From the Washington Technology Industry Association:
About the Racial Diversity in Tech Pact The tech sector creates millions of high wage, meaningful jobs across this country — so many that more than two million jobs remain unfilled — yet overall we continue to hire and retain mostly white men. This is unacceptable.
Our economic strength gives us both the opportunity and a moral obligation to offer a platform for learning, discussion, and the elevation of equality. To meaningfully address systemic racism, the technology industry must gain the trust of Black and Latinx communities. We can begin to build that trust by listening to, recruiting, developing, and promoting people of color.
We acknowledge there is a massive inertia against hiring people of color in tech. The very few Black and Latinx employees that do gain access to jobs in tech face an inhospitable environment at work, which is why they are more than three times as likely to quit compared to their white counterparts. We believe the tech industry can and must do better.
THE PACT
We therefore commit to:
Educate ourselves and our teams fully on implicit bias, cultural awareness, and anti-racism in the workplace.
Share with each other best practices on how to effectively recruit, develop, and retain people of color.
Share ideas on how to build a lasting change in behavior among ourselves and our companies with the goal of delivering more equitable outcomes in the workplace.
Work diligently to ensure that by 2025 our company fully reflects the populations in which we operate, including the board of directors, management, and all of our employees.
Share with each other the specifics of our approach and the results of our efforts on a semi-annual basis.
None of us can conquer systemic racism or transform our industry alone. In fact, we will only succeed if we plan, measure, learn, and grow together.