Technology Industry Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Progress Report

by Joe Panettieri • Sep 15, 2022

Here is page three of three of our DEI updates…

RangeForce: BlackGirlsHack (BGH) and RangeForce are partnering to provide training resources to black girls and women, and increase representation and diversity in the cybersecurity field. Source: ChannelE2E, February 25, 2021.

Research: Multiple updates…

• Women of Color in Tech: NPower, a large nonprofit tech training program in the USA, has released a two-year study that takes an in-depth look at the obstacles young women of color face entering the technology industry and what the industry needs to overcome diversity barriers. Details are here. Source: EP&T, June 2020, 2020.
• Murder of George Floyd: More than 85 percent of companies discussed the death of George Floyd with their teams and 57.7 percent of those firms said they are scheduling ongoing discussions on race, according to a survey from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The survey was conducted online between June 11 and June 20, 2020, among 150 Human Resources executives at companies of various sizes and industries nationwide. A former Minneapolis police officer, who is white, has been charged with murdering Floyd, a Black man.
• Measuring & Addressing (Lack of ) Diversity in the Channel: What actionable steps can the channel take to address lack of diversity, inclusion and social injustice? The answer, according to Dave Sobel, involves actually measuring diversity in the channel and then taking concrete steps to improve on those metrics. Sobel took a look at publicly available information from 100 channel companies. Of the 876 channel leaders mentioned, 82.3 percent were White, 19.3 percent were female, and only 1.8 percent were Black. Sobel explains his methodology and goals in this video…

Reddit: The site has vowed to implement a new hate speech policy after years of complaints from volunteer moderators. The moderators claim racism is rampant across the Reddit website. Source: Bloomberg, June 18, 2020.

Salesforce: Sean Combs and Salesforce have teamed up to create Shop Circulate, a curated digital marketplace that allows consumers to discover and buy products exclusively created and sold by Black entrepreneurs. Source: Salesforce, June 1, 2021.

ScanSource: The distributor has launched a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) program. Also, Ken Peterson, senior director of human resources, takes on the additional role of chief diversity officer.

ServiceNow: Multiple updates…

• The IT service management and workflow automation software company has created the ServiceNow Racial Equity Fund. The $100 million investment fund is designed to “drive more sustainable wealth creation by funding homeownership, entrepreneurship, and neighborhood revitalization within Black communities in 10 regions across the United States.”  RBC Global Asset Management’s team will manage the fund. Source: ServiceNow, January 26, 2021.
• The company’s diversity report for 2021 is here. Source: ServiceNow, April 26, 2021.
• ServiceNow’s 2022 diversity report is here. Source: ServiceNow, April 15, 2022.

Splunk: Multiple updates…

• Splunk has released its 2021 Global Impact Report, which details the company’s approach to such issues as social impact; ethical and inclusive growth; data responsibility; and environmental sustainability. Source: Splunk, December 16, 20212.
• Splunk has hired Capital One veteran Rolddy Leyva to chief diversity officer. Leyva reports to Kristen Robinson, chief people officer. Source: Splunk, January 25, 2022.

Square: The company intends to invest $100 million in support of minority and underserved communities, including:

• $25 million to deposits in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) in communities around the United States.
• $25 million investment in The Keepers Fund sponsored by the National Bankers’ Association, a trade group representing minority-owned financial institutions that are committed to providing employment opportunities, entrepreneurial capital and economic revitalization in neighborhoods which often have little or no access to reasonably priced financial services.
• $25 million investment in The Black Economic Development Fund managed by The Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC), one of the country’s largest and most impactful social enterprises supporting projects and programs to revitalize communities.
• An additional $25 million reserved for future investment into social impact projects, to be announced at a later date.
• Source: Square, September 24, 2020.

Sumo Logic: The cloud SIEM and SOAR provider published its latest Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. Source: Sumo Logic, September 15, 2022.

Emily Glass, CEO, Syncro

Syncro: The MSP-focused software platform company hired Datto veteran Emily Glass as CEO. It’s the first time an MSP software platform company has named a woman as CEO, ChannelE2E believes. Source: ChannelE2E, December 9, 2021.

TBI: TBI will no longer use the term “Master Agent,” and will instead be known as a technology services distributor. TBI changed its terminology in order to promote a more inclusive technology industry, the company says. Source: TBI, September 9, 2021.

Technology Industry Movements: Leaders from across the technology industry condemned racism and vowed to drive social equality. The outcry followed the murder of George Floyd — a Black man who was killed by a White Minneapolis police officer. The officer has been fired and faces murder charges. Source: ChannelE2E, June 2, 2020.

TPG Funding for Diverse Startups: Private equity firm TPG has launched TPG NEXT, which will provide flexible growth capital and operating resources to seed, support, and scale the next generation of diverse investors and entrepreneurs including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+, the company says. Source: TPG, March 18, 2021.

Trend Micro: The cybersecurity software provider has extended its partnership with Girls in Tech, a global nonprofit. Together, the two organizations will develop a large talent pool of women focused on the cybersecurity industry. Source: Trend Micro, July 2, 2020.

UiPath: The software company has partnered with seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help train students on Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Source: UiPath, April 6, 2021.

Wendy Reynolds-Dobbs, VP, Unisys

Unisys: The company has named Wendy Reynolds-Dobbs as vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer, reporting to Katie Ebrahimi, chief human resources officer of Unisys. Source: Unisys, March 30, 2021.

Verizon: Multiple updates…

• The telecom, wireless and mobile giant has expanded its “diversity, equity & inclusion reach” with a “responsible marketing” action plan. Source: Verizon, April 7, 2021.
• Verizon released its first-ever Human Capital Report. As of December 31, 2020, 50% of Verizon Board members were women or racially/ethnically diverse; and 50% of Verizon’s executive leadership team were women or racially/ethnically diverse. Source: Verizon, April 30, 2021.

Former VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger

VMware: CEO Pat Gelsinger said that for any open position at the technology company, the hiring process will have to include consideration of both a woman and a minority candidate. Note: Gelsinger exited VMware and joined Intel as CEO after this report was published. Source: CNBC, June 19, 2020.

YouTube: The company is launching a $100 million content fund “dedicated to amplifying and developing the voices of Black creators and artists and their stories.” Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal, June 18, 2020.

Note: Blog originally published June 18, 2020. Ongoing updates thereafter. If you have an update to share, please email details to ChannelE2E’s Joe Panettieri ([email protected]).