Te(ch)touffee

Diversity is a must in New Orleans’ tech industry.

Perspectives Tech

Ask anyone off the street what it is that makes New Orleans special and chances are some will say the music or the food. Others will say the culture. Very few will say the weather, and none will say the roads. But every answer you get will have one common factor: Everything that makes the city unique comes from a blend of different people and cultures.

Over the past decade, New Orleans has been making its mark in another realm: the tech industry. It’s also been a space where people of color are seriously underrepresented. This isn’t a problem unique to the Big Easy. In the tech sector nationwide, 68% of jobs classified as “professional,” which includes jobs such as computer programming, and 83.3% of “executive” jobs, which encompass the highest level jobs in the organization, are held by whites — and 80% are held by men.

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The tech industry offers high-wage, high-demand jobs, and significant economic opportunities and advancement. But there are barriers that prevent underrepresented talent from getting hired in these roles. Companies like Google and IBM recognize this and are addressing these challenges by using a skills-based approach to hiring by dropping the requirement for four-year degrees. Companies understand that applicants’ skills and abilities are often more important than their degree-based credentials.

Although companies around the world have made DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) a priority for their employees, some in the industry say the conversation needs to be shifted from diversity to accessibility. As more minorities and people of color break into the tech sector, the industry thrives. But removing the barrier of entry is key.

“Addressing accessibility in technology for underrepresented talent requires an intentional and concerted effort in the ecosystem around employment, retention, and advancement — building a sustainable pipeline from entry to exit,” said Sabrina Short, founder and CEO of NOLAvate Black, a talent sourcing and recruitment agency for “companies committed to building dynamic teams with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) talent.”

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NOLAvate Black, in partnership with GNO, Inc and Lucid, conducted a talent survey in 2021 with over 500 BIPOC aspiring technology professionals to learn about the challenges they face entering the technology sector. The results showed that talent not only needed access to training and resources to upskill but also opportunities to get hired in entry-level roles, apprenticeships and paid internships to get experience — landing that first job is a challenge for new underrepresented technology talent.

“Accessibility looks like transparency around salary to support pay equality,” Short said. “Communicating a clear process around recruitment and hiring. Removing bias from advancement opportunities within the company, including fair and transparent evaluation processes. A fiscal commitment and accountability around building a safe, inclusive and equitable work culture.”

Companies that make diversity and inclusion a priority show that they value individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and expertise, Short said. It fosters creativity, promotes innovative thinking, and more effective problem-solving, resulting in improved product development, increased profitability, higher productivity and overall better performance compared to homogeneous organizations.

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To help address accessibility in technology, NOLAvate Black organized the Inclusive Tech South Foundation (ITSF), which strives to build a skilled and equipped workforce guided by principles that include what Short called “inclusive innovation.” The idea is that diversity — meaning representation across various backgrounds, cultures, races, gender and regions — offers experiences and perspectives that ultimately produce the best technology, stronger, more resilient communities, and overall economic sustainability. Inclusive Tech South Foundation is an extension of NOLAvate Black’s mission to build a network of technology professionals to change the culture of tech.

To that end, some companies are working to make space for Black professionals — literally. Maroon co-working space in the Lower Garden District serves as an incubator to support startups and small businesses. President, CEO and co-founder Dr. Jawan Brown-Alexander said that while New Orleans is among the top cities over all when it comes to creating tech opportunities, the city is still not where it should be in terms of introducing the entire tech ecosystem in the Black community and women. 

“I think it is important to have conversations about the broad scope of tech and how we can continue to make tech more relatable, more community-minded, and more accessible to Black people and other people of color,” Brown-Alexander said. “Community-minded tech organizations, interested in increasing the number of minorities in the tech industry, must continue to connect the dots in terms of being intentional about building diverse tech startup teams. This alone has a direct impact on generational wealth in the Black community, particularly when tech companies exit through IPOs, acquisitions and mergers.”

Brown-Alexander echoed Short’s sentiments about the need for a concerted effort to make the industry more accessible, saying the ecosystem must also persistently break down barriers to funding, resources and support for tech startups and disadvantaged businesses. “We see all things with an equity lens. Equity is the just and fair inclusion into a society in which everyone can participate and prosper,” Brown-Alexander said. “Data shows that Louisiana has work to do when it comes to providing equitable solutions.”

For Brown-Alexander, diversity is an important driver of economic development, and is critical to the tech small business sector. She said creativity and innovation are directly connected to diversity and inclusion.

While more work needs to be done as it relates to DEI, agencies like NOLAvate and companies like Maroon are making headway and opening up the local tech industry for more people — more people with more ideas to bring to the table. But there is more to do.

“There are opportunity gaps that exist between minority tech professionals — as well as aspiring minority tech professionals — and their counterparts,” Brown-Alexander said. “Collectively, we must work to fix this issue.”


Did you know? According to Louisiana Economic Development, since 2006, Louisiana has created more than 20,000 tech-sector jobs by attracting more than 45 high-tech companies.

 

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