In 2020, WTIA established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center of Excellence to support anti-racism efforts in the tech industry. WTIA DEI Center of Excellence is led by Chief Diversity Officer Yolánda L. Chase, SHRM-SCP, CPM, CM. With 30+ years of experience in leading human resources and DEI functions in Fortune 500 companies, Yolánda leads her team and the Pact to define and accomplish strategic, time-bound, and measurable objectives.
Gregory Glover, MS, has been named Head of Business Development for the WTIA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center of Excellence (DEI COE). He brings more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, and leadership from the pharmaceutical industry (GlaxoSmithKline) with a proven track record of developing and implementing winning strategies and accomplishing results.
In his role, Gregory delivers innovative, strategic, and comprehensive DEI solutions to small, midsize, and large enterprise clients. He builds strong client connections to maintain existing relationships and acquire new business. The role reports to the Chief Diversity Officer.
Gregory maintains a passion for volunteerism and servant leadership in his community. “I’m excited to join WTIA, an organization with an amazing team of talented individuals and an equity-centered mission and community focus,” he says.
Originally from New York City, Gregory resides in Cedar Hill, Texas (15 miles south of Dallas) with his wife Nedin and the youngest of their five children, Sophia. Gregory recently began his second term as a city council member in Cedar Hill, Texas, and is a certified Small Business Mentor with the Small Business Administration (SCORE) and volunteer business consultant to non-profit organizations with Catchafire.org.
Gregory holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Advertising from Bernard M. Baruch College, C.U.N.Y. in New York, and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University in Austin, Texas.
The WTIA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center of Excellence offers a comprehensive suite of services to support your efforts in creating more inclusive and equitable cultures. We can help you strategize around DEI goals that support diversity recruitment, retention, and organizational development. Our offerings include data benchmarking, micro-learning, training resources, leadership development, and executive coaching. Learn more about our offerings by visiting www.washingtontechnology.org/dei/.
By 2025, we aim to close hiring and retention disparities among professionals from underserved communities, with a particular focus on Black, indigenous, and Latino/x workers in tech.
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A 2018 PayScale analysis of payroll data shows that Native American, black and Hispanic tech workers make less than white workers. “The largest gap is for black workers, who earn $0.87 for every dollar earned by white tech workers.”
Recruitment and Hiring
According to the EEOC “Diversity in Tech Report,” the high tech sector employed a smaller share of Black Americans (14.4 percent to 7.4 percent), Hispanics (13.9 percent to 8 percent), and women (48 percent to 36 percent), when compared to the overall industry.
A Center for Employment Equity report shows that Black men represent only 3% of employees in tech firms, while Latino/x men represent only 5%.
A 2017 survey of tech workers reveals that improving workplace culture can improve retention. Kapor’s “Tech Leavers Study” found that 62% of all employees would have stayed if their company had taken steps to create a more positive and respectful work environment. 57% would have stayed if their company had taken steps to make the company culture more fair and inclusive.
A study of EEOC data referenced in the Harvard Business Review shows that compared to Blacks and Hispanics, Asians are less likely to be promoted from individual contributor roles to management ranks. This disparity is present in all industries, but even more pronounced in tech, finance, and healthcare industries, where Asians and Asian Americans make up a large share of the workforce.
Technology organizations are struggling to help translate D&I strategy into action. While D&I is a stated value or priority area for 77% of organizations, 39% of surveyed respondents still feel their individual diversity is a barrier to employee progression at their organization. (PWC, 2020)
