Giving Compass' Take:

• The authors highlight the importance of equity over equality when building a diverse workforce as well as examine the role of corporate social responsibility initiatives that help to increase diversity in the workforce. 

• What are the key differences between focusing on equity and focusing on equality? Why is the distinction important in helping advance diversity and inclusion initiatives?

• Read more about building an inclusive company in a diverse world. 

The challenge of diversifying the tech workforce is confronting companies across sectors as more jobs are requiring computational thinking and digital fluency. Simultaneously, the demographics of the United States are changing rapidly, and companies are challenged with ensuring that the talent pipeline reflects those dynamic shifts. Developing a robust and diverse technical workforce in the United States is becoming a national priority as a result of the emerging technologies and their impact on industries.

The task at hand is to create equitable access to education and skills that are relevant and contextual not only to the jobs of today, but also those that are resilient for the workforces of tomorrow.

In May 2017, CECP: the CEO Force for Good launched the Systemic Investments in Equity, Talent, and Tech Accelerate Community. Led by Dr. Kamau Bobb, Georgia Tech, the Community convened 13 companies around investments in STEM education and tech talent pipelines using a systemic equity lens.

Why is our intentional focus on equity, and not equality? The working group believes equity is more fundamental than equality.

It is possible to have equal distribution of something and still have unequal outcomes because of inequity.

Corporations across the country are clamoring to find innovative ways to ensuring that American graduates are prepared to enter the workforce. What has been critical to making inroads is understanding that students must have an empathetic comprehension of what technology looks like–how to apply and innovate it so they can play an active role in shaping the tools of the future. What the Community found was that corporations are engaging in the equity, talent, and tech effort on a spectrum.

There is an ever-present tension between self-interest to develop their talent pipeline and social responsibility to support the community. Companies should invest in informal learning programs for K-12 students as part of social responsibility initiatives, which simultaneously serve as long-term investments in a more diverse workforce.

Read the full article about building a diverse workforce by Barbara Whye, Balaji Ganapathy, and  Kelli Wells at TriplePundit