Why It Matters
STEM initiatives at colleges and universities are making strides in reaching a slice of potential talent, but they leave behind those at the lower end of the socioeconomic strata who are disproportionately Black and Brown. Indeed, the demand for alternative career pathways to technology careers is high, far outstripping the current supply. Philanthropic and corporate social responsibility investments focused on building the racial and gender diversity of the tech talent pipeline are needed at a much greater scale.
- On-ramps for beginners;
- Adult gatekeepers (family, teachers, counselors) who are encouraging and inclusive;
- A focus on building up the confidence of young girls and women in their abilities;
- Continuity between computing experiences across different phases of education;
- A community of supportive peers; and
- Ongoing and consistent access to technology and computing experiences.
Action Steps
These action steps can help employers reflect on how they can invest in and develop programs that support girls and women of color in developing the skills they need to enter careers in technology.
The blackcomputeHER Fellows Program is a 12-month fellowship program that provides mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching for Black women pursuing a career in tech, to develop their technical and leadership skills.
Engage senior leadership and board members. Far too often, diversity and inclusion initiatives fail to gain traction because they do not have the support and buy-in of senior leadership. Cultivate senior-level commitment to this issue, creating opportunities for CEOs and other C-suite leaders to hear directly from women and girls about what they need to set them up for success and to plug the holes in the leaky tech talent pipeline.
Help create an ecosystem of programs and experiences supporting girls and young women. The leaky tech pipeline pinpoints pivotal moments, starting from early childhood education all the way through early career experiences, that represent key opportunities for interventions, but continuity in critical. Social investments can help ensure that the programs they support invest in connect with one another and help transition participants from one experience to the next. For example, programs focused on middle-school girls can partner with those serving high schoolers to ensure continuity.
Latinas in STEM, for example, seeks to spread awareness of STEM and inspire and empower Latina students in the primary and secondary grades, especially in underserved communities, to pursue a STEM career. Similarly, Girls Who Code seeks to change the gender gap in technology. Girls Who Code’s programs are building the pipeline of future technologists, serving 500,000 girls, women, and nonbinary individuals globally since 2012, half of whom are from groups underrepresented in tech including Black, Latinx, and low-income.
“I would say also that is important for funders, especially if they’re corporate funders, to really think about how they can bring their whole self to support an initiative like this. Part of it is the dollars, but the other part of it is employees, so leveraging…the vast amounts of employees who are passionate about giving back [through mentorship and coaching].”
– Tia Hodges, MetLife Foundation
Leverage company-sponsored volunteer programs to provide role models, mentors, and teach students in informal settings. An important asset companies have is the talent in their own workforce. Employers can offer volunteer opportunities for their employees to serve as tutors and mentors to young girls of color in both formal and informal settings. For example, Shopify recruited its employees as volunteers for the Technovation Girls program, which engages girls aged 8-18 to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Shopify employees served as mentors, coaches, and judges for the Technovation Girls program and competition, and provided support for the logistics of bringing the program online. Similarly, Netscout employees have supported a series of successful student hackathons, focused on developing applications to solve real-world problems, in recent years.
“We’ve been intimately involved with NPower here in St. Louis from the start. Not only do we have individuals who volunteer – we always do the interview day – but we have hired several groups of interns over the last several years. And in fact, some of those interns we have hired as full-time employees. We look at it as a very strategic, successful model for us that has proven to be very good for us as an organization. It allows us to support the community, but it also allows us to create a pipeline of diverse candidates that can go into technology fields here at World Wide.”
– Ann Marr, VP of Global Human Resources for World Wide Technology
Form regional compacts with employers, governments, community colleges, and community groups, creating a robust and holistic set of skills development opportunities. No one institution alone can address the tech skills shortage. A multi-pronged, multi-sector effort is needed. By leveraging its convening power and capital, philanthropic entities can catalyze new partnerships that harness the strengths of both the private and public sector. For example, IBM’s P-TECH global education model connects high schools, local industries, and community colleges, allowing students from underserved backgrounds to earn both their high school diploma and a two-year associate’s degree in STEM-related fields such as cybersecurity.
Examples of National Technology Training Programs
NPower is a national nonprofit that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. Through skills training, real world experience, support and mentorship, NPower graduates launch burgeoning careers and a pathway to financial freedom for themselves and their families. Students who enter the free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and land high-quality tech careers.
Per Scholas provides intensive, full-time, 12-18-week technology training, with career development instruction and job placement support to unemployed and underemployed adults 18 and over.
LaunchCode is a St. Louis-based nonprofit creating economic opportunity by adding new talent to tech ecosystems across the nation. While careers in technology have traditionally been reserved to those who can afford a four-year computer science degree, LaunchCode’s programs are free and accessible to motivated individuals who are assessed for passion, drive and aptitude rather than credentials.
Year Up supports low-income young adults (ages 18-24) to gain the skills, experiences, and networks necessary to launch their professional career, Year Up operates in 18 U.S. markets and is a one-year, intensive training program that includes a combination of hands-on skills development, corporate internships, and wraparound support.