{"id":10695,"date":"2020-03-05T11:59:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T16:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=10695"},"modified":"2020-03-06T12:47:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T17:47:15","slug":"what-tech-companies-are-doing-to-be-more-inclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-tech-companies-are-doing-to-be-more-inclusive","title":{"rendered":"What Tech Companies Are Doing to Be More Inclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s no question boosting diversity is welcomed by workers in the tech industry and beyond \u2014 and experts say it’s even <\/span>good for business<\/span><\/a>, helping support innovation, productivity, and engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

More and more tech companies are striving to become inclusive in a variety of ways, including some that are thinking well outside the box.<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies Big, Small Striving for Inclusivity<\/span><\/h2>\n

American tech hardware company Cisco, for instance, is known for backing full-spectrum diversity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s an approach that en<\/span>courages diversity at all levels of the company \u2014 inclusive of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or pretty much anything else \u2014 and the company says it uses its own technology to ensure all employees can “participate in the business.”<\/span><\/p>\n

That company-wide push has helped Cisco become the most diverse its ever been since they first started tracking diversity back in 1998, and helped the <\/span>multinational jump from 7th to 2nd place on Fortune’s ranking of best workplaces for diversity in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tech giant Microsoft also says it has made major strides in the last two decades through deep, widespread diversity initiatives, ranging from efforts to increase broader representation in its overall employee base to offering equal pay for similar work.<\/span><\/p>\n

By mid-2019, the company says it has seen gains in the diversity of employees, including those in tech and leadership roles. Women, in particular, are being hired more often, bucking a decades-long tech industry trend, with female employees now representing 37 percent of the company’s executives responsible for leading geographic markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

And on a smaller scale, California-based cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks is boosting diversity through strategic partnerships and educational programs, which helps to ensure that jobs at the company are more accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yearly pay equity analyses through a third-party firm also help ensure there aren’t any unexplained pay differences between employees, the company says.<\/span><\/p>\n

More Still Needed to Boost Diversity, Experts Say<\/span><\/h2>\n

All these types of initiatives are good news, experts say, though some warn much more needs to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imogen Coe, a Professor in the faculty of science at Ryerson University in Toronto \u2014 who’s known for her <\/span>2016 TEDx talk<\/span><\/a> “Change the Numbers: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in STEM” \u2014 says there still needs to be more intentional efforts from leadership in the tech sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n