Increasing Diversity in SaaS
Our standard B2B SaaS talk seems trivial in light of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other African Americans, which have exposed once again the long history of injustice experienced by people of color. It should go without saying, but unfortunately has not—black lives matter.
While efforts to create more diversity in the tech world are commendable, black employees at Google only comprise 5.5% of their workforce, and Facebook’s number is a similar 3.8%.
Developing a more inclusive industry starts with creating opportunity. Today we want to draw attention to a few organizations which are working towards that goal.
Street Code Academy who provide free technology classes in entrepreneurship, coding, and design to communities of color.
Blacks in Technology an organization dedicated to increasing the representation of black men and women in tech.
Code 2040 a nonprofit designed to increase representation for all people of color in tech.
And while it’s a small drop in the bucket, there are tech players who are doing their best to make a difference which are worth noting.
Cisco announced a 5m fund pledging support to organizations focused on fighting racism and inequality.
SoftBank set up a $100 million investment fund, called Opportunity for Growth, to support minority-owned businesses.
Intel is donating $1 million to addressing social justice and racism.
Stripe pledged $100,000 each to five organizations working towards policing and criminal justice reform.
If you want to join in the conversation and learn more about how to level the playing field for minorities in tech, Black Tech for Black Lives is hosting a Q&A on June 11 on inspiring change not only at work but also in our communities.
We know this is a departure from our regular Playbook, but some things are bigger than business. Hope you have a great weekend.