Exclusion is deep rooted, deep seated and deep funded!
Tech Yeah, I want to be included by tech and women in leadership, but it's easier said than done. Let's all keep it real exclusion started long before it reared it's ugly head and gained followers in the technology industry.
Any problem must be solved and eradicated from it's root cause. Inclusion is necessary, Exclusion is not! Inclusion is a corporate social responsibility. Exclusion is a corporate injustice. Profits over D&I commitments to the community and humanity should no longer be tolerated.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/09/tech-has-more-of-an-exclusion-problem-than-a-culture-problem/
The inclusion of women and marginalized groups in technology is not a high priority, it is a future goal or illusion strategy. These problems are decades long overdue to be solved. Inclusion is undermined, overlooked and undervalued.
How can the most innovative industry not be doing some innovative work to further their diversity goals of including, engaging, attracting, developing, and retaining employees with a variety of different races, religions, ages, genders, national origins, sexual orientations?
- http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
- http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/02/11/blacks-latinos-and-women-lose-ground-at-silicon-valley-tech-companies/
- https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/11/15/no-women-or-minorities-most-investors-entrepreneurs-respond-with-a-shrug.html
Technology industry is solving some of the world's most pressing problems in every industry, and changing the way we live, work and play, yet it remains stagnant and stalling in solving it's own problems.
Tech talks diversity year after year after year with little to no inclusion. The problem with the lack of women in tech, venture capital and startup ecosystem is via intentional exclusion.
Old ways, old diversity models of counting heads to check boxes won't open new doors to inclusion. Making sure all heads count by building an organizational culture of inclusion and belonging where no one is treated like 'others'; where diverse ethnicities and cultures, backgrounds, identities, skills and ideas are welcome to thrive.
Technology is now part of every profession in every industry. Technology careers are proven pathways to a greater economic future in the 21st century, thus everyone must get a fair shot and equitable opportunities for full participation and contribution of their skills, ideas and innovations. It is a dire necessity that we move with speed to ensure all are included and can stake claim in technology and America's innovation economy today, tomorrow and the future, without exclusion!
Inclusion begins with respect, opportunity, engagement and it will need top down enablers in every industry of business. Inclusion is failing! Why? Inclusion can't scale if most industry leaders and influencers in tech don't and won't engage beyond their cliques, clubs and leading conversations. If leaders of companies seeking to become inclusive don't have a inviting ear and welcoming eye to new solutions, heuristics and processes and refuse to engage, how will inclusion scale? If corporate diversity practitioners won't engage with external organizations and Inclusion champions that reach and have relationships with the excluded, how will they scale the diversity of their organizations workforce. I'm not a lawyer, but does the tech industry have Economic Exclusion Zone Rights that other industries don't have? Technology careers are proven pathways to a greater economic future in the 21st century, thus all groups must have a equitable opportunity to be included and succeed.
Let's keep it real everyone! Ideas and innovations are distributed equally, opportunities are not!
Tech-Venture Capital leaders and influencers must and can play a critical role in transforming their powerful peers and partners faces of inaction into action and become enablers in creating inclusive environments and inclusive investing, yet they remain a stagnant resource in supporting inclusion initiatives.
When investors start funding diverse startups, we'll have diverse companies.
https://www.theinformation.com/bros-funding-bros-whats-wrong-with-venture-capital
Building new cultures of inclusion and diversifying a company and states workforce must start top-down with the support of all it's leaders, simply put! “No group should put up with waiting decades to be included. It’s just outright unacceptable & inequitable to exclude those whom use your products and services and say we’ll correct our exclusive cultures in 30 to 117 years. That’s a lifetime.” No company or investor starts with a goal to wait 30 to 117 years to see profits or return on investment, they take action to scale their bottom lines and investments at inception. Those companies or the investors in those companies would not want those groups to wait 30 to 117 years to use and purchase their products and services.
hashtag and financial activism is the language CEO's will understand and may be what's needed to get the needle moving on inclusion. Greed and exclusion can't continue to undermine humanity and liberties. C-Suite, CSR and philanthropy leaders can't continue to ignore and remain idle while exclusion leaders are legitimizing exclusion.
#TechTalksDiversity year after year with no action, but many false equivalence companies, organizations and investors at play. Inclusion is failing and new organizations with new problem solving processes and heuristics innovated for inclusion that reach the excluded must also be included now and supported to help scale inclusion today, tomorrow and the future.
It seems to be a trend and a privilege for many leaders to talk about the challenges that women and the excluded face, without ever engaging or enabling the excluded or the organizations who support them.
Underrepresented groups aren't scaling in technology, venture capital and America's Innovation economy. The companies whom continue to undervalue inclusion and keep diversity at the bottom of their to-do list, treat it as a regulatory box checked to ensure compliance with laws related equal employment opportunity will eventually face huge risks to their brand images and bottom lines.
Companies should be as diverse as it's users and consumers, without exception!
It's time to build a culture of fairness and opportunity in technology, venture capital, startup ecosystem and America's innovation economy.
"The illusion leaders who pretend to be inclusion leaders" for self gain off of the plight of the excluded will eventually be exposed and will face new found unpopularity to their influencer statuses. (spotlight lip service leaders)
For those who view inclusion as an interruption, please message me I'll gladly explain to you how it is a valuable interruption and help you view it as a business strategy. I will also gladly help you overcome any unconscious biases you think you may have pertaining to women.
P.S. Inclusion leaders and companies, I'd love to be included by you when reaching out to you. Don't be so quick to unconsciously exclude my invite or opportunity to you, if you have a real mission on scaling inclusion beyond talking about it and want to act in the best interest of your company, community, shareholders and stakeholders.
Exclusion and unconscious bias are serious problems that effect individuals, families, communities, companies, economies and countries.
Inclusion builds stronger families, communities, companies, countries, economies and bottom lines.
The fastest and most powerful way to scale a historical problem is through it's root cause leaders. Inclusion mustn't remain invisible to the industry leaders and their dominant networks, but extremely visible to everyone outside of their networks.
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
It's time to move past the "stale" and "stagnant" to create and support new initiatives, processes, heuristics, efforts, commitments top-down with diversity of thinking, learning and programming to scale.
About the Author: Denise Branch is the Director of Gender Inclusion, Capital & Equality at Support Women Startups, a nonprofit startup technology organization. Denise is also an Inclusion Advisor & Activist, Advisor to Women Startups, Women Tech Evangelist, VC Ally and on a mission to ensure women are included in the Internet of Things, Startup Ecosystem, Venture Capital, America's Innovation Economy, C-Suite and Technology present and future.