In today’s corporate world, diversity can give you that crucial edge you need to overtake the competition. The more backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures represented in your team, the more ideas and points of view it will benefit from. Diversity can be the key that unlocks the next big idea.
But don’t take my word for it. QI Group of Companies’ Executive Chairman Vijay Eswaran recently said,
“I’ve learned that diversity in the workplace is an asset for both businesses and their employees, in its capacity to foster innovation, creativity, and empathy in ways that homogeneous environments seldom do.”
But putting together a multicultural and heterogeneous group is not always easy. Tech, in particular, is an industry where minorities are painfully underrepresented. Where can recruiters turn to find talent that is both outstanding and diverse?
This is a guest post from Career Karma.
Black Girls Code
African Americans make up only a small portion of the workforce in tech. So do women. To make things right, Black Girls Code was founded in San Francisco in 2011 as a non-profit. Its goal is to enhance access to education for African American girls by offering programs in computer programming, coding, website, robot, and mobile application development.
From humble beginnings, the organization has expanded fast, reaching 2,000 students across the US and South Africa by 2013. BGC’s ultimate goal is to equip girls with the skills they need to take a bigger proportion of the 1.4 million computing job openings in the US. By 2050, it aims to have trained at least 1 million girls.
Code2040
Code2040 is another non-profit organization that seeks to end the systemic exclusion of Black and Latino communities in the tech world. To do this, the organization connects tech newbies with mentors, employers, and colleagues, anyone that can help them progress in their careers.
Code2040’s Early Career Accelerator Program helps Black and Latinx that have just entered the industry. Another scheme, the Fellows Program, acts as a career accelerator to guide students in the process of landing an internship with a reputable organization.
Code For America
Another great resource from recruiters looking to hire diverse talent is Code for America. Driven by the values of openness, participation, and efficiency in public administration, Code for America strives for a more tech-savvy public sector. Through the promotion of open-source software, Code for America aims to make governments more efficient. It has more than 25,000 active members across the US.
Coding Bootcamps
One last resource we ought to mention are coding bootcamps. These are very short but very intense courses that prepare the students for any tech career. Most coding bootcamps can be completed in less than a year—many take two to four months—and at a cost that is significantly lower than a university degree.
Coding bootcamps come in every format to ensure everyone can take advantage of them. There are, of course, on-campus options, as well as online and even self-paced alternatives. The last two are particularly convenient for busy professionals looking to expand their skillset.
A good number of coding bootcamps have great tuition financing options that make the courses accessible to almost anyone. For example, some offer income-sharing agreements (ISAs), a scheme that allows the student to take the course but begin paying only when they have landed a job in the field. Apart from ISAs, scholarships and other forms of financial aid are also common.
Assembling a talented and diverse team is always going to be a challenge, but the organizations listed above are excellent places to start.
Where to Go From Here?
Enough theory. Let’s get some practice!
Coders get paid six figures and more because they can solve problems more effectively using machine intelligence and automation.
To become more successful in coding, solve more real problems for real people. That’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?
You build high-value coding skills by working on practical coding projects!
Do you want to stop learning with toy projects and focus on practical code projects that earn you money and solve real problems for people?
🚀 If your answer is YES!, consider becoming a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.
If you just want to learn about the freelancing opportunity, feel free to watch my free webinar “How to Build Your High-Income Skill Python” and learn how I grew my coding business online and how you can, too—from the comfort of your own home.