Cornell Tech and the City University of New York (CUNY) are facing a lawsuit filed by Justin Gaffney Samuels, over alleged illegal discrimination in the admissions policy of their Break Through Tech program. The Break Through Tech Program This initiative, aimed at boosting careers in technology for women and non-binary undergraduate students, is now under legal scrutiny for potentially discriminating against men. “As a Black man with a deep interest in technology, I was particularly interested in the opportunities offered by the Break Through Tech programs,” Samuels wrote in the official complaint. “However, upon reviewing the program’s
Black Girls Code has partnered with RiseUp with ServiceNow to launch a three-year initiative redefining career paths within New York City’s workforce. The collaboration was highlighted in a panel discussion featuring Cristina Jones, CEO of Black Girls Code, and Selina Suarez, Global Head of NextGen at ServiceNow. RiseUp with ServiceNow represents a global talent movement to train one million individuals on the ServiceNow Platform. The primary focus is to uncover untapped talent in NYC, paving the way for professional and career development opportunities. Building the next generation of tech leaders Black Girls Code is partnering with ServiceNow to help
The type of advice AI chatbots give people varies based on whether they have Black-sounding names, researchers at Stanford Law School have found. The researchers discovered that chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google AI’s PaLM-2 showed biases based on race and gender when giving advice in a range of scenarios. Chatbots: Biased Advisors? The study “What’s in a Name?” revealed that AI chatbots give less favorable advice to people with names that are typically associated with Black people or women compared to their counterparts. This bias spans across various scenarios such as job
Serena Williams, a legendary tennis champion, is making her mark in the tech investment world with her venture capital fund, Serena Ventures. Serena Ventures Following her retirement in September 2022, Williams has focused on the investment sector. With over 14 years of investment experience, she established Serena Ventures in 2014, a venture capital fund to empower women and underrepresented founders. This strategic move was born from Williams’ observation of the glaring lack of venture capital flowing toward specific demographics. As highlighted on its website, her venture proudly supports a diverse array of
Meta’s AI-powered image generator has recently been scrutinized for its difficulty in generating images of interracial couples and friends. Meta’s AI Fails To Generate Interracial Couples The AI tool, introduced in December, revealed its shortcomings when CNN tested its ability to create pictures of people from different racial backgrounds. The requests for images of interracial relationships consistently resulted in the AI producing images of same-race couples or friends, contradicting the diversity seen in real-world relationships. For instance, a request for a Black woman with a white husband yielded images of Black couples. This pattern was broken
US Adds New Hispanic, Middle Eastern And North African Racial Categories For First Time In 25+ Years
The United States has updated its system for collecting information on people’s racial backgrounds. Changes include the introducing a category for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) people and changing how Hispanic individuals are classified. This historic update, the first in over 25 years, aims to more accurately and nuancedly capture the nation’s evolving demographics. New Hispanic and MENA categories For the first time, individuals of MENA descent, about 1.5% of the U.S. population, will be able to identify themselves as part of a distinct category. Hispanic Americans, who make
According to Reuters, Bank of America (BoA) has announced an investment in Impact X Capital Partners’ IX Global I fund. The initiative aims to nurture underrepresented innovators, particularly women and founders of color, in sectors like digital technology. Impact X Capital Partners IX Global I Fund Impact X Capital Partners, established in 2019 and headquartered in London, blends financial returns with social impact. The venture capital firm is dedicated to addressing the disparity in capital access for diverse UK and European entrepreneurs. Impact X has several notable founding members, such as Ursula Burns, former CEO
Data from 22Â leading institutions has found that enrollments of underrepresented minorities in MBA programs have declined or stagnated since 2020. A Drop In Enrollment Of Underrepresented Minorities Following George Floyd’s death in 2020, which ignited a push for racial justice, top U.S. business schools pledged to increase diversity. However, the University of Michigan, Virginia, and Berkeley have seen significant drops in minority student numbers. For instance, Virginia and Berkeley’s 2025 classes included just 6% underrepresented students, and Michigan had 7%. These figures heavily contrast with their previous commitments to diversity. Despite some schools’ slight improvements, the overall
The Sims franchise, hair brand Dark & Lovely, and award-winning gaming content creator Danielle “Ebonix” Udogaranya have partnered to address the lack of diversity in gaming. Introducing More Black Hairstyles In Sims Dark & Lovely, a leading hair color brand for Black women, is known for its products tailored to the specific beauty needs of Black women. Collaborating with The Sims 4 and Ugogaranya, they aim to enhance the representation of Black hairstyles within the game. This effort is to empower Black gamers to express themselves more authentically in virtual spaces. “We are excited with this
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leading cloud computing platform, is expandng its reach in South Africa’s tech landscape through its Equity Equivalent Investment Program (EEIP). The 18-24 month enablement and acceleration program supports South African Black-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who want to build their AWS business. The EEIP, launched in 2020, has already developed 27 SMEs and is looking to expand its reach to 20 more in its 2024 cohort. AWS targets female and youth entrepreneurs, addressing the gender gap in tech startups. “These SMEs are critical drivers of our economic future,” said Chris
