Where Do We Go From Here? Reflections From the Equity, Talent, and Tech Community
by Kamau Bobb, Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech
As originally posted on CECP Insights Blog
Over the last year, the CECP Systemic Investment in Equity, Talent, and Tech (ETT) Accelerate Community has grappled with issues at the heart of diversity and inclusion in the tech sector. The lack of significant collective progress coupled with the current national tenor suggests this is an appropriate moment of reckoning. The nature of the problem is so embedded in the social challenges of the country that the only way to achieve meaningful impact is to move collectively and with careful reflection.
Collective impact is the consensus. A critical element in achieving collective impact is to have a common agenda. A common agenda rests on a shared basic argument.
At the core of the matter is the nature of the argument. For the last two decades, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been framed as the centerpiece of two basic arguments:
- DEI is necessary as a business imperative. The standard argument suggests that diverse teams are more innovative and hence more productive. Having a diverse workforce creates more interesting and more robust products and processes and is better for business. That is the business case argument.
- DEI is necessary as a moral imperative. The standard argument suggests that having a workforce that is reflective of the broader population is simply the right thing to do. It is a normative argument. Tech jobs, regardless of sector, are disproportionately influential; therefore, everyone should have at least equal opportunity to participate. That is the moral argument.
Read the full blog post on CECP's Insights Blog: https://cecp.me/2n9Piw2
