Diversity in Tech
Technology leaders gathered at McCombs to discuss how to make the industry more inclusive.
In the technology workforce, women, African-Americans, and Hispanic groups are consistently underrepresented. The diversity problem facing the tech industry can be solved, experts say, but it will require a lot more intention.
“The fundamental thing you have to do right is you have to nail your problem,” says Joah Spearman, founder and CEO of online travel startup Localeur. “That means you have to define the problem first. And I think the reason why diversity and inclusion is such an issue in tech is because the industry at large has not done a good job of defining the problem.”
Spearman joined Mellie Price, executive director of commercialization, health ecosystem, at Dell Medical School, and Eugene Sepulveda, CEO of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, on stage for a Texas McCombs Presents event on May 9. The event was co-sponsored by the Texas Tribune and moderated by its founder and CEO, Evan Smith.
Price, Spearman, and Sepulveda all agreed that technology companies need to expand the diversity in their workforces with intentional hiring practices. Sepulveda says one of the problem facing tech entrepreneurs is that starting out, people have a tendency to hire their friends or the people they know — but this can prevent others from feeling welcome in that company.
“You hire those around you,” Sepulveda says. “Women aren’t always welcome in certain organizations, so I’m not sure they go there to apply. There’s got to be outreach.”
Diversity pledges can help to demonstrate the intention to improve diversity in hiring, but those pledges mean nothing if they’re not followed through with intentional, measured action, Price says.
“Pledges are important because they do demonstrate intentionality, but the accountability there is not strong,” Price says. “The follow-through, it’s very difficult to track and manage.”
Having diverse voices in a technology company just makes sense, Spearman says. If the users of a product are diverse, you want those constituents in the room during the creation process so that the product is tailored to its audience.
“People like us are good enough to be the users of their products but not the people who create their products,” Spearman says. “And so there seems to be a disconnect between how much intentionality needs to go into using the product instead of making it. There should be much more connectivity between that line.”
Different experiences help the problem-solving process, Sepulveda says. If every executive in a technology company comes from the same background, there’s limited experience to draw from because everybody shares the same kind of history. Bringing in diverse voices can serve to alleviate that, and build on the knowledge in the room.
Sepulveda says it’s also important that companies don’t just “check the box” in having one woman or one person of color on their board or in an executive office. There has to be a substantial level of diversity so that those different experiences have a fair voice.
““It can’t just be one or two, because then they don’t have the voice to speak up,” Sepulveda says.
Apart from ensuring that established technology companies have diverse employees, Spearman says it’s also important to ensure that startups founded by minorities receive funding. He says investors sometimes tend to work on a “success bias,” meaning they invest in the kinds of companies that have done well in the past, leaving companies by black, female, and Hispanic founders grasping for capital.
Some companies in the Austin area, like WP Engine, were lauded by the panelists for prioritizing inclusion and successfully implementing diversity initiatives.
Price says it’s important to celebrate the companies that are successful in these areas and use them as an example for others.
“I’m sort of optimistic about this,” Price says. “When you look at the trends of the younger generation and the expectations they have about the brands they’re going to buy from and things like that, we’re seeing that they expect more impact-level returns, they want to see that brands participate more in society. I think that’s how we change the game. We put some wins on the board and sing their praises.”
Story by London Gibson
