Take this survey: How is your company contributing to tech sector diversity?

The City of Philadelphia has an ambitious goal: to be the home of the most racially diverse tech sector in the country.

By now, you may have heard of the Philadelphia Department of Commerce’s Most Diverse Tech Hub initiative. The three-part initiative seeks to boost tech skills for the region’s future talent pipeline — specifically Black and brown Philadelphians looking to move into technology careers. Here are just some of what the initiative aspires to result in:

• 50+ paid tech internships or apprenticeships in 2021
• Enhance technology skills for the future talent pipeline, enabling more Black and brown Philadelphians to be prepared and trained in technology
• Match Black and brown talent to local tech companies
• Build long-standing diverse talent generating partnerships between local colleges and universities, as well as local tech and tech-enabled companies.

For its part in this funded initiative, Technically Media is managing the Philadelphia Tech Industry Partnership. We will manage this partnership by convening technology employers to identify sector and talent needs with workforce diversity at top of mind, and by building the network of employer partners. These partners should be committed to providing internships, on-the-job training, unsubsidized employment and targeted mentoring.

As part of this effort, we need to better understand where we are today. Setting benchmarks allows us to chart our progress as a region over time. To facilitate that, we’re specifically asking representatives from local tech companies to complete this survey by April 9.

The survey asks questions about specific racial equity initiatives at local companies as well as attitudes about citywide diversity resources. What we’re assessing for overall: What are the biggest obstacles to Philadelphia being the country’s most diverse tech hub?

The results should provide valuable insights on our current situation, including what we’re doing well and where we can improve. This will be followed up with an identical survey later this year to chart our collective progress.

Any company with a presence in the region that is serious about making a commitment to diversifying its technology-enabled workforce and economic opportunity can be a part of this Most Diverse Tech Hub initiative. If you would like to learn more about playing an active role in it, feel free to reach out to me directly — vincent@technical.ly.