This article by Chuma Okoro was originally published on Medium. In the last decade, it seems there’s been a surge of black men jumping into the tech industry. What happened?? I think there are 4 main reasons. 1: 6 figure → 8 figure The historical number of 6 figures has always been a theme in society. The idea was that if you can secure a job that pays you 6 figures, you would be set for life. Those same ideas exist today and have even grown to the idea of
The Hispanic Technology Executive Council (HITEC) and the Illinois Institute of Technology have come together to support the growth of Hispanic tech talent by opening the door to educational opportunities and scholarships within technology and business. HITEC Foundation scholars and HITEC corporate Emerging Executive Program graduates looking to pursue an MBA or Master of Science degree from the Illinois Tech Stuart School of Business will be considered for scholarships worth up to $2 million. Everything you need to know about HITEC and the Illinois Tech HTEC is a global executive
Black entrepreneur, Brandon Nicholson, is determined to make the journey to success as easy as possible for Black youth. Brandon Nicholson’s journey to launching The Hidden Genius Project Founder of The Hidden Genius Project, Brandon Nicolson, is an advocate for the success of young Black boys. The Oakland-born native discovered his passion for achieving Black equity after graduating and has since worked to make this possible ever since. In a recent interview, Nicholson explained that he felt compelled to launch the initiative after realizing the lack of access to opportunities Black
Accelerator program 1000 Black Voices is committed to breaking down the barriers many Black tech founders face. As a part of this mission, 1000 Black Voices gave thirteen Black-owned startups from its accelerator program the opportunity to participate in New York’s Trade Mission. What is the Trade Mission? The Trade Mission aims to tackle the issues Black and brown founders face in the industry by providing founders with a step-by-step process for scaling and accessing capital. The trade mission, which ran from December 5 -7, took place in partnership with
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
Originally published on Medium by Glenesha Grant as part of her “5 Coffees, 5 Days w/ Black Product Managers” series. Our fifth and last feature is with Sefunmi Osinaike, Co-founder of Co.lab and author of “How to Product.” Sefunmi Osinaike is currently working on the Co.Lab program that gives people the experience they need to land jobs in the tech industry. Specifically around Product Management, Product Design, and Software Development. His first PM role was at Microsoft. Before he got into product management, he was building a product to help students better manage
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
A holistic career accelerator platform for indigenous founders, Natives Rising, has received extra funding to help support and grow the number of indigenous women graduating college with STEM degrees. The non-profit organization, co-founded by Danielle Forward and Betsy Fore, is on a mission to close the racial gap, which sees only 0.6% of scientists and engineers from a Native American background break into the industry. According to a recent National Center for Education Statistics report, a small number of Black and Indigenous women – approximately 4% – end up leaving
Originally published on Medium by Glenesha Grant as part of her “5 Coffees, 5 Days w/ Black Product Managers” series. Our fourth feature is with Brittany Bankston, Product Lead @ MainStreet and CEO & Co-founder for Black Product Manager Network. Brittany Bankston is currently a Product Manager Lead at MainStreet, a Series A fintech start-up targeting small businesses. She got her first Product role after grad school, in Intuit’s Product Manager rotational program. Prior to Product Management, she studied Biomechanical Engineering and went into Medical Device Design. I started by asking questions to learn more
Jermaine (Jupiter) Murray, also known as ”The Job Father,” is paving the way for Black people in tech by using his LinkedIn page to help professionals secure jobs and recruiters diversify their hiring practices. According to recent reports, Black representation in tech is barely improving, with Black professionals only making up approximately 13% of the industry. Additionally, only 7% of Black people can break into high-tech, proving that the tech industry has an issue embracing and retaining Black talent. The recent layoffs have also shown how precarious Black people’s jobs
