Race and tech, the realities

Dr. Cheryl Ingram has seen the statements from tech companies this week, expressing outrage over the death of George Floyd and speaking out against the racial inequities in our society.

Now is the time for leaders to go beyond talk and take action, she says. Actually, the time was long ago. But now would work.

"Tech has a huge responsibility," Ingram says, not only due to the prevalence of bias in the industry against women, people of color and people with disabilities, but because of the potential for tech companies to have a positive impact. "If the tech industry comes together and really starts to fight for change, we're going to see change happen much faster in our country."

Ingram is the CEO and founder of consulting firm Diverse City and tech startup Inclusology, which is developing a tech platform for diversity, equity and inclusion assessments inside companies. Ingram shifted Diverse City's operations to LA in 2018 but remains engaged with the Seattle community.

We're featuring her story on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, including a conversation from last fall and a follow-up discussion this week in which she addressed the tech industry's role in the racial inequities in society. As part of our discussion, Ingram presented several concrete steps for tech leaders to take to start to solve the problem.