Popular Google software engineer Anthony D. Mace is leaving the search giant to pursue diversity and full-time inclusion.
Anthony D. Mace
A year after Anthony D. Mace joined Google as a software engineer in 2013, the company released its various numbers to the public for the first time. He knew the numbers were probably low, but he didn’t realize how low.
When he learned that only 1% of technology roles involve black people, Mace set out on a personal mission to help increase that number while working at Google. Now, after several years of slow progress in Google and the technology industry in general, Mays is branching out on its own, launching a consulting firm that aims to help both companies and employees achieve more representation.
A key voice for Google’s DEI
When Mace joined Google in 2013, he received a personal welcome call from then-human resources manager Laszlo Bock. “It was very special,” Mace told CNBC in an interview.
The following year, the company became the first of many to release a variety of numbers, showing that the gloomy 2% of full-time Google employees are black and only 1% of technical roles are held by black employees. Shocked by the statistics, Mace felt a personal obligation to help those numbers grow.
To do so, he began sharing his story of coming from a violent home in Compton, California.
“After coming from the world of Compton to the world of Google and Silicon Valley for several years, this gives me the unique opportunity to build bridges in a way that others may not be able to do.”
He first shared his story in a corporate email that eventually went viral. Then, in 2018, he shared his experience in a Buzzfeed video called “My unlikely path to becoming 1% on Google”, which garnered 5.3 million views. He also wrote an article with Google’s public relations team, he told the Huffington Post, entitled “Google would never hire someone like me,” explaining how his environment and self-doubt almost prevented him from applying for a job at Google.
“I received emails from people inside and outside the company I had never met,” Mace said, adding that he was humbled by the response.
Mace, a full-time engineer at Google, was a key voice in the company’s diversity in technology. Now he wants to use what he has learned to increase representation.
Anthony Mace
Many told Mace that he had inspired them and made them feel seen and heard, he said. Google’s tenants told him that his coaching work had helped various candidates surrender the door and succeed in interviews, he said.
But becoming a key voice for DEI also came with setbacks: he had to combine DEI’s work with a full-time software engineer, and said he sacrificed promotions because of the time spent on those initiatives.
Mace said he also had an impostor syndrome.
“People have told me that I’m doing well, but I’m also well aware that in some people’s minds I’m the mercenary of diversity,” he said of his feelings at the beginning. “So, in the beginning, there was this deceptive suspicion that I was treated differently because I’m black, working in technology.
Part of the motivation to continue working, he explained, was “the fault of the survivors,” Mace said.
“I had several friends who were shot when they were 18 and 19,” he said. “When you see this kind of tragedy and you’re so close to it, you start wondering what made me so different that I deserved to run away and they didn’t?”
But most of the motivation, he said, came from his faith and hope for justice among underrepresented workers. He said he felt responsible and passionate about giving people a chance at more opportunities.
Mace, whose authentic communication and outspokenness appeal to people, says he tries to be honest when asked what it’s like to be black on Google.
“I’m talking about how I had a good experience, but there are no guarantees, and I want to be honest about that,” he said. “There are people who have had terrible experiences, and I want to remind people that as much as I’ve enjoyed being on Google, things can be different for you.”
He also acknowledges the challenges he sees companies trying to implement new programs dedicated to diversity and inclusion. At Google, he said, he has seen impactful diversity and inclusion programs that have either been withheld or changed in different directions.
“I don’t know many companies that work harder than Google to make a difference; however, one of the problems I’ve seen is a lasting commitment in every direction, “Mace said. “What usually happens is that you have a program that works well for a year or two and then inexplicably goes the other way, or there’s a shift or reorganization, and it can be hard to see things in the long run.”
“The real moon picture”
Over the years, Mace has found that his personal brand deviates from that of Google, he said.
“Google is an advertising company that organizes information about the world, and my focus during my time there was to help with that as a software engineer – that’s exactly why I was hired,” he said. “But I began to find more interest in organizing information for the underrepresented in technology, who struggled to find resources and information on how to navigate technology as an industry.”
In late 2021, Mace said he saw a window of opportunity for DEI to work full time after watching labor market tightenings, record resignations and job seekers in technologies seeking better financial security and flexibility. professional life against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Seeing the need and the answer to my own story over the last few years has gone well, ‘well, now I want to do this more than just in my spare time,’ Mace said. “I have come to realize that now is really the time and as the pandemic begins to weaken.
Mace’s last day was mid-February, and in less than a week he used his savings to launch Morgan Latimer Consulting, named after African-American inventors Gareth A. Morgan and Lewis H. Latimer.
Mays has two main goals: to help underrepresented people get jobs in technology if they want to, and to help companies understand how to find and retain these workers.
An influential software engineer at Google, Anthony Mace left the company after eight years to pursue his own consulting firm for diversity and inclusion.
Anthony Mace
Working with companies, Mays had to explain the business importance of DEI, which research for years has shown improves business performance and product development.
“There are people who see this as just a PR problem – that it’s not a real problem,” Mace said.
Silicon Valley is making slow progress in retaining colorful employees, putting most of the focus on recruiting.
“They can attract people all day, but they still don’t support them enough to stay, as you can see in the numbers and in people’s experiences,” Mace said.
Mace says part of his conversations include getting to know companies about how minority talent views them. In particular, there is a significant lack of trust.
“Most companies either don’t know or don’t understand why there is a lack of trust, they usually just see the side effects as a lack of participation,” he said. “We expect that if we throw money at it, we will make progress, but it’s more complicated than that.”
He says companies sometimes ignore existing mechanisms that could help the problem, such as organization, support systems and mentoring.
“It’s important for me to help these companies understand why these things are happening and give some guidelines on how to resolve them,” he said. “FAANG companies in particular often feel like they want to rediscover the wheel, but they often don’t have to.”
Mace gave the example of Inroads, a non-profit organization that paves career paths for underrepresented students. This has helped him secure a job in technology, but he is still not receiving support or recognition.
He also plans to help companies think about how their performance reviews are included, he said. Expectations and actions must be clear to workers, he added.
“It’s not enough for a company leader to have a DEI-focused initiative,” said Jason King, senior associate director of corporate relations at the University of California, Irvine. “You need a solid structure and a game plan, because once you’ve taken off the gas, it’s up to you to implement it, and that’s just one thing that Mace is great at.”
Helping others through the door
For those just entering the door, Mace says she dedicates some of Morgan Latimer Consulting to entrances as interviews that candidates find difficult.
Before being hired by Google, Mace failed his first Google interview in 2011, despite receiving guidance from a staff tenant, he said. Historically, black students studying on Google’s own program told CNBC about the challenges and failures of their own processes. Unsuccessful interviews made them feel discouraged and unlikely to try again.
Porsche Kibble-Smith, head of diversity and inclusion in the Karat technical interview launch platform, said Mace’s services fit in well because of her ability to connect with students and share advice – a break from the often standard practice of technology companies refusing share interview reviews.
An influential software engineer at Google, Anthony Mace left the company after eight years to pursue his own consulting firm for diversity and inclusion.
Anthony Mace
“One of our biggest challenges we’ve found is that most engineers have less information about the hiring process and interviews, in particular, and that gets worse if they come from outside the industry,” said Kibble-Smith. “It’s even harder to get information from colleagues if you don’t have a network.”
Mays offers three different packages. The $ 199 “basic” package helps candidates “know if you’re ready for a realistic coding interview”, while the $ 549 “Pro” package tracks progress and growth while helping with algorithms and data structures. Finally, the $ 899 package offers all these benefits plus “extended topics and behavioral interviews.”
The two with a higher price can be divided into monthly payments and most come with Mays.
Mace says she hopes to give “high-quality” training courses to people at an affordable price and regularly shares free advice on social media, including Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
“There are so many predatory services that just repackage freely available information and charge a fee,” Mace said. “I understand that this is a capitalist society, but I have the heart to gather information in the hands of people who often do not have the access or the means to pay for it.”
An influential software engineer at Google, Anthony Mace left the company after eight years to pursue his own consulting firm for diversity and inclusion.
Anthony Mace