The Seattle skyline. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

In hopes of addressing what it considers widespread racial bias across the tech industry, the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) has created an “Anti-racism in Tech Pact” to guide organizations in combating inequity.

WTIA, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a strong and sustainable technology sector, has attracted more than 50 tech companies and educational institutions who will work together to overhaul current hiring practices and enact meaningful change in the workplace over the next five years to more accurately reflect the populations in which they operate.

According to WTIA, citing the Bureau of Labor Statics, the profound opportunity to work in tech is leaving people of color behind. The tech sector employs less than half as many BIPOC workers as do other sectors in the country, and representation in management is even lower.

“We have a clear vision for dismantling racism in the technology industry, but we must first gain the trust of BIPOC communities,” WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler said in a news release. “This Pact takes a first step to gaining that trust by committing signatories to sharing resources and firm goals around the diversity of their teams over a five year period.”

Signatories of the Anti-racism in Tech Pact include such companies as Lyft, Remitly, Convoy, ExtraHop, the University of Washigton’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science, Washington State University and more.

The signatories state that they will:

  • Work diligently to ensure that within five years of signing this Pact, their company fully reflects the populations in which they operate, including the board of directors, management, and all employees. For example, in King County today this would mean approximately 6% Black and 9% Latinx, and nationally, this would mean 18% Black and 14% Latinx.
  • Fully educate their teams on implicit bias, cultural awareness, and anti-racism in the workplace.
  • Share best practices on how to effectively recruit, develop, and retain people of color with other Pact signatories.
  • Share ideas on how to build a lasting change in behavior with the goal of delivering more equitable outcomes in the workplace.
  • Share specifics of their company’s approach and the results of those efforts on a semi-annual basis.

WTIA is building a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Office, serving members of the Pact, with financial and programmatic support from Verizon, Fenwick & West, AT&T and members of the Pact. The office will serve as a strategic partner in planning, and implementing changes needed to eliminate systemic racism in organizations.

WTIA’s roadmap for the pact, below, lays out a pathway for collective success:

Organizational Development:

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Recruitment:

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Retention and Promotion:

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