Technology, while a consistently growing and competitive industry, has some of the least representation of women and people of color, predominantly consisting of white and Asian men. According to Built In, women hold only 26% of computing-related jobs, with women of color holding only 4% of computing roles despite making up 16% of the U.S. population.
While many major tech organizations such as Google have worked to increase transparency around hiring more diverse talent, representation has remained stagnant for the past few years. We’re spotlighting 6 nonprofit organizations working to provide diverse groups opportunities to learn valuable technology skills in order to help increase future representation.
Year Up’s mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education. By providing young adults with the professional and technical skills companies need, Year Up ensures they can launch successful professional careers while providing American businesses with an untapped source of bright, motivated talent. Year Up provides hands-on training, real-world corporate access, a six-month internship and support. Two years after Year Up, alumni earn 40% more on average than similar young adults.
To get involved, consider tutoring, reviewing resumes, conducting mock interviews, being a guest speaker, becoming a corporate partner or donating.
Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and change the belief of what a programmer looks like and does. This nonprofit organization aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science by equipping young women with the necessary computing skills to pursue in-demand technology roles. Alumni of Girls Who Code go on to major in computer science at 15x the national average.
There are a variety of ways to get involved, like starting a club in your area, fundraising, connecting the organization with your workplace for a corporate partnership, or joining a campaign.
The mission of Black Girls Code is to increase the number of women of color in the digital space. They work to empower girls of color ages 7 to 17 to become innovators in STEM, leaders in their communities, and builders of their own futures through exposure to computer science and technology. The goal of the organization is to provide African American youth with access to education for in-demand technology skills and set them up for success while competing for future computing jobs. This organization is working to train 1 million girls by 2040.
To get involved, volunteers can sign up for mentorship and training opportunities, purchase merchandise or donate.
Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented youth. Its vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science skills. The website includes free coding lessons and also targets schools to encourage them to include more computer science classes in the curriculum.
To get involved, code.org offers ways to request that schools teach children to code and accepts donations. For software engineers looking to get involved, Code.org can help connect you with a school to volunteer in.
IC Stars, or Inner-City Computer Stars Foundation, provides a rigorous technology-based workforce development and leadership training program for underserved adults, connecting them with career opportunities through social enterprise and partner organizations. Participants learn by hands-on workshops, building web-based applications to solve client challenges. IC Stars provides coding, business, and leadership instruction along the way. Participants also gain the professional network and mentorships needed to jumpstart their careers.
To get involved, consider becoming a “Career Coffee Volunteer” and working with participants to provide career advice, becoming a mock interviewer, mentor, or donating.
Ada Developer’s Academy is located in Seattle, Washington and is a tuition-free, high-quality training academy specifically designed for women and diverse adults interested in software development. The organization focuses on serving the low-income population, underrepresented minorities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The first seven months are devoted to classroom learning while the last five months provide hands-on experience through an internship with an engineering team at one of their partner companies within the Puget Sound area. This is a full time, intensive program with two cohorts beginning each year, working with over 60 Seattle tech companies. The complete curriculum is also available online and open source.
To get involved, tech professionals can consider tutoring, becoming a teaching assistant, mentoring, providing mock interviews or donating.
Are you looking to add more highly skilled and diverse tech talent to your team? We can help. Get connected here.
