HOW CAN WE CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE TECH INDUSTRY?
This was the question we asked conference participants at TechFestNW. We wanted to hear how a wide cross-section of the tech industry (job seekers, executives, media, etc.) would propose to promote tech diversity and inclusion.
After a hit of sugar to get the ideas flowing, thanks to the delicious Blue Star Donuts, people wrote down their thoughts and we added them to our board.
After the two-day conference, we had quite an intensive and insightful list of suggestions. You can see the full list of responses on this Trello board. What we think were some of the best ideas are below.
What would you add to this list of how we can create a more inclusive tech industry?
- Support programs that get girls/POC into STEM early in life, before 13 years old.
- Create more low-cost alternatives to traditional four-year colleges.
- Listen to the community and address their needs!
- Family leave + mother friendly policy environments.
- Ensure your board of directors is diverse and inclusive (gender, race, income, status, education, etc.).
- Skills-based hiring, not resumes!
- Find more male advocates and mentors (who can then act as allies).
- Eliminate gender discriminative words such as “nag,” “perky,” or “bulldog” to describe women.
- Strike unlikely partnerships with other industries.
