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Hey guy, I have this book out. Wondering if you could help me spread the word. It teaches you how to write KPI’s for an IDB perspective. I am in the market to switch career back to my original so I am open to assist especially non-profits address their data issues. Anyway guys if interested send me a DM. https://www.amazon.com/Key-Performance-Indicator-Development-Guide/dp/B0B5K9W5JC
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I think you need to think bigger than that, Engineer. There are plenty of individual and small entrepreneurs in your space. The real problem is that there is no black-owned/controlled infrastructure acting to support black people in tech: VC firms, banks, educational pipelines, etc.
White supremacy exists to keep those advances from occurring: America would find a way to undermine and dismantle the structure. It’s probably why Jay-z, Diddy, and Dr Dre could not meaningfully start their own joint ventures (to compete with the majors) despite their massive wealth. Why would the challenges be any different in tech?
These companies will happily pay you (as an individual $150K) but how likely will a bank loan you $1M-$10M to fund your black-owned startup? How many black kids attending Stanford have tech bro connections to tap into family/ friend connections to drum up the cash? Or even put up collateral (home) to help their kid start their company?
But despite these obstacles, continue to further your growth in your field. Study the landscape and stay prepared for opportunities within the traditional industry or when you can build and start your own thing.
Guidehouse, ok so you’re one of those “show me the memo” guys. Please just read the article linked below. Just because you have no authority to hold a black person back doesn’t mean it’s not happening lol.
https://www.bankrate.com/loans/small-business/racial-biases-impact-loan-approval-for-minority-business-owners/
We all know the trend is deeply rooted in systemic issues, from educational disparities to biases in hiring practices. It didn't start today. appreciate various sector's efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion but we are going to need more than just that.
The same can be said of too many professional fields, unfortunately. A look at higher education completion rates presents a pretty clear picture of the problem- and it’s a long standing problem, not a trend. The disparity in professional/advanced degree attainment among different populations makes a big difference in who is available in the candidate pool.
A lot of this is based on the history and origination of the tech industry. When certain sectors of the tech industry started, it was primarily white men doing those jobs. Even today, the tech industry is mostly dominated by men as a whole. However, as the baby boomers get ready to retire, and younger generations come into the STEM fields I think you will see a shift in the demographics of this work force.
The only side note is disadvantage communities which tend to primarily be non-white usually don’t get the same educational opportunities which are impacting future generations opportunities in every field, not just tech.
Systematic discrimination
It comes from the available pool of qualified candidates. I recruit for tech resources at public and private institutions - everything from the Ivy League to small state universities. Certain racial groups make up higher percentages of the candidates in the fields I recruit for. You need to change the pipeline if you want to balance out the hires. For example, I should not have to recruit at HBCUs to find black candidates - although that's what we are forced to do to increase the population of available candidates from that demographic. I can get a reasonable percentage of tech focused other POC candidates from other institutions. The pool of candidates from which to draw is the biggest issue we find in attempting to diversely balance our ranks. I don't have a good answer to solve the problem, beyond saying you need to increase the black candidate pool to make a meaningful difference from where we are now.
Have you thought about why Asian (esp east and south Asian) and middle eastern are overrepresented in STEM fields for education? US immigration laws from 1965 onwards only allowed certain types of immigrants into the country and for certain reasons. And then certain cou tries figured out that education was the path to the "Americam Dream".
There is systemic oppression and structural racism at play, but positionin marginalized groups against each other doesn't do any good. White candidates benefit the most from legacy admissions and nepotism hires and I haven't seen meaningful progress on that front yet.