Holi and diversity in software
(2 Min Read) Software is like Holi. It thrives on diversity.
Note: This post is different from what I usually write on this blog. This post is not about a productivity tip or software process. It's about diversity and how I think software can be the role model for diversity. (This post has lot of images)
Holi is a festival of colors. It's one of my favorite festivals. To me, it's a celebration of diversity. A day to be together as one and celebrate. It a day when everyone is equal. I wish every day were Holi.
In India, the traditional reason to celebrate Holi is that it marks the start of spring. Crops are flourishing, and days are getting warmer. Prosperous times are ahead. In many ways, it's the start of the new year. So it's an excellent time to celebrate.
But I was brought up in a city. So to me, the crops logic did not make sense. When I asked my parents why we celebrate Holi, they told me that Holi is the day of colors and equality. You can put color on anyone, even strangers. Their race/gender/financial-status/etc doesn’t matter. Be polite and courteous when you put color and wish them "Happy Holi !!".
The color symbolizes that you hope their life be filled with as many colors as they are on them today and more. Give them a big hug, share sweets/drinks with them, dance, have fun and move ahead in next year together.
Also, Holi is a day to forgive everyone and reset. If you have any grudges against anyone, this is the day you let them go and move on.
So to me, Holi was the day when the new year began. I never stayed crossed at anyone for more than a year. I always got reset on Holi.
Then adulthood caught up, the unconscious biases took hold, and grudges stayed on for longer. In other words, the colors vanished. And the world became two-tone in many ways.
But after I got into building software, a lot of colors started coming back to my life. For me, the software is like Holi. It doesn’t care what color/gender/race/ethnicity/etc. people are, as long as they build it together. And the more diversity software has, the better it is.
Just like how Holi brings people of diverse backgrounds together, I believe software can do the same. Not only that, I believe that software can be the role model to demonstrate that diversity is the true power.
Software never has and never will belong to any single race/ethnicity/gender. Software doesn't care if the creator or the consumer belongs to a specific diverse group. It treats everyone the same. Diverse people can use software build by diverse people. So building it together is the only way to build great software.
If you are building software, I encourage you to make diversity the first thing you think about and not the last. You don't want to live in a two-tone world.
Thats all!!! I wish you a Happy Holi!!!!
Holi haiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Nothing can be better wishes more than this. Happy holi to you all.