Rev. Jesse Jackson Returns to Northeastern to Talk About Increasing Diversity in Tech Sector

In my role as a Board member of the Washington Technology Industry Association, where I have served for several years as the Chair of its Workforce Development Committee, we have focused on a range of strategies to address the great need for talented workers, especially ones with computer science skills, in the Puget Sound region.  One of the strategies Northeastern pioneered to increase the pipeline is the ALIGNprogram, which was successfully piloted in Seattle and is now being launched nationwide.

One big hurdle keeping tech companies from achieving their full potential is their lack of diversity. However, I am pleased to report Northeastern is a national leader in changing the status quo, both in the workplace and in the classroom.  The university’s STEM enrollments have tripled in the last 10 years for women in the undergraduate and graduate level.  The number of under-represented minorities (URMs) enrolled in STEM fields at Northeastern has more than doubled, and we have witnessed a 190 percent increase in computer science majors for diverse students in the last four years.  While retaining minority students is a challenge for most colleges, Northeastern has been cited as one of three colleges and universities in this nation with significant increases in either African American or Hispanic graduation rates over the last 10 years.

A new and exciting solution was inspired by a visit from civil rights leader and former Presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., who came to our Seattle campus last December. The tech leaders present agreed with Rev. Jackson that a more diverse workforce at their companies would result in a stronger company and broader connections to their customers, and committed to work together to achieve this goal.  The WTIA Board promptly affirmed its support, and formed a Diversity Action Committee to start working on specific partnership items with a newly formed local group of community leaders committed to tech diversity, called the Northwest Technology Equity Initiative (NWTEI).

Fast forward to just yesterday when Rev Jackson returned to Seattle and agreed to spend 70 minutes with us, commenting positively on the diversity partnership between WTIA and NWTEI and the progress we have made in the last 6 months. Highlights of the conversation included:

• The Reverend looks at this region not as a Silicon Valley, but rather the “Silicon Forest”.
• He stressed equality of opportunity, the need for economic justice and the limits of not having greater diversity in any technology company.  He stressed that “American companies should look like America,” pointing to the greater understanding, innovation and prosperity these companies will achieve when their workforce more closely mirrors the world we live in.
• He reviewed the leadership and networking role his organization, Rainbow PUSH, has accomplished and encouraged those attending to support its efforts.
• He encouraged the local community and tech leaders present to discuss and resolve these issues, and promised to return to check on our progress.
• He called for a wide array of programs, such as the TAF Academy here in Washington State, whose work has laid a foundation down for younger generations to succeed within STEM.

Noting that creativity flows from experience, he expressed optimism that the efforts here and across the nation will ultimately usher in a new era of innovation, creativity and prosperity to this industry. He concluded “even though we have made so much progress, the best America is in front of us.”

I started this meeting with Rev. Jackson talking about both the good work WTIA has begun and its promising partnership with NWTEI.  His inspiring words have fired up our community and tech companies to take it to the next level. We will continue this dialogue next week at our Women & Minorities in Technology event. We hope to see you there!

Dean Washburn