At MassTLC we are heartened by the number of companies that have joined the Tech Compact for Social Justice and have made commitments to help improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the tech sector. While MassTLC’s mission includes developing an inclusive tech ecosystem, this calling has taken on increased urgency over the past few months.
I am proud of the MassTLC Board of Trustees and team for their work towards many of these DEI goals over the years. And while I could list the many initiatives and programs we have led, I recognize that what has been done in the past is not enough and that we must continue to strive for greater impact and meaningful, lasting change.
As an organization that represents the tech industry we also lead by example. In addition to coalescing the industry around our 2030 Challenge – which calls for doubling the percentage of black and Latinx workers in tech occupations over the coming decade – and the Tech Compact for Social Justice, MassTLC itself commits to the following Tech Compact elements:
- We commit to introducing or expanding educational programs/opportunities for diversity, inclusion, racial inequality, unconscious bias, managing diverse teams, and/or creating a judgement-free culture.
- We commit to advocating for public policies and/or lead with corporate policies that support economic opportunities for people of color.
- We commit to providing increased resources to support employee learning and participation in activities related to social justice, anti-discrimination, and/or volunteerism.
- We commit to greater racial diversity in hiring, leadership development, and/or board composition.
- We commit to greater racial diversity in talent pipeline development programs (support for K-12, internships, etc.).
- We commit to reviewing, updating, and leveraging company products and communications platform to increase support for communities of color.
In addition to the Tech Compact, we continue to actively work with our community to develop DEI leadership programming, set metrics for benchmarking success, identify areas of research that will help push the needle towards a more inclusive tech ecosystem, and more.
Visit MassTLC.org regularly to learn more about our work in this area over the coming weeks, months, and years. And we will be sure to provide updates on our own success along the way.
