Speaker

Washington D.C. January 30, 2016
Creating diverse spaces of opportunity in the tech sector

This talk will focus on meaningful and measurable ways to increase diversity in the tech industry. Specifically, we will look at non-profit and private industry partnerships as a way to carve out diverse spaces of opportunity, and the growing trend of tech focused workforce development to impact population level change. To demonstrate the success of these strategies we will look at two examples; Code in the Schools Prodigy Program and the White House Tech Hire Initiative. Both face multiple but surmountable challenges namely; changing perceptions around the value of diversity, and the ability of diverse populations to thrive in the tech sector. We will close with pragmatic steps to take in our work and in our lives to ensure the continued focus on the importance of diversity in the tech industry.