We’re at a crossroads in the US with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Opponents have neutralized the concept by reducing it to a series of letters that can be easily vilified and rooted out by a new generation of government censors.
But those who do that are missing the point. Diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t about having a “DEI manager” who ensures that target numbers are hit. It’s about widening the circle to make sure a company is considering all candidates who might be appropriate for a given position. It’s important for the company, because it’s hard to find and hire good people. And it’s important for the job applicants, because if they’ve put in the work, they deserve to be evaluated fairly.
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At O’Reilly, we seek out talent from groups that might not be in our direct circles of influence, but we hire them based on skill. That said, we do believe that biases exist, which is why we use anonymous application reviews that spotlight an applicant’s relevant expertise when deciding who to evaluate.
As a woman who leads a SaaS organization in a tech industry still very much dominated by men, I believe I got here because I put in the work and built the necessary skills. That said, Tim O’Reilly had the wherewithal to disregard industry biases and open the circle to ensure I was considered to run his company. Women make up only 35% of the tech workforce versus about 56% in the labor force as a whole. We know that’s not because women can’t shine in tech jobs. You have only to look at tech superstars like former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati or SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell. And women are not the only overlooked sources of talent.
At O’Reilly, we want to help accelerate the solution. Which is why I’m pleased to announce the continuation of our highly successful diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarship to increase learning opportunities for members of underrepresented communities in technology. Through this scholarship program, 500 awardees receive annual all-access memberships to the O’Reilly learning platform so they can put in the work and learn the skills they need to break through the industry’s barriers. Let’s hope they learn fast, because over 85 million skilled tech workers will be needed in the next five years.
