Fearless Fund has filed an appeal against a court ruling that temporarily blocked their grant program for Black women entrepreneurs. The ruling came amid an ongoing lawsuit by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), which alleged the fund’s grant program was racially discriminatory. The Racial Bias Lawsuit Black-woman-owned venture capital fund Fearless Fund invests in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level, or series A financing. The AAER brought a lawsuit against them in August 2023. Notably, AAER founder Edward Blum is the conservative activist behind the Supreme Court’s affirmative
From dealmakers at significant funds to founding partners of new firms and industry-changing nonprofits, Forbes 30 Under 30 listed young leaders helping to shape venture capital’s future. The list spotlights funders and founders aged 29 or younger as of December 31, 2023. We have compiled a list of some people of color founders who are helping the venture capital industry. Sesana Allen – Associate Investor, Smash Capital Allen is an investor at Smash Capital, a late-stage venture firm backed by former Disney executives and investors from Insight Partners. She sourced the firm’s investment in
People from historically underrepresented groups are securing more roles at Fortune 500 companies. Nevertheless, a new report has found that they are overrepresented as diversity and inclusion officers and unrepresented in the C-Suite. Fortune 500 C-Suite Snapshot The executive search firm Spencer Stuart reported on its Fortune 500 C-Suite Snapshot, asking how leadership teams of Fortune 500 companies are evolving in response to changing demands. The report mapped leader profiles for 11 roles commonly included in the C-Suite to develop a snapshot of executives in these positions. C-suite executives commonly include the
Women with dark skin tones are getting more screen time and speaking time in US scripted television, a new study using advanced AI models has revealed. Despite improvements over the past 12 years, the study found that men with light skin tones still get the most screen and speaking time. See It, Be It See It, Be It: What Families Are Seeing on TV is a new study that analyzes trends in the screen and speaking time of the visually presenting attributes of characters. This includes gender, skin tone, and
UK businesses are seeking to rewrite tech’s historically poor reputation for diversity, Wiley Edge’s Diversity in Tech 2023 report found. The technology sector continues to be a driving force behind the global economy, with forecasts indicating that it is set only for further growth. However, the sector has yet to fully address an ongoing problem – the lack of workforce diversity. According to the report, as levels of income inequality reach new highs, the tech sector’s diversity dilemma puts it under added pressure to discover new ways of introducing more
Braze has expanded its product grant program, previously known as Tech for Black Founders – now called Tech for an Equitable Future. Braze is a comprehensive customer engagement platform that powers relevant and memorable experiences between consumers and the brands they love. Tech for Black Founders was launched in 2020 to address findings that only 1% of US founders backed by venture capital are Black. Today Braze’s program has 24 Black-founded businesses, including ten women-founded startups, active in the program, totaling $735,00 in annualized Braze product value. Tech For An Equitable
Tech company Mozilla has added four members from diverse backgrounds to the board of its parent organization, the Mozilla Foundation. The New Board Members Mozilla’s new board members include Armenian-American Raffi Krikorian, CTO at the Emerson Collective, a social impact firm focusing on education, the environment, immigration, and social justice issues. He is also the former CTO of the Democratic National Committee, where he worked to make technology a focus for the Democrats, ensuring every campaign could have industry-quality technology. Alondra Nelson, professor of social science at the Institute for
People of color are well-represented in Canada’s tech sector, a new report by the Tech and People Network (TAP Network) has found. However, Indigenous Canadians and women remain underrepresented among tech employees. TAP Network’s Diversity in Tech report provides an annual benchmark for Canada’s tech sector to track its progress in increasing the representation and inclusion of equity-deserving groups within the industry over time. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Data from nearly 200 employers showed positive trends in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) policies and practices at tech organizations.
Code Black Indy (CBI) has plans to expand its programs as it receives a $30,000 economic mobility graant from the Bank of America. What Is Cody Black Indy? CBI seeks to reintegrate the “The Village” principle back into the community. The non-profit serves Hoosiers who are underrepresented in the tech field, like people of color, women, individuals with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds. Through collaborations such as hands-on training, mentorship, and job placement support, they seek to redefine how one learns through applying technical skills. After working in corporate
Every year, Forbes releases their long-awaited list of young innovators shaping today’s world. This year marks Forbes 30 Under 30’s 13th annual list of entrepreneurs. The list featured a handful of Black people innovating in tech, from tackling toxic language online to working on the first crewed space mission to Mars. So, let’s meet some of them. Tony Morino, Co-Founder of Wiseday Morino co-founded Wiseday in 2021 to help Canadian homeowners get the best and cheapest mortgage rates. Morina co-founded the company with his friends and long-time acquaintances in 2021
