Congressional Black Caucus launches ‘diversity in tech’ initiative

The Congressional Black Caucus is launching the CBC Tech 2020 initiative, which aims to increase the representation of African-Americans in the technology sector.
“Many of the technology companies have African-Americans as very loyal customers, and many of those don’t have any African Americans on their boards,” Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the caucus’s chairman, told The Hill.
Starting off with a panel discussion Tuesday attended by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. and Kapor Capitol partner and former NAACP president Ben Jealous, the initiative will open up a platform with tech companies to diversify the tech jobs pipeline. The Hill reports:

The point, Butterfield said, is not to shame the companies over their diversity numbers — but he said that lawmakers are in a position to highlight the lack of diversity in the tech industry to their constituents if companies seem reluctant to address the issues themselves.
Butterfield also said he expects companies will be eager to participate and that their cooperation will allow the CBC to boost diversity within the industry more effectively than if lawmakers acted on their own.
“I’m not looking for a legislative fix as much as I am a voluntary solution,” he said.
“I don’t know how we can mandate private companies to be diverse. I don’t know legislatively if we can do that directly.”