Visibility matters

Louisa Daley chats to Mark Martin and Julia Streets about tech’s role in diversity and inclusion
Visibility matters
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Louisa Daley chats to Mark Martin and Julia Streets about tech’s role in diversity and inclusion.

Technology: we all use some form of it in our daily lives. Whether that’s scrolling through social media on our phones or checking work emails on our laptops. So why doesn’t the tech sector reflect the same diverse individuals it is made for? What would happen to the capabilities of tech if we helped drive the focus towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)?

This is something UK Black Business Week (UK BBW) touched on last year. On one of the days, it shone a spotlight on ‘The Black Tech Experience’, providing a forum for Black professionals to gain insight on how to build a successful career in the tech sector.

After attending UK BBW, I wondered how platforms could benefit from more Black tech professionals in the sector and wanted to explore some of the ideas further. So, I reached out to technology experts Mark Martin, founder of UKBlackTech and Julia Streets, executive producer of DiverCity Podcast, to find out more about the tech sector’s current and future landscape and how this ultimately ties into cultural and event experiences.

Bridging the gap

There’s a renewed focus in events about hiring from underrepresented backgrounds, with the benefit on the surface being that having a broader range of people within a business, leads to a more diverse way of looking at things. I asked our experts how the tech sector was keeping up on this front and what was changing.

According to the stats, there are Black technologists moving into the tech sector, “but at a very low rate,” says Martin.

This lack of representation in the tech sector is something Streets has also been seeing throughout her career. This is the case despite organisations like WeAreTechWomen, Code First Girls, Tech Global Advocates, being committed to driving real change around DEI.

“The data clearly shows that diverse organisations outperform, so why is the pace of change so slow, why is it taking so long?,” she asks. One of the reasons for this, Martin suggests, is the disconnect from the tech talent pipeline which therefore leaves an “untapped talent pool”.

“There’s so many Black technologists out there, who are achieving amazing things, but at the time of our launch in 2017, there wasn’t a dedicated platform to showcase their work,” he says. Hence Martin’s desire to create UKBlackTech.

“UKBlackTech wanted to be that platform. We work with universities to connect young people to the tech talent pipeline, we work with start-ups to improve and enhance their innovation, we work with corporates, in terms of supporting their staff internally and externally, by having that digital transformation discourse,” he explains.

Many events businesses are investing in technology and looking at how they support DEI initiatives. The question is, are they combining the two into a more holistic approach? Martin Spoke about how UKBlackTech does indeed aim to merge the two, he said: “A lot of the initiatives and events we run are all about digital transformation, so we don’t exclusively speak about DEI. However, we bring in that representation to explore digital transformation, rather than just bringing our experts just to talk about their lived experiences.”

Practical steps

It’s all well and good highlighting the benefits of a more diverse workforce in tech, but what are the actionable steps that organisations can take when aiming to be more representative?

Questions around tech representation is something Streets wanted to explore further, so she launched DiverCity Podcast – a podcast where she interviews senior leaders and underrepresented voices to “shine a light on positive progress, call out areas requiring further focus, and offer ideas to help drive change.”

“Every organisation is on a journey,” says Streets, and from her conversations, there are five areas that will have the greatest, positive impact on the tech sector:

• Corporate culture and leadership – Establish a diverse and inclusive culture. CEOs set the tone, how they lead, others will follow.

• Enlightened middle management leadership – Make change metrics into annual appraisals and reward the enlightened leaders embracing support from your diversity lead(s).

• Hiring and retention – do your adverts and recruitment partners deliver diverse candidate lists, or do you need to rethink, redraft and challenge? Do you have talent retention and career development plans? If employees feel valued and supported, they will spread the word and improve your candidate pool.

• Role models and allies – encourage your management team to actively engage with your network and truly listen. Role models matter, so encourage them to step forward. If you can see it, you can be it.

• Networks and intersectionality – if you are serious about change, your networks can offer a huge contribution. Simply ask and listen. But beware of siloed networks, we all have multiple identity attributes so intersectionality really matters.

While these steps are aimed towards tech, they are universal for events businesses. Creating an environment that leads with DEI and is conscious of its representation (especially within a live setting) provide just as tangible benefits in events as they do in tech.

Technology’s impact

Representation in the tech sector has wider implications, which is why it’s vital to get it right. Martin explains: “If we are putting tech into the market, and we don’t have greater representation, whether it’s at the testing stage, implementation stage, or delivery stage, it can cause serious harm.”

For example, facial recognition systems like the passport security not picking up darker skinned faces, or insurance systems charging more if you have an African or Muslim name. “Some of these inequalities that exist in society are now being automated by tech,” he adds.

“Not only do we want Black technologists to help prevent this, but we also want them to get a lead on it too, in terms of pushing for equal and equitable change. But we must get there without tokenism or the superficial stuff.

“Imagine if we did give Black technologists the space and platform, imagine what new ideas they can bring into the UK to increase the innovation, to increase the growth and ultimately increase the country’s GDP,” says Martin.

With more diverse talent, also comes better event experiences. “Technology is vital when it comes to designing event applications,” says Streets. “I heed the advice of our podcast guests who talk about disability. As they have shared: ‘get it right for disabled delegates, and you get it right for everyone’.”

From colour schemes and captions, to having a strong mix of visual/audio content, and even having inclusive marketing – technology may just be a tool, but it plays a huge role.

“It’s an exciting time,” concludes Streets,“ awareness around DEI has never been higher and it’s not going away.”

“Truly inclusive user experiences and event journeys matter more than ever as we compete for people’s time, attention and recommendations.” 

Julia Streets, executive producer of DiverCity Podcast, founder of Streets Consulting and champion of fintech entrepreneurship, innovation and diversity, can be booked as a speaker through Spectrum Speakers and Entertainers. To enquire, please contact Lauralee Whyte at: enquiries@spectrumspeakers.co.uk.

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