At WTIA, we believe diverse representation is crucial to moving the tech industry forward. This roundup of local and national stories will give you an idea of which way the needle is moving.

Three Imperatives for Educators to Get More Women in Tech

TechCrunch | Melissa Kaufman | February 20, 2019

“Whether it’s middle school, high school or college, the time young women spend in classrooms is formative — it’s where passions are ignited and life paths are plotted. Needless to say, bridging the gender gap in tech at this source is an imperative. But this isn’t about meeting quotas, sharing platitudes on social media and trumpeting hollow awards. Reversing the brogramming trend and cultivating a more diverse tech workforce requires a tangible, scalable model to see that idea come to fruition.

During my career at Google, I had my finger on the pulse of the tech industry and realized that a realistic plan to get more women into tech would be far different than what journalists and authors were talking about. As Whitney Wolfe, the CEO and founder of the dating app Bumble, pointed out, we don’t need to criticize the workplace — we need to criticize the classroom.

With that said, here are three essential strategies that educators must embrace to get to the root of gender imbalance in tech.”

Trump Administration Starts Cracking down on H-1B Visa Approvals and Work Permits for Spouses

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | February 25, 2019

“It’s harder to get an H-1B visa than it used to be — and the spouses of those who do get approvals could soon lose permission to work in the U.S.

U.S. immigration officials are making changes to the H-1B visa program, which many big tech companies use to hire workers from other countries for jobs that require specific skills.

The policy changes are part of President Donald Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ agenda, which seeks to prioritize American labor and reduce abuse in the legal immigration system.”

Moms at Amazon Press for Backup Day Care, a Benefit Common at Many Tech Companies

Seattle Times | Rebecca Greenfield and Spencer Soper | March 4, 2019

Amazon has long resisted pleas to provide a backup day care benefit for employees, even though other tech companies have offered the perk for years. Now a group comprising hundreds of working moms is waging a campaign to persuade founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos that providing help for parents dealing with flu outbreaks, school closures and other emergencies is not simply humane but good for the company, too.

The group has been collecting anecdotal evidence to show how a lack of day care support can derail the careers of talented women who otherwise might be promoted to more senior jobs, according to an email reviewed by Bloomberg…The women, who belong to a group of more than 1,800 employees called the Momazonians, are scheduled to meet with senior managers in coming weeks to make their case. They want the company to provide backup day care for those times when regular childcare arrangements fall through. They will also urge human resources to start collecting data about day care challenges — via interviews with incoming and departing employees — to eliminate the management blind spot and prevent such problems from festering any longer.

Diversity in Tech: How One VC Firm Is Partnering with Historically Black Colleges to Address the Pipeline Issue

Forbes | Ruth Umoh | March 13, 2019

“Recruitment efforts at top tech firms have traditionally targeted students at elite colleges and Ivy League universities, leading to a predominantly white, male workforce. Because of that, companies have missed out on top talent from the 101 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which produce a growing number of science and tech professionals.

Unusual Ventures, a seed-stage investment firm, aims to change this with its new Unusual Interns program. Launching this summer, the program is designed to increase the number of black students working in technical internships by connecting students from HBCUs with high-growth Silicon Valley startups.”

This Program Is Helping Refugees Break into the Tech Industry

YES! Magazine | Madhvi Ramani | March 13, 2019

“[ReDI School] has blossomed into one of the largest known coding programs for refugees in the world. Through partnerships with some of the biggest companies in Germany, such as Klöckner & Co. and U.S.-based Cisco, it has over 500 current students and 1,000 graduates and has earned accolades from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Some of its graduates have already formed their own startups, including one that created a forthcoming app that will make it easier for newcomers to navigate German bureaucracy.

Last year, ReDI (which stands for Readiness for Digital Integration) opened a second location in Munich and this year plans to expand into Hamburg a program for women it began two years ago. Currently, some 40 percent of its students are women.”

These Are the Top 10 Cities for Women in Tech in 2019

YES! Magazine | Madhvi Ramani | March 13, 2019

“The tech industry has long been under fire for not only its lack of diversity in staffing and leadership, but also for its lack of pay equity for women.

According to data from the Census Bureau, women in tech earn 84 percent of what their male counterparts make. A  study released last year by software platform Carta found that men own 91 percent of employee and founder equity in Silicon Valley, leaving women with a measly 9 percent.

But certain places are friendlier to women working in tech than others are.”

US Immigration Policy Has Employers Eyeing Canada for Job Growth

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | March 20, 2019

“As the United States cracks down on employment-based immigration programs, Canada has been aggressively marketing itself as a friendly alternative for tech companies seeking international talent in the nation’s quest to become a more influential tech hub.

American tech companies are taking note.

Some 65 percent of employers in a recent Harris Poll said they think Canada has more favorable immigration policies than the U.S. Envoy, a technology firm that helps employers with immigration services, enlisted Harris to survey more than 400 U.S. companies in a variety of industries. The responses show growing unease among American companies that rely on employment-based immigration programs to fill their tech talent shortages.”