Equity, Diversity, + Inclusion (EDI) in Tech
While EDI in tech (and EVERY industry) should be core to leading an organization, if you find yourself needing to make a business case for it as I once did, some of the resources below might help you do that (or consider looking for a work home at another organization b/c the fact that you have to make a “business case” at all just sucks).
In the USA Today article, “Why Diversity Matters to Your Tech Company,” author Joelle Emerson points to higher levels of creativity and innovation, improved performance, attraction of talent and better serving a diverse user base as key benefits.
“How to Make the Business Case for Workplace Diversity in 7 Steps” from the Greenhouse blog highlights research from McKinsey, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and University of Illinois at Chicago.
In the Financial Times article, “The Evidence is Growing – There Really is a Business Case for Diversity,” research shows “two-dimensional diversity” including gender, race, language and global experience can lead to expanded market share/new market capture and better understanding of end users.
Anita Borg Institute suggests a number of concrete steps to take to recruit more technical women, as well as interview do’s and don’ts and relevant professional organizations.
Hire More Women in Tech includes a consolidated list of important supporting articles.
Techstars surveyed ~700 founders globally to understand what challenges they face in building their companies with diversity and inclusivity in mind.
In The TED Interview, “Mellody Hobson Challenges Us to Be Color Brave,” sharing her thoughts around, examples and benefits of building a diverse organization.
Kat Li surfaces how Native Americans are “The Invisible Minority of the Tech World.”
If you are in a recruiting role, consider engaging with or supporting some of the following organizations.
- Power to Fly
- Out in Tech
- LaunchCode
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Women Who Code
- Mother Coders
- Black Girls Code
- Latinas in Computing
- Code2040
- Diversify Tech
Also consider analyzing the sentiments of your job descriptions using a tool like Textio, work with a diversity-focused recruiting or hiring platform like Joonko or Blendoor, or a platform intended to reduce bias like Applied.
Anti-Racism Links
White people, it’s not enough for us to be allies: we need to be actively anti-racist. That means taking a good, hard look at the privileges and biases we hold. It means taking the time to educate ourselves on systemic racism and for the parents among us, having those conversations with our kids early and often. It means not staying silent when we witness things like microaggressions in the workplace, or in general, because of the emotional discomfort and White Fragility. It means wholehearted listening and amplifying the voices of others when we have a seat at the table.
- Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism | Fractured Atlas
- Anti-racism resources for white people | Google Doc compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020
- Obama On George Floyd’s Death And The ‘Maddening’ Normalcy Of Racism | NPR
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice | Corinne Shutack on Medium
- 11 Things To Do Besides Say ‘This Has To Stop’ In The Wake Of Police Brutality | Huff Post
- Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex | Indigenous Action
- Protesting as a White Accomplice | Google Doc Showing Up for Racial Justice Denver Chapter
- We Must Step Up For Black People Right Now – Here’s How | Forbes
- Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist | Brené Brown
- Ally Skills Workshop | Frame Shift Consulting
- Does your local prosecutor hold police accountable? This site will tell you | FastCo
- Resources for Accountability and Actions for Black Lives | Google Doc compiled by Carlisa Johnson
- How Structural Racism Works | Brown University
- Systemic Racism Explained | act.tv
- Letters for Black Lives | An Open Letter Project on Anti-Blackness
- How We Juneteenth | The New York Times
- How Did We Get Here? 163 years of The Atlantic’s writing on race and racism in America
Anti-Racism Links for Parents:
- How To Not Raise a Racist White Kid | CNN
- Injustice and Anger: Understanding your emotions | BrainsOn Podcast
- COLUMN: Time for white people to have ‘the talk’ with their kids | The Hechinger Report
- Black Lives Matter Instructional Library with Read Alouds
- 3 Experts on How to Raise Anti-racist Kids | FastCo
- FREE PLAY: Open Source Scripts Toward an Antiracist Tomorrow | “Award-winning playwright, poet, and changemaker Idris Goodwin offers five short plays for multi-generational audiences to spark conversation about race in America.”
Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Links for Business + Tech Leaders:
- One Black employee’s answer to “How can I help?” | Alica Forneret on the Culture Amp Blog
- Town Hall – Hello Seven | “Reimagining Small Business: A town hall to listen, learn & commit to building equitable, anti-racist organizations“
- How Companies Without Racists Perpetuate Racism | Kafi Pane on the Gravitational Blog
- Host Your Own Power + Privilege Workshop: “A guided conversation for your community, designed for Icebreaker by Dr. Akilah Cadet”
- How to Begin Designing for Diversity: “A guide to get you started in building equitable products, services, and content, written by Boyuan Gao and Jahan Mantin of Project Inkblot, with illustrations by Fanny Luor”
- Solidarity Comes After Justice: The Only “Affirming” BLM Statement Tech Leaders Need to Make | April Garrido Wright on Medium
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Transform Diversity & Inclusion into Anti-Racism | Lily Zheng on the Berrett-Koehler Publishers blog
- INCITE!’s Principles of Unity
- A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment | Native Governance Center
- Prosper Portland Equity Framework
- Equity-Centered Community Design | Creative Reaction Lab
- AWAKE to WOKE to WORK: Building a Race Equity Culture | Awake in the Center