CTRL+T podcast: Diversity and its discontents

No one is down with how diversity is unfolding in Silicon Valley. Depending on how one looks at it, they’re going to have an issue with it. White men are crying foul, saying they’re being left out of these conversations and initiatives. However, actual marginalized people are, rightfully so, saying not enough is being done to diversify the industry and foster inclusion.

If you thought last year was intense for diversity, hold on tight, because based on the way this year is unfolding, it looks like we’re in for a wild ride. Already, Google was hit with a revised gender pay lawsuit that alleges Google underpaid women in comparison with their male counterparts and asked new hires about their prior salaries.

Then, a white man filed a lawsuit against Google, saying the company discriminates against white men with “perceived conservative political views.” Meanwhile, tech companies are making little progress around increasing the number of underrepresented minorities employed at their companies.

On this episode of CTRL+T, I chat with Dr. Jennifer Cohen of the Level Playing Field Institute, an organization that aims to improve access and increase opportunity for people of color in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Dr. Cohen says she’s excited about the possibilities of what our future can look like and what it could look like when communities of color are more involved in designing technological solutions. However, what scares her is exclusion and people of color “missing out on the opportunity because they’re not invited or not aware that there is room for them,” she said. “And that their ideas are welcome and necessary to advancing society.”

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