{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/37","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/37/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/37/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/37/events","html_url":"https://github.com/clef/handbook/issues/37","id":110518435,"number":37,"title":"Close the technical/non-technical divide","user":{"login":"kcshearon","id":4356597,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/4356597?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon","html_url":"https://github.com/kcshearon","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kcshearon/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[],"state":"open","locked":false,"assignee":null,"milestone":null,"comments":5,"created_at":"2015-10-08T18:53:06Z","updated_at":"2015-10-14T16:51:01Z","closed_at":null,"body":"I was surprised to see that \"non-technical\" employees are paid substantially less than employees who are considered technical. In my experience this creates and perpetuates cultures that devalue and discriminate against the contributions of employees who are not pushing code, when in fact, companies succeed or fail because of *their* work. Code becomes a product that people want to use, learn to love, and gain loyalty toward because of the work of marketing, support, docs, design, research, and other teams beyond engineering. \r\n\r\nAs someone who works in marketing (but can also code), I have faced many situations where I was considered \"less than\" due to organizational policies that validated the work of engineers over mine. Your pay hierarchy may seem minor at first glance, but I've found that even small signals about who is important factor into larger perceptions around influence and power in ways that make it hard to get anything done when you are not among the chosen few...e.g., engineers. \r\n\r\nIt's also unclear here and more generally what facts inform the technical/non-technical divide. A finance employee is technical in their domain, as are other employees focused on key parts of your business beyond engineering. Without more clarity into how a technical vs. non-technical assessment is performed, salaries based on this divide seem to not be grounded in the equality goals that inform the rest of the handbook. \r\n\r\nI hope that Clef can consider being more of a beacon here - valuing all employees more equally and encouraging our industry to move past the technical/non-technical divide as it's not ultimately helpful for anyone. "},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/comments/148114149","html_url":"https://github.com/clef/handbook/issues/37#issuecomment-148114149","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/clef/handbook/issues/37","id":148114149,"user":{"login":"jessepollak","id":1097953,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1097953?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak","html_url":"https://github.com/jessepollak","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/jessepollak/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2015-10-14T16:51:01Z","updated_at":"2015-10-14T16:51:01Z","body":"Thanks for your thoughts @kcshearon, @rhymoid, and @troy!\r\n\r\nOne note that I do want to add is that while the cash compensation is variable based on role, the equity compensation is flat for all employees, regardless of when they join (within the first 10) and their role. \r\n\r\nI think when we looked at this problem, we faced the reality that as a small startup, we have very limited resources to work with. Following market rate salaries for roles, while asserting equality in long term impact on the company by making equity grants equal, was the compromise we came to and it let's us keep operating costs lower, while still making a statement. I'm not sure this compromise in it's current form is _right_, and I'm swayed by much of the discussion by @kcshearon, but I do think it's an important perspective to share."}}