Silicon Valley’s race gap is getting worse, not better, new research shows

USA Today | Jessica Guynn | October 4, 2017
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/10/03/diversity-and-silicon-valley-race-not-gender-gap-gets-worse/727240001/

“SAN FRANCISCO — Despite pledges from technology companies to crack the minority ceiling, Silicon Valley has a race problem, and it’s getting worse. Black and Hispanic representation is declining even as strides have been made in closing the gender gap in San Francisco Bay Area technology companies, according to new research published Tuesday by the non-profit Ascend Foundation, which advocates for Asians in business.”

Entertainment needs roles showing women in tech

BizWomen: The Biz Journal | Anne Stych | October 5, 2017
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2017/10/entertainment-needs-roles-showing-women-in-tech.html

“The president of an organization that supports women in technology called on the entertainment industry to depict more female scientists and engineers and normalize the idea that women can succeed in tech. “People can be what they see,” said Brenda Darden Wilkerson, chief executive officer of the AnitaB.org. Wilkerson said during an interview with The Cube at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Orlando, Florida, that she was putting a call out to the entertainment industry to put more images out there of “what’s really happening,” showing more women in technology roles.”

Careers for Women in Technology Companies Are a Global Challenge

The New York Times| Alina Tugend | October 10, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/women-careers-technology-companies.html

“European women working in the technology field are very familiar with the concerns expressed by their counterparts in the United States — too few girls and young women studying science and technology in school, gender bias and sexual harassment in the workplace. Over the past year or so in the United States, one accusation of sexual harassment and gender bias in one high-profile company has barely died down before another pops up.”

Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls out Apple, Google, Facebook for hiring practices

USA Today | Jessica Guynn | October 13, 2017
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/10/13/congressional-hispanic-caucus-calls-out-apple-google-facebook-hiring-practices/760303001/

“SAN FRANCISCO — The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, alarmed that technology and gig economy companies are not hiring Hispanics as employees, vendors and consultants, is turning up the heat. In a letter sent to 32 top companies, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), first vice chair, asked for detailed diversity statistics and an accounting of how much partnership and philanthropic spending is allocated to Hispanic-serving and Hispanic-led institutions.”

‘The pipeline’ isn’t causing tech’s diversity problem: The workplace is, and here are 3 ways to fix it

Geekwire | Clare Mcgrane | October 15, 2017
https://www.geekwire.com/2017/pipeline-isnt-causing-techs-diversity-problem-workplace-heres-3-ways-fix/

“For tech organizations trying to diversify, there’s an obvious go-to: invest in a more diverse pipeline. “For me, and I think for many, many, many companies, the pipeline problem feels easier because it’s outside you,” said Moz CEO Sarah Bird at a panel on diversity in tech at the 2017 GeekWire Summit. But working on a diverse pipeline is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to improving diversity in tech. “I think the hardest work of inclusion is inside your own company, and your own teams and between humans,” said Bird. “How do you have highly functional, collaborative conversations about race, about sexism, about how you treat people? That’s really, really hard work.” Indeed, the discussion around diversity and inclusion is a tough one, and many top tech leaders are struggling at how to best address the complexities.”

Tech’s Troubling New Trend: Diversity Is in Your Head

The New York Times | Bärí A. Williams | October 16, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/opinion/diversity-tech-women-silicon-valley.html

“OAKLAND, Calif. — Discussing her work at Apple at an event last week about fighting racial injustice, Denise Young Smith, the company’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said, “There can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blond men in a room and they’re going to be diverse, too, because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation.”

This VC firm is raising a $20M fund to invest in startups with diverse founding teams

Geekwire | Taylor Soper | October 31, 2017
https://www.geekwire.com/2017/vc-firm-raising-20m-fund-invest-startups-diverse-founding-teams/

“The numbers don’t lie — female founders face an uphill battle compared to their male counterparts when it comes to raising venture capital. The Women’s Venture Capital Fund wants to fix this. The Portland, Ore.-based investment firm plans to raise $20 million as part of its second fund, confirmed founder and Managing Director Edith Dorsen.”

How A Millennial Start-Up Entrepreneur Injected A Power-Packed Diversity Strategy For Success

Forbes | Lauren deLisa Coleman | October  31, 2017
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2017/10/31/how-a-millennial-start-up-entrepreneur-injected-a-power-packed-diversity-strategy-for-success/#7c3cc27947de

“Many people dream of working in Silicon Valley, but Natasha Jain dreamt of leaving it to do something bigger and drive diversity at the same time. This young, successful start-up founder is making waves, driving earnings for a second start-up after the successful sale of an initial start-up focused on cashless payments. She has an approach to creating gender balance that any tech firm can learn from today.”

Silicon Valley Needs to Change How It Treats Working Mothers

The Verge | Alexandra Samuel | November 7, 2017
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/7/16617736/tech-gender-gap-stem-jobs-maternity-leave-hiring-training

“Over and over, Emily Holtz Patterson heard the same questions when she started looking for work a few months after the birth of her second daughter: “So, I see this gap on your resume… ” “Are you sure you want to come back? Are you sure you want to go back to work?” “Tech changes so fast. How are you going to keep up?” Patterson has a degree in management information systems and 10 years of tech industry experience; it had never taken her more than six weeks to find a job. But for the first time in her career, she was sending out volleys of job applications, and getting only a handful of screening calls in return. When she did interview, she found herself repeatedly answering the same question: what was this mysterious gap on her résumé?”

Michelle Obama at Dreamforce Just Delivered an Inspirational message to the Tech World

Inc.com | John White | November 11, 2017
https://www.inc.com/john-white/michelle-obama-at-dreamforce-just-delivered-an-inspirational-message-to-tech-world.html

“The lines to get into Michelle Obama’s keynote at Dreamforce in San Francisco began forming at sunrise at the site of the world’s largest software conference. With thousands of people waiting to get in, the excitement and anticipation to see the former First Lady could easily be felt in the air outside the Moscone Center. Obama opened her speech with her two keys for a better future: education and youth. She said the U.S. has a solid public education system in place but that we can do more to better educate our youth through “new, engaging” curriculum. “Education is at the very center of their possibilities,” she said. “Training and preparing youth is the foundation to building a better world for us all.”