Talent Is Evenly Distributed; Opportunity Is Not: How Tech Leaders Can Reach Diverse Talent Pools

Innovation Talent Is Evenly Distributed; Opportunity Is Not: How Tech Leaders Can Reach Diverse Talent Pools Gautam Tambay Forbes Councils Member Forbes Technology Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Jun 24, 2022, 10:00am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CEO and co-founder of Springboard , a rapidly-growing workforce development company focused on digital economy skills.

getty Since interest in the movement called the “Great Resignation” first appeared last June, the wave of workers leaving difficult, thankless jobs has only accelerated. Many retail and service workers saw peers in white-collar jobs, particularly in tech, work from home, receive mental health resources, and take leave to recharge, and thought, “I can do that. ” Those workers are not wrong.

In fact, the tech industry is desperately seeking new talent. For years, even before the pandemic, the tech industry has struggled to fill roles. The challenge in tech is to bridge a wide talent gap.

Despite offering high salaries and legendary perks, there simply are too few workers trained in the necessary technical skills to perform the number of available jobs. The Great Resignation presents a unique opportunity for us in tech. On one side, we see a skills gap: a lack of qualified talent.

On the other, workers leaving the retail and service industries, or other nontechnical roles, are seeking careers that offer higher pay, stronger benefits, flexibility and stability. Whether these workers know it or not, they’re looking for tech jobs. But this population needs better pathways to break into tech.

A fundamental part of encouraging new talent to join tech, and of retaining existing talent, is growing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. I’ve experienced the benefits of being an employee in a DEI-focused workplace firsthand. I moved from India to work at Capital One and then Bain & Company (two organizations that consistently rate among America’s best workplaces), where I benefited from my employers’ attention to workplace culture.

My colleagues hailed from all over the U. S. and many other countries.

Pay structures and progression were transparent and equitable. I had ample access to support and expertise, from immigration to professional development. I felt like I had a place.

MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event There are clear business motivators for adopting DEI-oriented changes as well. A culture that celebrates diverse perspectives is one that fosters greater innovation, more effective operations and better protection from design flaws that blossom in blind spots. As the leader of a team of 25 nationalities with gender parity, it’s clear that a DEI lens is not just good for our product and business—it’s good for our company, too.

But while the tech industry has made strides in recent years to improve DEI, it’s been insufficient. The gender imbalance is omnipresent. Women are underrepresented , particularly in VP, SVP and C-suite level positions.

Over 70% of tech employees have experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly in the workplace because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or some other aspect of their identity. Even though some of the biggest tech companies have said they no longer require bachelor’s degrees, the reality is that most hiring managers still look for them. A growing percentage of jobs require at least a four-year degree, locking many workers from poorer and nontraditional backgrounds out of tech careers entirely.

We’re missing a once-in-a-generation moment. To fully tap into the opportunity sprouting in the Great Resignation, we need to show disenchanted workers that a tech career can be the right match for them, regardless of their background. Not only should they pursue a tech career, but they can belong and thrive in that career.

To that end, every tech leader should ask themselves: How am I supporting the workers I haven’t hired yet? One focus area should be in reducing barriers to entry. Many tech jobs call for specialized training, but people aren’t born with the ability to excel in software engineering or machine learning. Must we require that a person begin training for a career in tech at the age of 18, especially given the often prohibitive cost of a traditional undergraduate education? Financial and educational support would boost more workers into these high-need careers.

Companies struggling to fill roles must adapt to the realities of modern hiring. Outdated educational requirements are biased in favor of those who can afford a standard four-year college program. Given declining undergraduate enrollment , the pool of candidates who fit that specific criterion is only shrinking.

And as the Great Resignation shows, workers’ preferences and goals change over time. It’s long overdue to reorient toward skill-based hiring. In my opinion, boot camps can help fill this gap.

Tech employers and hiring managers should be looking to these online programs as a key pipeline for highly qualified talent. Not only do they provide accessible, affordable and flexible learning models, but online learning platforms are more agile and can keep up with the pace of change, offering the cutting-edge skill sets that drive success in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. (Full disclosure: My organization is an online learning platform.

) To build the tech industry we want to see, we have to do things differently. We know why the industry isn’t as diverse as we want—we haven’t leveled the playing field. We all stand to benefit by building the infrastructure now that will make it easier for people of all backgrounds to participate.

The tech workforce of tomorrow is the one we’re training today. Let’s train everyone who’s willing to work for it. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives.

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