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
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
To celebrate Computer Science Education week, Girls Who Code have launched a new video game, Girls Who Code Girls, tailored to turning users into creators by helping them code their characters. According to recent stats, 77% of video game developers are men meaning most female and non-binary characters are designed by men, which is why women are misrepresented. Black Girls Who Code hopes to change that with their new gaming experience. Girls Who Code, founded by Reshma Saujani, is a non-profit organization committed to disrupting the imbalance in gaming by challenging the misogynistic culture that
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
Tech platform Mission 41K has partnered with former NFL player Emil Ekiyor to bridge the racial gap within tech. What Is Launch Mission 41K? Mission 41K is a movement designed to address the difficulty the tech industry faces today with finding and retaining tech talent. By prioritizing a skills-based hiring process, more people will be able to break into the sector through inclusive pathways. The organization aims to provide a variety of entry points into the industry so people with ongoing apprenticeships and internships can still excel in a competitive
Mentor Connect is a mentorship program that eliminates the loneliness of being an entrepreneur. The mentorship program, sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), currently has over 200 mentees and 130 mentors in its network. The network aims to provide a positive community for entrepreneurs to grow and connect with like-minded people. Not only does it give them space to share their concerns and issues, but it also helps provide them with a reliable network they can lean on in their time of need. “We always say
Black-owned startup CourtRoom5 is a platform dedicated to providing everyone with access to the courts and justice available to all. Founded in 2017 by Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone, CourtRoom5 works to help civilians navigate the judicial system and offers affordable legal advice to people from marginalized communities who can’t afford legal aid. Navigating the judicial system Sonja Ebron PhD is an electrical engineer and entrepreneur with a background in AI. She co-founded CourtRoom5 with her wife Debra Slone PhD, a former library school professor and qualitative data analysis expert. Motivated by their own
Annie Jean-Baptiste, head of product inclusion and equity at Google, is on a mission to make product inclusion and equity a critical part of tech. Who is Annie Jean-Baptiste? After 10 years at Google, Jean-Baptiste now leads the diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) team, pushing the tech giant to take marginalized users into account when building its products. According to Jean-Baptiste, the idea to focus on product inclusion came about after she noticed that many things like culture and representation were internally important but were forgotten about when designing new
How often do the words Disney World and Black tech appear in the same sentence? In celebration of its fourth annual conference, Blacks In Technology, LLC and the Blacks In Technology Foundation are inviting the Black tech community to Disney World. BITCon2022 (not to be confused with bitcoin) will see Black tech enthusiasts channel their inner kid while taking home useful gems and new connections. A Tech Conference for the Culture Industry giants like Google, Disney, and Spotify are sponsoring the three-day conference which will take place from October 26-28th. The convention
