The Disconnect Between Diversity and Recruiting in Tech
Even after experiencing a pandemic that caused some of the most well-funded tech companies to fold, SMB’s to go under, and millions of people to become unemployed overnight, high-growth tech still has the audacity to view unemployed and underemployed jo
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Much of the tech industry still operates like a gated community: If you don’t have the right access code, you’re not getting in.
Opportunities are largely reserved for those who’ve attended famous schools and worked at fancy companies.
Even after experiencing a pandemic that caused some of the most well-funded tech companies to fold, SMB’s to go under, and millions of people to become unemployed overnight, high-growth tech still has the audacity to view unemployed and underemployed job seekers as unqualified.
And founders with massive egos think that their product is so incredibly “game-changing” that only the most senior (and currently employed) people are qualified to build and sell their vision.
If you want to play that game, then you also have to be ok with the outcome: a more insular, less diverse candidate pool where the people who already have money and jobs are still getting all of the opportunities.
Of course, there are boxes that have to be checked when it comes to skill + role. I’m not naive to these requirements.
And smart companies are seeing this as a both/and opportunity:
They’re widening access to jobs in tech because it’s the right thing to do. And they’re seeing these underserved talent pools as some of the best places to source candidates—while the other startups continue to fish from the same ponds.
But still, even after all we’ve been through, we’re seeing an industry that despite its words, largely gives access to a very select group.
Diversity speak is super cool for optics. But a look inside your recruiting practices tells the real story.
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