In a recent Boston Business Journal article, How businesses can help shatter more glass ceilings in 2021, Parna Sarkar-Basu, Founder and CEO at Brand and Buzz marketing, writes about how her company’s membership in MassTLC helps her “define and lead” when it comes to diversity.
“You can add more dimensions to your own company’s approach to diversity while drawing inspiration from new sources and joining forces with other businesses and associations. My company is a member of MassTLC, an association focused on developing an inclusive technology ecosystem in Massachusetts. I get to learn best practices from my peers and also support companies with their diversity initiatives.”
We’ve included an excerpt from the BBJ, below. Read the full article (paywall), here.
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Support for Diversity and Inclusivity
As a member of the tech ecosystem, I’ve often been the only woman sitting around a table of male executives. Granted, they were from different countries, so there was cultural diversity. As we look forward to 2021 and hope to put the challenges of this year behind us, I see an inspiring wave of support for diversity and inclusivity. But turning hope into reality requires grit and collaboration.
Although I’ve lived in the Boston suburbs, I was born and raised in India. Yes, we had a woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who first took office in 1966. In Israel, Golda Meir became prime minister three years later. Margaret Thatcher followed in 1979 as prime minister of the U.K. Even Bangladesh had a women prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in 1996. But not the U.S.
As a mom and an advocate for women in tech, it has always been hard for me to answer my daughter when she asks why America didn’t have a woman president — especially when I’ve been telling her she can be anything she wants to be.
That will change when Kamala Harris is inaugurated as vice president. This is a milestone to celebrate — you can hear the reverberation of the glass ceiling shattering all across the country.
Our nation is focused on diversity like never before. Just look at some of the candidates who have been elected to congress. Kudos to the women who are running 37 of America’s largest corporations. Yes, it’s the best time to be a woman, especially a woman of color.
So, what’s next? I say we shatter more glass ceilings. Let’s help more companies become diverse, irrespective of size and revenue. Based on my experience and as an entrepreneur, here are tips on how tech companies can boost gender diversity in 2021 and fuel the innovation economy.
