Minority representation is vital, and that’s just as true in the technology world as it is in other corners of the global society. People from all walks of life have contributed to the unprecedented growth in new technologies throughout the back half of the 20th century and beyond, yet the inescapable and unfortunate truth is that for those who aren’t white males, barriers have always been in place that limit opportunities for success.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects more than over half a million technology-related jobs to be created by 2029. Despite this, Microsoft’s Mancode Initiative, a one-day conference designed to educate middle and high school minority males about technology, reports that men of color represent only 2.2 percent of professionals in tech-related fields (see Microsoft’s Mancode Initiative Will Prepare Boys for Success in Tech). Clearly, this disparity poses a problem.
Thankfully, a new training program aims to make a difference in fostering representation of Black youths. A recent article published by San Diego news site KFMB quotes workforce-development agency Black Tech Link (BTL) as saying many students of color face great challenges when it comes to meeting their technology needs, and that the COVID-19 pandemic has made that clearer than ever (see San Diego Tech Group Targets Black Male Teens for STEM Training).
The non-profit organization thus created a three-month Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) training program to assist Black teen boys, a statistically underrepresented group in tech fields, in learning about the Internet of Things (IoT) and other modern technologies. The goal, according to the article, is to foster an early interest in technology-based career paths among African American males in order to increase the candidate pool for STEM-related jobs.
Elizabeth Cotton, Black Tech Link’s executive director, told KFMB’s LaMonica Peters, “If they’re thinking about having engineering as a major, they won’t feel out of place, and that’s what we really want for them. To feel a sense of belonging. They can do this.” To that end, Cotton founded the organization last year, knowing that STEM skills will become more important than ever during and after the pandemic. “It’s a rigorous program that we’re going to be putting these students through, but after they complete it, their technical skills and knowledge of coding, of circuitry, of carpentry, will be up there.”
Peters also spoke to Josiah Johnson, a San Diego High School student, who expressed his excitement at being enrolled in the BTL program. “It caught my eye right away,” Johnson stated. “It’s futuristic. You don’t always get to see that you’re going to get to make a touchscreen mirror. So, I think that’s really cool.” As someone from a multicultural family, I find it gratifying to read that. Representation matters.
As Salesforce.com’s The 360 Blog explains, “It’s hard to be what you can’t see. We know that in our tech industry, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx are underrepresented and there is more work to be done. We know there is undeniable power in representation.” Talent is distributed among all of humanity, but opportunities certainly are not, and this is especially true for Black teens (see Why Representation Matters: Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Leaders Share Their Thoughts). That’s why BTL focuses on the economic advancement of Black communities through technical education, workforce solutions and networking activities, which is incredibly vital.
Established in April 2020, the agency was created to help close the workforce gap among Black populations, both in the IoT sector and throughout the larger tech arena. “As the world rapidly progresses towards digital communication, scientific research and technological innovation,” Black Tech Link’s website explains, “BTL is committed to equipping our audience with resources and launching platforms for our members to make meaningful connections to advance their careers and businesses in STEM.”
Students who enroll in the program will learn how to build facial-recognition smart mirrors, as well as gain an understanding of the IoT, Raspberry Pi, robotics, smart homes and cities, and other technological innovations. Since more than half of the enrolled students lack their own computers, Black Tech Link has announced a campaign to raise $100,000 to provide middle and high school students of color with the equipment they need to participate in and successfully complete the program.
It’s a worthwhile cause, and if you can afford to donate, I would urge you to do so. It can only benefit the IoT sector to have wider Black representation among the tech minds of tomorrow. Maybe BTL’s efforts will inspire agencies to assist those in other under-represented groups as well, including those involving gender, orientation and ethnicity. To paraphrase a certain popular science fiction franchise, infinite diversity leads to infinite combinations.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005. Outside the RFID world, Rich has authored, edited or contributed to numerous books about pop culture.