This week in our WiCipedia roundup: Politics gets a bit more politically correct; breaking the hiring mold; how companies can actually create change; and more.
With a new administration comes opportunity for change at every level, and that s just what has happened over the past few weeks. The white, male domination of politics may not be coming to an end any time soon, but women and BIPOC are slowly moving in and pushing diversity measures in the stodgy White House. Jessica Rosenworcel has become the second female FCC chair ever, NBC News reports, and she is also the first mother in that position. Additionally, the new rules package for the 117th Congress include several related to ensuring diversity measures in telecommunications, something that would have sounded like a joke just a few months ago. The new Congress is expected to address consequential concerns around facial recognition technologies, the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in rural and urban areas, the risk
This week in our WiCipedia roundup: Board diversification goal setters; Netflix releases first inclusion report; CES 2021 focuses on women in tech; and more.
Diversifying boards has been a real point of tension in the tech world in recent years, yet there are companies out there that have done it and don t seem to think the excuses bear weight. CIO featured an article by Elizabeth Stock, executive director of nonprofit PDX Women in Tech (PDXWIT), to talk about the process that PDXWIT took to get from 100% white, straight, CIS board members to more than 80% BIPOC along with LGBTQ members, all in under two years. While the organization had a bit of a head start compared to more traditional tech companies as its focus is on diversity and the original board was already entirely women, Stock believes that companies have full control over their diversification efforts, and that great change can be made from the top down, particularly from CIOs. Check out the article for PDXWIT s step-by-s
This week in our WiCipedia roundup: The argument for why jobs in tech shouldn t require a diploma; a new online community for women in UX; how language in job descriptions affects applicants; and more.
Tech CEOs are often lauded for being wunderkinds who didn t even go to college. Yet the reality is that these founders are almost always white men who dropped out of Ivy League schools and had every possible advantage growing up. An op-ed on CNBC asks companies to now consider hiring other employees who don t have college degrees, specifically Black women. Child computer prodigy LaShana Lewis didn t attend university, but she landed a job in tech after decades of trying to break into the industry. Her lack of degree initially hindered her success, even though she had the skills to do the job. Lewis, who is now director of the St. Louis Equity in Entrepreneurship Collective, director of IT at non-profit Givable
This week in our WiCipedia roundup: Google workers start to unionize; female keynoters take over a virtual CES; 2021 tech events for women; and more.
Google employees are fed up with the tech behemoth and have started unionizing in the New Year, an article in The New York Times explains. While joining unions isn t common in the US for such white-collar jobs, hundreds of employees have banded together in outrage over Google s lack of response to numerous claims of sexual harassment and unequal pay. Employees are coming together with the help of The Alphabet Workers Union, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, a group that represents telecom and media workers. In an op-ed from organizers also in The Times, employees explain that massive payoffs for executives accused of harassment are creating discriminatory and unfair work environments for minorities at the company, especially Black, brown, queer, trans, disabled, and women workers. While the union is sti
This week in our WiCipedia roundup: A booming tech space in Tennessee; Pinterest employee complaints draw unequal results; something good comes of Amazon s wealth; and more.
When you think of tech, Middle Tennessee doesn t necessarily come to mind. Yet a local news source says the area, which includes Nashville, has become a booming hub for tech jobs. Proponents argue that the industry is thriving there, quality of life is much higher than in more notable regions and despite lower salaries, they go further than they would on the coasts. The under-representation of women and minorities in the tech workforce has long been an issue at our country s two major tech hubs of San Francisco and New York, and it s only getting worse, the author of a tech council report, Dr. Amy Harris, said. Nashville s tech workforce is one-third women and 23% non-White. If you re looking for a place that defies tech stereotypes, come to Middle Tennessee. We aren t sure how Silicon Valley can argue with