Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) are nervous their efforts for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) may be diminished or eradicated, leaving them with a more cautious approach, a new study reveals. Political and Legal Challenges to Workplace DEI A new Seramount study, “Keeping DEI Strong in Volatile Times,” highlights the impact of political and legal challenges to DEI in the workplace. Seramount is a workplace research firm serving over half of Fortune 100 companies. Following the killing of George Floyd, companies set pledges to prioritize DEI. Between June and August 2020,
The Warner Music Group and Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund has announced its first set of SJF Repertoire Fund grantee partners in the UK and Ireland. Among the grantees is Generating Genius Black Women Into Tech, a UK-based program supporting Black women studying computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering subjects interested in pursuing a tech career. The SJF Repertoire Fund The SJF is a $100 million fund established in June 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. It invests in organizations around the globe that build more just
Return to office (RTO) rewards could cause further exclusion for marginalized and underrepresented groups, a new KPMG survey has found. Return to office rewards KPMG’s 2023 CEO Outlook report included more than 1,300 global CEOs sharing their views on geopolitics, RTO, and AI. The report found that the majority of CEOs (64%) are anticipating a full RTO in three years, with 9 in 10 (87%) saying they are likely to reward employees who make an effort to come into the office. The rewards would include favorable assignments, raises, or promotions.
A new content series puts HBCU students in conversation with actor Lance Gross, The Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler, and Kimberly Bryant. The three-part series, The Futurist, results from a collaboration between One Solution, Urban One’s branded solution division, and AT&T Dream In Black. AT&T Dream In Black is a platform that recognizes and celebrates an esteemed class of 25 HBCU students making a difference in their community and campus. “The Futurist” The Futurist is a three-part series that pairs HBCU students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and
Black founders raised only 0.13% of all capital allocated to US startups in Q3 of this year, Crunchbase has reported. A decline in funding Only 0.13% of venture dollars allocated between July and September went to Black founders. This equates to about $39.7 million of the total $29.9 billion allocated, a massive year-over-year drop for Black founders. In Q3 2022, Black founders raised $1 billion out of around $81.7 billion in venture dollars, approximately 1.2%. TechCrunch also reported a massive quarter-over-quarter drop as in Q2 of 2023, Black founders raised
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments have seen a downward trend from its high point in 2020. New data from ROI communications has shed light on the state of DEI-related budgets, diversity officer roles, and predictions for the future of corporate DEI. A Decline From 2020’s high point Roles for DEI first increased following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, with tech companies, in particular, pledging to boost their diversity efforts. A global leadership consulting firm, DDI found that many companies are regressing their DEI programs. According to Bloomberg,
Latimer, named after African-American inventor Lewis Latimer, is a new platform trying to make generative AI more inclusive. Nicknamed the Black GPT, Latimer is a new large language model (LLM) built to reflect the experience, culture, and history of Black and brown people more accurately. The platform recently announced new partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help bring the inclusive tool to students, agencies, brands, and the general public. Tackling racial bias and erasure Many generative AI models amplify the bias, inaccuracy, and erasure of Black and
A new report by the Kapor Foundation has highlighted the challenges faced by Native communities in computer science education and within the US tech ecosystem. The State of Tech Diversity: The Native Tech Ecosystem report was published in collaboration with AISES, a non-profit professional association dedicated to advancing Indigenous people in STEM. “The findings of this report underscore the pressing need to eliminate these disparities through continued awareness and advocacy, educational resources, and professional development tailored to our communities,” said Dr. Kathy DeerinWater, VP of Programs and Research at AISES, in
Research from Extend Ventures revealed that only 0.24% of funding went to Black founders in the UK in the last decade. Additionally, a report conducted by Cornerstone VC also found that only 1% of founders who receive seed funding identify as Black and only 3% of VC-funded founders identify as Black. To celebrate and amplify Black founders in UK tech this Black History Month, we have compiled a list of resources and funds available. Black Seed Black Seed is a community-led by Black founders, for Black founders, based in Brixton,
Northwestern Mutual, a financial services organization, has announced this year’s fall cohort of five Black-owned tech startups to its Black Founder Accelerator program for the third year. Now in its third year, the accelerator is one of the core components of Northwestern Mutual’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity (SARE) initiative. SARE was created to advance bold, sustainable change that accelerates the company’s commitment to fight racism, prejudice, and social injustice, focusing on the Black and African American community. The Black Founder Accelerator The accelerator invests in up to 10 companies
