The Tech Talent Charter (TTC), a diversity-focused organizaton partly funded by the UK government, has announced that it is closing. Founded in 2015, the TTC aimed to bridge the diversity gap in tech by collaborating with industry leaders to foster a more inclusive environment. Despite significant achievements, shifting industry priorities and economic pressures have led to the difficult decision to dissolve the organization. The Tech Talent Charter When the TTC was launched, women held fewer than 15% of tech roles in the UK, and broader diversity data was scarce. Over
This year, on Juneteenth, angel investing group Untapped Investing announced its launch to support Black and underrepresented founders. Founded by Mica Eades Mayo, Attica Alexis Jacques, and Felicia Mayo, Untapped Investing aims to create lasting change through purpose-driven ventures. Empowering Underrepresented Founders By investing in Black and underrepresented founders, Untapped Investing aims to generate opportunities that lead to generational wealth and sustainable growth. This collective effort will reshape the venture capital landscape, ensuring that visionary founders, historically overlooked, receive the support they need to thrive, they wrote on LinkedIn. Untapped
At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Will.i.am introduced an AI-generated host named Felicia from his SiriusXM show. Felicia: A Black Woman AI Felicia, an AI-generated Black woman host, debuted at the Cannes Lions Festival in France, during a conversation with Kim Last of The Wall Street Journal. Addressing the audience, she stressed the importance of representation and empowerment in technology. “AI is more than just cool tech. It’s a new frontier where every voice must be heard,” Felicia said, according to AfroTech. “We’re here to make it clear
Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder and former CEO of the failed crypto exchange FTX, is facing allegations of funding a group with racist ties. As first reported by The Guardian, FTX trustees allege that payments to the group were made with misappropriated funds. FTX and Lightcone FTX trustees allege that Sam Bankman-Fried and other company insiders used nearly $5 million of misappropriated funds to help a nonprofit called Lightcone Infrastructure purchase the historic Rose Garden Inn hotel. The property, now named the Lighthaven Campus, hosts conferences and workshops on the “Tescreal”
A growing trend among America’s largest corporations reveals a shift in how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) metrics influence executive compensation. According to a review of approximately 1,200 companies by Farient Advisors, the proportion of corporations using DEI metrics to set compensation has decreased from 33% to 28% in 2023. High-profile companies like Best Buy Co., Johnson & Johnson (J&J), and Lazard Inc. are among those that have de-emphasized or removed DEI from their executive pay criteria. Conservative Pressure and Corporate Response This shift is partly attributed to conservative activists
UC Davis Health’s new telehealth program aims to address disparities in postpartum care for Black patients and improve maternal outcomes. Bridging the Gap in Postpartum Care Black patients at UC Davis Health and across the nation face significant disparities in postpartum care. These inequities, particularly during the six-week period after birth, contribute to an increased risk of complications and even death for Black people who give birth. To tackle this issue, UC Davis Health has launched a new telehealth program aimed at reducing these disparities and improving maternal outcomes for
Black executives believe that their companies have maintained a strong commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) despite anti-DEI pressure, a survey by The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) has found. The ELC, which aims to increase Black representation in C-Suites and corporate boards, surveyed 180 top Black executives across various sectors. The results showed a strong and resilient commitment among Black executives to DEI in corporate America. DEI Is Linked To Job Satisfaction Despite today’s landscape with anti-DEI, nearly 3 in 4 (72%) Black executives feel their companies’ commitment to
Brazil’s government is hiring OpenAI to speed up the screening and analysis of thousands of lawsuits using AI to avoid costly court losses, according to Reuters. Court-ordered debt payments have consumed a growing share of Brazil’s federal budget. Their government estimated it would spend 70.7 billion reais ($13.2 billion) next year on judicial decisions it can no longer appeal. That figure does not include small-value claims, meaning the combined account of over 100 billion reais represents a sharp increase from 37.3 billion reais in 2015. How Will It Work? The
Pariti, a platform dedicated to creating economic opportunities through entrepreneurship, has partnered with NVIDIA. This collaboration aims to train over 2,000 developers across the African continent in deep learning through the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI). Training Over 2,000 Developers in Africa Pariti’s educational series, in partnership with NVIDIA, will leverage the NVIDIA DLI to provide intensive artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) training to over 2,000 developers. These sessions will cover NVIDIA’s AI/ML stack and culminate in free certification for participants. The initiative primarily targets university students from Kenya,
This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black founders who have set out to uplift and support their communities. Commemorating Juneteenth Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans ever since. It is often referred to as the country’s second independence day and became an official federal holiday
