of them citing this sort of decline. Why take risks or go the extra mile when you'll automatically lose to a woman who does nothing beyond simply turning up?
The flip side of this is that momentum is shifting towards a new generation of company. This sort of thing takes a long time, but the reason Google/FB/etc buy so many startups is they know that's where the real risks are taken, where the real work gets done. They can't produce what they need internally anymore. That's your opportunity. Instead of looking from the outside through the window and wishing you were part of a culture that doesn't exist anymore, look outwards, towards what you can build yourself. Then sell what you made back to them. Or don't. Your choice.
These practices are ultimately the undoing of these firms. Not now, not next year, but the future is moving away from them. The decadence that allows them to rationalise picking employees based on what they look like is killing their ability to innovate and tearing them apart internally.
I know so many experienced Googlers that leaked out of the organisation over the past 5-6 years or so, many of them citing this sort of decline. Why take risks or go the extra mile when you'll automatically lose to a woman who does nothing beyond simply turning up?
The flip side of this is that momentum is shifting towards a new generation of company. This sort of thing takes a long time, but the reason Google/FB/etc buy so many startups is they know that's where the real risks are taken, where the real work gets done. They can't produce what they need internally anymore. That's your opportunity. Instead of looking from the outside through the window and wishing you were part of a culture that doesn't exist anymore, look outwards, towards what you can build yourself. Then sell what you made back to them. Or don't. Your choice.