Black and Latine startup employees own less equity than their counterparts – here’s why it matters and what we can do about it. December 8 marked Latina Equal Pay Day: Full-time and part-time Latinas only earn 54 cents for every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men. Similarly, the following equal pay days remind us of the wage gaps faced by women of color compared to white men. AANHPI Women: 75 cents (May 3) Black Women: 64 cents (September 21) Native and Indigenous Women: 51 cents (November 30) But should we
From tech conferences to business challenges, HP’s global chief information officer (CIO) Ron Guerrier, is spearheading the tech giant’s work with HBCUs to build and foster Black talent into tech. Throughout his pathway to IT leadership, Guerrier has made it his priority to speak up about the lack of diversity in the industry. The trailblazer’s new partnership with HBCU is a further testament to his commitment to helping his community break into the sector. HP’s partnership with HBCUs Through Guerrier, HP will be working alongside HBCUs to build a
Despite Big Tech’s promises in the summer of 2020, Black and Brown tech employees are finding themselves hard hit by short-sighted cuts to diversity efforts and layoffs. The Great Reset “The great reset” is what San Jose State University’s Professor Ahmed Banafa calls the current climate of tech layoffs, restructuring, and downsizing. While much of the global economy took a massive hit during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech industry thrived. Tech companies made huge profits and hired tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of new staff. Yet, fast forward
Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon is the entrepreneur behind The Village Market Atlanta, a community hub for Black businesses to help them connect and engage with their consumers. What is The Village Market? Over the years, The Village has become a staple in Atlanta for many Black-owned businesses. In addition, the thriving village has connected with small businesses across 38 different states in four other countries, which is a testament to the platform’s growing popularity. To date, The Village has spotlights thousands of Black-owned businesses specializing in all-natural products and foods. In
Sam Ayeni is the entrepreneur behind afriKare Life, a Black-owned company providing life insurance and financial solutions to the African diaspora and POC across America. Africare Life, whichSam Ayeni co-founded alongside his partners Maureen Marcus and Andrew Fyneboy, has quickly grown to become an innovative and modern life insurance platform that helps uplift individuals, families, and different tribes in the “land of opportunity.” Black Americans are buying more life insurance Black people are buying life insurance packages at higher rates than other racial groups. The 2021 LIMRA Barometer study found
Africa is the dumping ground for 85% of the planet’s e-waste – a situation likely to get worse as Apple prepares to switch iPhone lightning ports to USB-C ports. The E-Waste Issue In Africa E-waste is becoming a prominent issue in Africa because old goods are exported from high-income countries to low-income countries. In addition, as fewer regulations are being enforced in Africa, it is easy for discarded electronic items to find their way into the continent. Discarded chargers generate more than 11,000 tons of e-waste each year, and according
Black-led charity, 10,000 Black Interns, has helped thousands of young Black professionals get their foot into elitist sectors through their schemes and work opportunities. The UK-based charity, co-founded by Michael Barrington Hibbert, Wol Kolade, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, and Jonathan Sorrell, has helped thousands of young Black people access paid internships in hundreds of companies including Amazon, TikTok, Bloomberg, and Deloitte. “Some of our candidates experience a king of imposter syndrome. They don’t necessarily think that these industries are for them, or they haven’t been considered when they have applied to these
Tech platform, Goodie Nation, has announced a partnership with the Tech Equity Collective Impact Fund to donate $1M to improve tech career prospects for Black professionals. The program, which has opened its application to all Black and allying organizations, will provide members with tech industry resources and access to exclusive opportunities. Additionally, selected organizations will receive a year of access to Tech Equity Collective programming, tech industry resources, access to a network of Black professionals, and access to opportunities. The Tech Equity Collective, a Google initiative, is designed to help
Despite the cybersecurity sector being one of the fastest growing in tech, reports have revealed that only 9% of cybersecurity experts are Black, meaning a lot needs to be done to diversify the industry. According to Forbes, Cybersecurity Ventures has forecasted that approximately 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs will need to be filled by 2025. As a result, more initiatives have been launched to help close the racial cybersecurity gap – here are a few. CyberVista Arlington-based cybersecurity platform, CyberVista, has launched a free training platform for Black women and girls. The two courses –
Damilola Awofisayo is in a league of her own. The young hacker, who was born in America but spent part of her childhood in Nigeria, has learned to use technology to solve societal problems. Awofisayo fell in love with computer science at high school and was keen to help run hackathons. However, after several unsuccessful attempts to take part in hackathons, she decided to take things into her own hands. Now a Duke University freshman, Awofisayo is the founder of TecHacks. The all-female and non-binary student virtual hackathon aims to
