On 18 October 15:00-17:00 CEST, our Deputy Chair Petra Kotuliakova shared information about the DiversIT Charter at a world cafe-style workshop “Make Tech More Diverse! A Showcase of Innovative Practices in Tech”. It is organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of work for the EU – US Trade and Technology Council’s Talent for Growth Task Force. The main goal of the event was to showcase best practices and to provide inspiring examples on how to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in today’s digital landscape.
Diversity in the technology sector can be improved. Only 1 in 5 ICT specialists in the European Union are women. In the U.S., less than one-third of STEM jobs are held by women, while women of colour make up a mere 5% of the entire technology industry. In our current world of mass skills-shortages, it’s ever-more important for companies to recruit from a diverse talent pool to unlock the full capacity of their future workforce. A range of barriers to diversity in tech exist – but many innovative organisations are finding unique ways to improve representation in the sector.
The speakers presented organisations and initiatives that worked with internships, facilitating jobs for refugees and promoting international cooperation within the field of bioinformatics, particularly among students.
