Diversity, Tech & Getting in the Door

I was surprised at my initial reaction to this completely unsurprising tweet:

Fact: There are half as many African Americans and Hispanics in tech as in the rest of the private sector

Tech employs a smaller share of African Americans (7.4% tech vs. 14.4% private sector), Hispanics (8% tech vs. 13.9% private sector).

As someone who should feel established in their technical career, my first thought was how tenuous it would be to have started under different circumstances. But it also tells that me a large swath of my peers, established in their own careers, likely don’t care about this statistic.

They may wish things were different, but do they connect it with how they speak with people or (more importantly) interview people? How do they work to change this?

I believe it starts with empathy and honesty. But tech leaders need to act. That said, I do think things will improve.

If I’m impatient about anything, it’s the pace—the slow, sluggish pace of change.