‘Tech’ needs a human-centered redesign to create the inclusive environment we want

By Arianna Gianakopoulos

Is ‘Tech’ good or bad? It depends on who you ask. 

For those who live on the coasts, and those who check their portfolios daily, tech is everyone’s darling. It brings opportunities for strong U.S. economic growth and great stock performance—what’s not to love?

Well, when many people living in the rest of the country think about tech businesses, a lack of moral compass and questionable ethics are at the top of their minds. At the same time, tech is being discussed as the future of economies grappling with a renaissance, and the pushback can be significant. The industry, led by controversial Big Tech like Amazon, Facebook and Google, is surrounded by concerns of privacy and automation. It also seems utterly disconnected from the lost manufacturing jobs that former steel communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, or mountain mining communities in Colorado, might be looking to replace. Compounding this mistrust of the industry is the reality that tech companies have been infamous for homogenous employee bases made up overwhelmingly of white men from elite schools. And while these organizations say that diversity and inclusion are important to them, six years after their first diversity reports, Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter have shown little to no progress, according to a CNBC analysis.

So, why does this matter? Why is it important to reconcile the reputation and perception of ‘Big Tech’ to the reality of what tech could mean for our future workforce?

At a macro level, how people feel about whether or not they can trust tech when it's discussed as the ‘next industrial revolution’ in their communities is important to economic development. Axios recently reported that, according to Edelman, trust in tech fell to an all-time low in the United States. “Edelman said the main reason for the trust fall is the increasingly ‘complicated’ relationship between the public and technology — including the spread of misinformation, rising privacy alarm, and bias in artificial intelligence.” If people of evolving economies don’t trust how tech is going to impact their communities and society, they may be hesitant to engage. They may not choose to study some of the important skills necessary for the future of working with technology if they don’t believe it’s an industry aligned with their values, or built with them in mind. Why would students choose to pursue technology as a career path, or start their own ventures, if those around them are skeptical of the industry’s impact on the community they live in, or if it’s not seen as inclusive beyond a certain demographic? As a study by RateMyInvestor highlights, nearly half of venture capital funding goes to tech startups out of Silicon Valley, and 77% of funding goes to white founders. Not exactly encouraging for those who fall outside of these categories to engage with tech.

Tech has the opportunity, right now, to reinvent itself to be the industry that welcomes and supports the diverse workforce of the future. It can provide not only economic opportunity, but also the opportunity to create positive social and environmental impact through innovative solutions. That said, the Midwesterners and mountain town folks I know value community and authenticity, and are often turned off by the status quo of venture capital and tech, with leaders that often appear to be focused only on generating wealth or intellectual elitism. To build the trust that the industry has seen decline, and reduce polarization, it’s going to take intentional community-building and inclusion efforts. While tech has contributed to rising income inequality in some regions like Silicon Valley, a new generation of tech startups beyond the coasts have a chance to provide growth and economic opportunity to a declining middle class. As identified in a study by 24/7 Wall St., “The share of income earned by the middle quintile of earners in Ohio fell from 15.4% in 2007 to 14.8% in 2016, one of the largest declines of any state.” Tech companies can either contribute to this trend, or work with community stakeholders to develop a diverse talent pipeline for important operational roles. 

So. How will technology startups in the middle of the country demonstrate that they are committed to building out a talent pipeline that represents economic, geographic, racial and gender diversity in a way that Big Tech traditionally hasn’t?

The first step must be empathy. Leaders must put themselves in the shoes of the talent that they want to develop and recruit, and value the diverse perspectives that make our communities so great. As discussed in the New York Times, nonprofits like Year Up are putting in the work to develop effective programs for preparing talent, but success requires “close ties with employers. Their programs involve work-based learning at companies to link training with employer needs, and thus hiring.” In close-knit communities like those in the Midwest, these are the types of partnerships that can be developed to prove through actions, not words, that emerging tech companies will, in fact, hire a wide range of talent and listen to their needs.

Cultivating this empathy and building trust will require deep learning. A truly human-centered approach calls for time and investment into qualitative research. What are the current barriers to entry into tech? Who is interested in the space, but doesn't know where to start? What learning and development efforts are working, and which aren’t? What partnerships are a cultural fit for this community, and which aren’t? What are the misperceptions of the industry that can be debunked? Insights from this work would serve as a strong foundation for action across business, academia and government alike to design pipeline and workforce development programs that are meaningful and effective. Applying design thinking to these challenges is just a start, but at this pivotal moment, there’s an opportunity to show the world how empathy can be the foundation for progress in a community that really cares about one another’s growth and success. To me, this is an exciting opportunity to be able to design the inclusive economy of the future by understanding people’s experiences, defining the most critical pain points, identifying solutions that create widespread opportunity, and coming together to implement them. 

If anyone can do it, it’s people from the Midwest, because of the genuine care we have for one another and pride in the strength of our communities.

Arianna Gianakopoulos is an Innovation Product Owner at Uplight. Connect with her on LinkedIn.