“RI Tech and Innovation Report” - Tech Collective Launches Diversity & Inclusion

“RI Tech and Innovation Report” - Tech Collective Launches Diversity & Inclusion

Recognizing that in addressing the need to increase diversity in the workplace, companies need to focus on more than one underserved group, Tech Collective has launched Diversity & Inclusion, a new programming arm that will provide professional development and resources to companies and workers.

The move also comes on the heels of the 10th anniversary of TC’s Women in Tech initiative, of which the mentorship branch has served more than 300 women.

“The biggest hurdle (for employers) is acknowledging your company has a diversity problem,” Tech Collective Program Manager Amanda Roman told GoLocalProv. “Once that’s done, there are tons of tools and resources that can begin to address and breakdown some of the unknown barriers in place.”

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And, that’s what this new initiative hopes to provide.

Roman points to several statistics that illustrate an intense need for increased efforts to make Rhode Island’s tech workplaces more attractive and accommodating to what she calls the “traditionally underserved technology workforce community” that includes women, those living with disabilities, African Americans, Latinx, LBGTQ and Native Americans.

A recent TC panel featured students who are now entering the tech workforce and will do so in the next seven years. Roman said that a perceived lack of diversity and problems with inclusion within the tech sector kept one of the participating students from attending a specific college.

In addition, only 20 percent of computer science graduates are women, only 10 percent are LatinX and only 6 percent are Black.

Roman also points to proof that fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace has positive impacts for a company’s culture, of course, but also its financial success.

For instance, she said, a McKinsey and Company research study suggests that equitable representation with women can produce a 19-percent increase in economic output and a 35-percent increase with ethnic minorities.

“This means that businesses are actually making more money with a more diverse workforce,” Roman said. “This initiative has always been needed, but capacity-wise, Tech Collective has grown exponentially in the last year and is finally able to take it on.”

A kick-off event went “far beyond my expectations,” said Roman. “This says there’s a yearning for change and growth in the tech industry. We’re happy to help facilitate that in partnership with our members and community partners.”

Now that a steering committee for the initiative is in place, additional programming should be coming this fall. Possible topics include writing job descriptions to be more inclusive of the entire tech population and partnering with community organizations to achieve diversity and inclusion goals.

The initiative will also focus on helping companies create workplaces that are both diverse and inclusive in order to help them retain talent, and

“A company has to understand why this is important in order to prioritize it. Part of our role will be helping companies understand the value it will bring them,” Roman said.