Acting White House National Cyber Director Kemba Walden has been told she won’t be considered to serve the role permanently, due to personal debt issues, despite praises and recommendations from key lawmakers and her predecessor. Who is Kemba Walden? Congress created the Office of the National Cyber Director in 2021 to advise the president on cybersecurity policy and strategy. Walden joined the office the following year and has acted as the national cyber director since February. In her role, she oversaw the rollout of the administration’s national cyber strategy and
In the tech industry, discussions about money are often shrouded in secrecy, but one designer is challenging this norm by leading by example. In a recent blog post, designer Dan Mall shared the details and context around how much money he’s made over the last 19 years of his career, drawing praise from industry peers. Making money conversations more transparent Dan Mall is a creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. As the son of a chief financial officer and the brother of a financial advisor, he grew up
Samuel Clague, founder and CEO of The Stephen James Partnership, is launching Qualified Black Lawyers Matter, a digital mentoring platform to boost Black representation in the legal sector. What is the digital mentoring scheme? Barbadian and English founder Clague runs The Stephen James Partnership, the UK’s only Black-owned legal recruitment company. The new mentoring platform will connect senior decision-makers in law firms and in-house legal teams to qualified Black lawyers at another organization. It builds on the firm’s previous mentoring scheme, “Endeavour,” which has reportedly connected more than 200 senior legal professionals with Black aspiring
Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform which brings creative projects to life by directly connecting them with their communities, has hired Sindy Wilson as their new chief financial officer (CFO). Who is Sindy Wilson? Wilson has two decades of experience as a finance executive. She previously held leadership roles at Oldcastle Infrastructure, Ernst & Young, Cox Automotive, and, most recently, Lyft as their VP of finance transformation and analytics. Throughout her two decades in finance, Wilson told Forbes she never once worked for a Black female CFO, and most of the time, it wasn’t even
Over half of all LGBT+ ethnic minorities are actively seeking a new role at a more inclusive employer, according to new research by Deloitte Global. The LGBT+ Inclusion at Work report The Deloitte Global 2023 LGBT+ Inclusion at Work report explored the experiences of LGBT+ people in work worldwide through the lens of sexual orientation and gender identity. “The data from the survey shows how far there still is to go when it comes to embedding LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace,” said Emma Codd, Deloitte Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.
African Americans’ unemployment rate has jumped for a second consecutive month, with 267,000 more unemployed Black Americans since April, reports Bloomberg. This equates to about 90% of the 300,000 increase in overall joblessness during that period. Although the overall employment rate decreased this month to 3.6%, Black unemployment rose for the second straight month in June at 6%, almost double that of white workers. The economy and Black unemployment Historically, research on racial patterns of the labor market status shows that Black workers are often among the first to be fired as the
Amanda Rajkumar, Adidas’ global head of human resources, is the latest HR lead to depart from her role following the pattern of women leaving DEI roles at major companies. Rajkumar, a British national with parents from the Caribbean, joined Adidas in 2021 to stem an internal uproar over the company’s handling of racism, diversity, and inclusion. However, the company announced last week the departure of their sole remaining female executive board member. Her predecessor Karen Parkin also resigned from the company in 2020 after she described internal discussions of racism as “noise.” Although
Black-owned VC firm Cornerstone V.C, which boasts a diversity-led investment thesis, has hired its first female partner Ella Wales Bonner. Bonner will spearhead the development of Cornerstone’s in-house coaching practice to support the leadership potential of its portfolio companies. Who Are Cornerstone V.C.? Born out of a Black-led angel group, Cornerstone Partners, Cornerstone V.C. firm was founded by Rodney Appiah, Edwin Appiah, and Wilfred Fianko. The early-stage venture capital firm invests in innovative B2B technology solutions in the U.K., launching its first £20 million ($23.9 million) fund last year. Cornerstone V.C. invests in many more
We all know the importance of connecting with like-minded folks, and conferences are a key way to do just that with professionals in your industry. In particular, conferences for people of color in tech provide a safe space for professionals to network, grow in their careers, and learn from industry leaders and executives who understand their unique challenges and opportunities. It also allows Black and Latine professionals to build their professional brand and increase visibility within their chosen industry. Getting past the cost barrier People often cite cost as one
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against colleges and universities considering race in their admissions process, leaving the tech industry with mixed opinions on the outcome. How did we get here? Affirmative action was introduced in the 1960s to ensure equal employment opportunities for women and minorities. For the last four decades, the Court held that institutions and colleges could consider race, among other factors, as part of a holistic review in their recruitment and admissions process. Other considerations include academic achievement, athletic ability, and legacy status. However, recent lawsuits,
