OVERVIEW

It takes more than a few well-crafted, well-timed ad campaigns and social media posts to truly effect lasting progress in creating an industry that allows diverse talent of color in tech to flourish.

On the corporate level, that means implementing the recommendations of the plethora of research on DEI now rather than waiting for an “uh-oh” moment to kick inclusion efforts into high gear. This includes hiring Chief Diversity Officers whose expertise and recommendations are treated with the same respect and urgency as any other executive in the C-Suite. And on an individual level, this can look like taking action that ranges from offering hands-on (and preferably paid) learning opportunities to young people of color, including even before they step onto a college or company campus, to making sure that we find ways to consistently keep track of BIPOC how well our companies are following through on their DEI promises.

Collectively, we’ve moved beyond the era where words don’t need to be followed up with action. Now, not only individual executives and companies but entire industries are rightfully under the careful scrutiny of both their stakeholders and the general public’s eye to make sure they’re walking the walk just as vigorously as they talk the talk. The present and the future depend upon everyone on every level in tech doing their part to ensure that DEI and erasing the Digital Divide for BIPOC is the norm.

KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED

• Generational Exposure

  • “It was because of those sort-of underground people who were pulling for me, that’s how I got exposed to different aspects of tech in ways that weren’t possible without a bachelor’s degree.” -Diversity & Inclusion Consultant LaShana Lewis on how she was inspired to continue pursuing a career in tech even after leaving undergrad due to finances

  • “Tech is boxed into being non-creative when it’s actually a really creative field.” -Nickey Khemchandani, Co-Founder & CTO of BSD Education

  • “Because I was paying my own way through school working and going to school at the same time, I chose finance because I saw it as a more practical major.” -Gordon Beck, Treasury Analyst, Netflix

  • “Knowing yourself more than anything is really going to help you when it comes to tech. There are all different types of businesses that make technology work.” -Breonna July, Customer Engineer, Microsoft Teams

  • “That imposter syndrome thing, we all have it within engineering. It’s not unique to being a minority or female, it’s common in tech because it’s always changing. You’re never going to know everything.” -Stephanie Aceves, Director of Technical Account Management, Tanium

  • “There are so many roles in tech that are not engineering. There’s still this perception that tech is just a bunch of engineers and that’s just not true. Technology and anything can combine and if they haven’t combined yet, go out and create it.” -Betty Stearns, Product Manager, Stitch Fix

• Moral Support & Cultural Competency

  • “This is the prime time to get things done with DEI. You hear companies talking big game right now, hold them accountable. Use their words against them. These companies are looking for a return on investment. Make it look good.” -Breonna July, Customer Engineer, Microsoft Teams

  • “Mentorship is important in finding people who champion you. The second part is finding like-minded individuals to build a community to start to mentor and teach the next generation. You might be the only one right now but you have to become a mentor yourself and pass on those things because there will be more people who like you coming next.” -Gordon Beck, Treasury Analyst, Netflix

  • “We’d all like to think it’s a meritocracy but that’s not true. We’re human, we all have biases, good biases, and bad biases. When you’re looking to diversify your workforce, you have to be aware that you have a bias and that it might be unconscious. When have you ever changed anything and it wasn’t uncomfortable? If you want to make a difference and want it to feel comfortable all of the time, you don’t want to make a difference.” -LaShana Lewis, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, L.M. Lewis Consulting

  • “We have the responsibility to teach people who look like us how to play the game. We’ve been through the culture shock and the imposter syndrome being in predominantly white environments. The narrative of there not being a lot of diversity in tech only propagates when we show the same few people as role models in tech. And it only serves the people who want to prevent more diversity in tech.” -Stephanie Aceves, Director of Technical Account Management, Tanium

  • “I get conflicted teaching people to play the game because the game isn’t working for so many people. So how do we play the game while reaching leadership to make a change.” -Betty Stearns, Product Manager, Stitch Fix

  • “We want to do diversity initiatives but we don’t want to label people as diversity initiatives. A lot of people are paying lip service to diversity especially on social media but it’s important to have the people who are actually implementing having these conversations and not just the leaders who are the face of things.” -Nickey Khemchandani, Co-Founder & CTO of BSD Education

• The Evolution of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

  • “Get yourself a Chief Diversity Officer because by the time you go and make all the changes that you need, you’re going to already have lost a lot of money. The role is just as important as a CTO or CMO. It is a dire need, an instrumental part.” -LaShana Lewis, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, L.M. Lewis Consulting

  • “In the last 10 years, we’ve seen the impact of DEI. Going forward, I think the best practices can become the norm. Instead of making it an, “Oh, we should be thinking about this stuff,” it needs to be seen as a no-brainer. It needs to be the standard practice, not the best practice. It should be a news headline if companies are NOT doing DEI work, not when they are doing the work.” -Nickey Khemchandani, Co-Founder & CTO of BSD Education

  • “Respectability politics are still being gauged off of the standards of white men. It’s important for us to be aware because we do it to each other too.” -Brittany Jenkins, Founder, We Are Tech

  • “No one expects you to get it perfect overnight, we just expect you to be doing something.” -LaShana Lewis, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, L.M. Lewis Consulting

  • “You need to keep checking in on DEI efforts. Announcements are one thing but it’s important to do reporting continuously. I’m even holding myself accountable to follow up in my company to see if they’re really making things happen.” -Gordon Beck, Treasury Analyst, Netflix

  • “If you’re asking for community support or employee support to help with your DEI, make sure you’re paying your people for it. If you’re asking for their support pay them and manage their other workload as well.” -Betty Stearns, Product Manager, Stitch Fix

KEY SOLUTIONS SHARED

• Invest in DEI in the C-Suite: Treat DEI executive positions as being as crucial as other roles in the C-Suite. Just like when you invest in a CFO, CMO or CTO. investing in a DEI executive will save you a lot of money and headaches in the future.

• Pay Employees for Their DEI Work: When asking employees to perform tasks for DEI purposes, make sure you pay them for their additional labor and manage their other workload as well.

• Provide Mentorship and Sponsorship Opportunities: Take the initiative and put the names of the talent of color out to your network. Beyond being a mentor, be a sponsor by connecting talent with opportunities for professional and material advancement.