Many organizations are already working to advance high-quality postsecondary CS education at every level. CEOs do not have to reinvent the wheel, but can fund and partner with experienced providers and consultants.
Invest in organizations that connect talent from underrepresented groups to tech careers
HIGH LEVERAGE POINTS
CHANGE AGENTS
IN SUMMARY
10.1
Increase support for building technical talent pools for your workforce by promoting systemic reform and funding women and minority students at institutions of higher education.
10.2
Establish relationships with institutions that graduate Native American, Black, and Latinx students. Promote opportunities for paid internships, “sprinternships,” and apprenticeships with your company.
10.3
Fund intermediary programs and organizations to help build pathways into tech for underserved students.
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SPOTIFY’S TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Spotify’s Technology Fellowship Program is aimed at hiring engineers just entering the professional tech field from nontraditional backgrounds. The idea for the program originated at a company-wide hack week in 2016. Spotify engineers noticed that graduates from coding boot camps and other nontraditional educational backgrounds were not getting through programming interviews to receive job offers. They realized that while boot camp graduates received intense coding tutorials, they had not developed the applied engineering experience one needed to succeed in an interview and be hired.
The Fellowship, which launched in New York City, is designed to give candidates the necessary practical experience. For 18 weeks, program participants—about eight engineers—operate as a team within Spotify while receiving mentoring, personal, and professional development from various employees. To identify candidates, the Fellowship partners with NYC Tech Talent Pipeline to source talent, focusing on people who are self-taught, attended a coding boot camp, or have degrees from community colleges.
The results have been strong. Spotify has hired 93% of program participants for full-time positions, and they have come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. Moreover, the program has given the company’s engineers the opportunity to serve as mentors and develop their own leadership skills.
One reason the program has been so successful is that participants are supported at every phase, building high levels of trust. The culture is to acknowledge that the work isn’t easy and that failure is an opportunity to learn. Workshops explicitly tackle challenges like imposter syndrome and maintaining a growth mindset. The goal is to make people feel emotionally safe and professionally supported so they can develop their skills without fear or intimidation.
After four successful years in New York, the program is expanding to London and Stockholm (Spotify’s headquarters). Over time, the Fellowship will continue to build strong feedback loops with NYC Tech Talent Pipeline and coding boot camps in order to strengthen CS curricula and create more pathways for engineers from diverse backgrounds.
RESOURCE
Spotify’s Technology Fellowship Program
NYC Tech Talent Pipeline
There isn’t just one pathway into a career in tech. Spotify introduced its Technology Fellowship Program after it was presented as an idea at a company-wide hack week in 2016. The program is aimed at hiring engineers entering the tech industry from nontraditional backgrounds.
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PROMOTING SYSTEMIC CHANGE FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN COMPUTING FIELDS: NCWIT EXTENSION SERVICES
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Extension Services for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs1 are initiatives for addressing the severe gender imbalance in computer science. The undergraduate intervention model has been successfully deployed in 135 computing departments, while the graduate program is in its pilot phase, partnering with two large computer and information science colleges. Each provides a research-based model of strategic systemic reform and customized consultation, taking into account local policies and conditions. The programs have demonstrated positive outcomes for attracting and retaining women in computing.
Johnson & Johnson funded NCWIT Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs to support a computer science department from which it regularly hires tech talent. In its first four years of change efforts, the department increased the percentage of CS bachelor’s degrees awarded to women from 14% to 19%.
Google funded the development of the NCWIT Extension Services for Graduate Programs and supported the pilot program with two large PhD programs2 located in colleges of computing. Pilot institutions are examining what’s working to recruit and retain students from underrepresented groups, as well as identifying barriers to admission and retention through graduation. Data and analysis will support strategic plans for institutionalizing change.
Image Source: NCWIT Extension Services for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs.
Footnotes:- See NCWIT Extension Services Information Sheet. https://ncwit.org/program/highered-programs/extension-services/.
- NCWIT. Advance Women in Research Careers: NCWIT Extension Services for Graduate Programs. https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/28160424/advancewomeninresearchcareers_ncwitesgradprograms.pdf
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Extension Services for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs are initiatives for addressing the severe gender imbalance in computer science.
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TOOL KIT
Join, Learn From and Invest in Existing Initiatives
81cents. Provides affordable, accessible, virtual negotiation support and data for women and other underrepresented minorities.
AccessComputing. Increases the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields.
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). Focuses on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
AnitaB.org. Connects, inspires, and guides women in computing and in organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative.
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM and ACM-W). Advances computing as a science and profession, with more than 680 student chapters around the world.
Bitwise Industries. Helps upskill students and people typically left out of the tech industry, which transforms the economies of each city Bitwise serves.
Black Girls Code. Builds pathways for young women of color by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.
Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation. Develops Black American girls and young women in all areas of STEM through leadership, mentorship, critical thinking projects, STEM design and experiments, and life skills.
BlackcomputHER. Supports computer and tech education and workforce development for Black women and girls.
Break Through Tech. Removes obstacles that keep women from the tech talent pipeline.
BridgeUP STEM. Provides opportunities for girls, women, and gender non-conforming individuals of all backgrounds to learn the skills of computer science and research methodology within a research university setting.
Center for Minorities and People With Disabilities in IT (CMDiT). Offers resources, programming and leadership initiatives, and national scale projects to foster innovation through inclusion.
Code with Google. Connects students from underrepresented groups to computer science education and the tools they need to build skills for the future.
CodeHouse. Focuses on cultivating a strong pipeline between students of color and industry-leading technology companies to build the next generation of diverse tech leadership.
CodePath. Transforms college computer science education for underrepresented minorities and underserved populations in order to eliminate educational inequity in technical careers.
Code.org. Expands access to computer science in schools and increases participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups.
ColorStack. Offers community building, academic support, and career development for Black and Latinx college CS students.
Computer Science Teachers Association. Community of computer science teachers that prepares teachers to offer high-quality classroom experiences.
Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI). Addresses the low representation of Hispanics in computing in both higher education and the workforce.
Computing Research Association. Joins with industry, government, and academia to strengthen research and advanced education in computing.
CSforALL. Connects providers, schools and districts, funders, and researchers working toward the goal of providing quality CS education to every child in the United States.
Diversity Lab. Incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law.
Girls Who Code. Building the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers.
Institute for Women's Policy Research. National think tank that builds evidence for policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families.
Internet Association. Trade association that exclusively represents leading global internet companies on matters of public policy.
Kapor Center. Family of organizations that pursue innovative strategies to leverage capital, talent, and technology for positive social impact.
Last Mile Education Fund. Increases diversity in tech and engineering fields by addressing critical gaps in financial support for low-income, underrepresented students within four semesters of graduation.
LA-Tech.org. Aims to bring the tech community together around common civic goals and to bring economic opportunities to LA’s underserved communities through four pillars: educate, mobilize, connect, and amplify.
Management Leadership for Tomorrow. Supports a pipeline of Black, Latinx, and Native American undergraduate, graduate, and management-level talent through its playbook, coaching, and networking programming.
Multiverse. Customizes apprenticeship programs to train entry-level talent and upskill existing employees according to company needs.
Natives Rising. Bridges the gap between tech and Indigenous communities by providing community, networking, and career coaching.
NCWIT Aspirations in Computing. A program that supports girls and women in getting into the field of computing— and staying there.
NSBE. Supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and precollegiate Black engineer students and technical professionals in engineering and technology.
oStem. Professional association for LGBTQ+ people in the STEM community offering scholarship, leadership, and mentorship programming, as well as an annual conference.
PledgeLA. A collective of 215+ LA-based tech companies and VC firms working to increase equity and accountability in the local ecosystem, a partnership by the Annenberg Foundation and the City of LA.
Reboot Representation. Coalition of tech companies committed to doubling the number of Black, Latina, and Native American women graduating with computing degrees by 2025.
SHPE/MAES. Fosters Hispanic leadership in the STEM field through mentorship, webinars, resource groups, networking opportunities, and more.
Society of Women Engineers. Empowers women to succeed and advance in engineering and be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders.
STARS Computing Corps. Broadens participation of underrepresented groups in computing within institutions of higher education.
TECHNOLOchicas. National initiative of NCWIT and Televisa Foundation designed to raise awareness among young Latinas and their families about opportunities and careers in technology.
WiCyS. Brings talented women together to celebrate and foster their passion and drive for cybersecurity.
WorkingNation. Seeks to galvanize the public will and mobilize critical resources to mitigate the growing employability gap in America.