Be Nimble Ventures, an Indianapolis-based group working to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech sector, will host Disrupt Indy: Redefining the Path to Inclusion in Technology — a Midwest Tech Diversity Summit — from Aug. 2–4 at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis. Be Nimble cofounders Kelli N. Jones and Jeff T. D. Williams developed the concept for the Diversity Summit in response to industry statistics concerning tech diversity.
Despite exponential job growth within the tech sector, the number of qualified candidates of diverse backgrounds is flat and shrinking. Employers are struggling to find candidates of diverse backgrounds and, as a result, less than 6 percent of tech companies employ people of color.
Approximately five years ago, Silicon Valley tech giants such as Facebook, Google, Uber and Twitter released data demonstrating that of the hundreds of thousands of jobs generated by the tech sector, less than 25 percent were held by women, 3 percent by African-Americans and 2 percent by Latinos. The ensuing uproar and genuine motivation to reverse course spawned various Silicon Valley initiatives geared toward offering more K-12 education opportunities, tech camps, revised hiring practices and other strategies to boost educational and employment access for underserved populations.
In Indianapolis, Jones said, the sale of ExactTarget to Indianapolis-based Salesforce in June of 2013 created the second largest tech headquarters located outside of San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. The acquisition renewed so-called “Silicon Prairie” efforts to tackle the tech diversity issue. Jones speaks highly of Salesforce’s ardent diversity initiatives aimed at enhancing inclusion and opportunities by seeking to close the wage gap and to launch employee research groups (ERGs) associated with the various underserved affinity groups.
Industry estimates project that there will be 5 million tech jobs by 2025. “Minorities won’t be in those jobs if we don’t start now,” Jones said. Noting the lack of computer science programming in traditional K-12 curricula, Be Nimble has plotted a roadmap for combating the tech diversity issue. Event organizers seek to “(c)reate a pipeline of qualified diverse candidates to fill jobs and incubate tech innovators to become tech pioneers.” Event organizers believe implementation of key initiatives targeting women and people of color will ameliorate the tech diversity statistics. Their proposals include increasing the availability of computer science and coding apprenticeships, mentoring and startup incubators for women, people of color and LGBTQ tech professionals.
Disrupt Indy programming, geared toward minority and woman tech professionals, engineers, startup founders, tech entrepreneurs, educators and venture capitalists, will include networking and recruiting opportunities, panel discussions and a startup and entrepreneurship showcase. Jones acknowledges that tech diversity conferences are springing up around the country, but she says the Midwest Tech Diversity Summit is distinct in that its aim is “a market perfected, rather than a quota system. Diversity is a workforce and economic development issues. The goal is to communicate to communities, industry leaders and civic partners that diverse teams enhance the range of the ideas and perspectives in the workplace and will make the company or the company’s product better.”
“No one is really ignoring (the tech diversity) issue,” she added.
Considerable strides have been made locally and around the country to get more girls and women involved in tech, making this the opportune time to address expansion of tech opportunities for African-Americans, Latinos and LGBTQ tech professionals. “We are here, too,” Jones says.
The City of Indianapolis has been a full-throated partner in the mission, Jones added, proud of municipal efforts. Deputy Mayor of Economic Development Angela Smith-Jones will give the keynote address at the Diversity Summit. Marion County’s local workforce development board, EmployIndy, is another municipal partner.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, event organizers will leverage the best practices of tech organizations across the nation. Among the Diversity Summit presenters will be Miami-based Felecia Hatcher, founder of Black Tech Week and Code Fever, “a holistic wraparound company that offers a coding camp and startup entrepreneur support for African-American tech professionals.” Another presenter, Chicago-based Fabian Elliott, founder and CEO of Black Tech Mecca, takes a quantitative approach to advising cities’ tech inclusivity for affinity groups.
Event organizers are ideally suited to the mission of the Diversity Summit. Through their company, Be Nimble Ventures, Jones and Williams counsel clients regarding corporate marketing and diversity strategies.
The Midwest Tech Diversity Summit is not merely another conference pronouncing the obvious — that there is a tech diversity issue. The goal of the Midwest Tech Diversity Summit is “to move beyond that fact to asking what we can do locally. We want to leave the conference with a plan, next steps and ideas so that we and other organizations can think about tech diversity differently,” Jones said
The Diversity Summit, she added, will prompt a well-rounded conversation among industry professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, city and state policymakers and other stakeholders.
“Achieving tech diversity is challenging, but it starts with making sure everyone is at the table working on how to make sure everyone is included and the right people are employed. The goal is to make sure that everyone feels like part of the tech ecosystem. If done right, we will create a model that we can replicate around the country.”
Jeff T.D. Williams cofounded Be Nimble Ventures, an Indianapolis-based group working to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.
“> Jeff T.D. Williams cofounded Be Nimble Ventures, an Indianapolis-based group working to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.
