WASHINGTON – America’s tech industry needs greater diversity, equity and inclusion, and achieving those goals depends in large part on the ability of educational institutions, governments, and philanthropies to work collaboratively and consistently.
That was a key point made during panels and keynote speeches Tuesday at “Building a Diverse and Skilled Tech Workforce,” an event presented by Verizon Foundation and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).
There’s a need to diversify not just corporate offices, but the ranks of venture capitalists and other tech entrepreneurs who contribute to job creation, wealth development and upward social mobility, speakers said.
And, they added, pipelines must be expanded and multiplied to educate, hire and retain minority and other underrepresented students from community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and other minority serving institutions who are talented but face opportunity barriers.
“Diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords,” U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-NC, said in keynote remarks. “They are crucial to our economic progress and should be a way of life for the workforce.”
A former professor at Bennett College – a private all-women’s HBCU in her state – and a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, Adams noted a long history of HBCUs producing a large proportion of Black STEM graduates and said support for their viability must be part of any serious discussion about diversifying the tech industry.
“HBCU sustainability and a diverse workforce go hand in hand,” said Adams. “If diversity is a priority, strengthening HBCU’s should be a priority. Diversity and inclusion are not possible without the input of HBCU’s. Talent is universal but opportunity is not. It’s time to recognize the undertapped potential of HBCU’s and make up for a century of under-investment.”
