Source: Quartz
The Global Climate Initiative (CGI) America conference brings together leaders, philanthropists, government and nonprofits to help solve economic issues by developing plans of action.
Attendee and Director of Engineering at Slack, Leslie Miley, highlighted three key elements to advancing social mobility for minorities and women in America, especially in the tech industry, where both groups are underrepresented; only one percent of the leaders at Twitter are black or Hispanic, only two percent at Google, and only two percent at Facebook.
Changes in the interview process, promotion and retention of minorities and women, and location of expansion of tech companies, are among Miley’s suggestions.
The first addresses a key issue in recruiting minorities and women; the interview process, Miley explains, needs to implement realistic technical problems in order to remove the bias that comes with the typical interview process questions, which are drawn from top-schools (often inaccessible to non-white students).
The second change addresses the gender and race pay-gap; minorities and women experience less promotions and are less likely to retain a job in tech. A key change would be to track promotions by demographics for accountability and also to develop mentoring programs that create more opportunities for professional growth.
The third key change is expanding the presence of tech teams in locations populated by underrepresented groups, to create positive role models and attract more minorities and women into the world of technology.
Read full story a: Quartz