What is diversity, equity, and inclusion in tech? By: Kiana Seitz September 12, 2024 Estimated reading time: 11 minutes. Diversity supports innovation. Innovation leads to improved business outcomes for your organization. In the tech sector, many companies struggle to overcome the lack of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) culture and fall behind the curve of competitors who are embracing DEI. Studies have shown that tech companies that embrace diversity see a rise in employee innovation, professional growth, and organizational growth and success in the industry. This article will share some of these compelling stats. Keep reading as we explore the critical role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the tech industry and discover how embracing diversity drives innovation and growth. If you’re ready to start implementing DEI practices in your workplace, download our interactive workbook to help you understand where your gaps lie and how to close them. DOWNLOAD THE WORKBOOK Defining DEI in tech The pillars of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are used across every industry (including technology companies) to help create equitable and productive work environments. Workers who feel their organization is doing an excellent job on DEI efforts are happier with their jobs, which may lead to increased innovation, productivity, and employee retention. Here’s how we define the three pillars of DEI: Diversity Ensure your tech team has representation from different genders, races, ethnicities, religious beliefs, ages, sexual orientations, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses. Team diversity begins during the hiring stage through fair and equitable hiring practices that remove conscious or unconscious bias. Equity Ensure everyone on your team has equal access to opportunities and is treated fairly and ethically. It doesn’t mean rewards like raises and bonuses are given out without being earned, but that the opportunities to earn them are equal and fair for every team member. It also ensures everyone has equal access to resources to do their jobs better and support their career goals and aspirations. For example, if your company has a professional development fund for staff, every staff member can access an equitable portion of the funds for reskilling and upskilling courses. Inclusion This is about creating a workplace where everyone feels their contributions are valued, that they’re respected and that they feel empowered. In inclusive workplaces, everyone feels welcomed and supported so they can fully participate in the company culture and contribute towards company success. Diversity Equity Inclusion A DEI workplace Definition People from different backgrounds, preferences, and abilities Everyone receiving what they need to succeed Everyone feels included A workplace where everyone is treated and rewarded equitably and feels a valued part of the team Example A team comprised of men and women of different ethnicities, abilities, and socioeconomic status All team members are paid equitably based on merit All team members feel included in the office culture The current state of DEI in tech Looking at the current state of DEI in tech, we see huge gaps in diversity, equity and inclusion: Lack of gender diversity in tech Historically, it’s been difficult for women to enter this sector because tech is seen as a male-oriented profession. Women make up 47% of the entire workforce, yet only 28% of the tech workforce. Of those who get tech jobs, 39% believe their gender is an obstacle to getting promoted. This lack of gender diversity isn’t for lack of interest: 74% of girls show an interest in STEM careers. 44% of all STEM-related bachelor’s degrees are held by women. 64% of women were inspired by a role model to pursue a STEM career. Read more about the gender gap in tech. Race inequality in tech The tech industry is also suffering from a lack of diversity in ethnicities—mostly dominated by Black and Caucasian workers. Representation for those identifying as a Person of Colour and/or Black is 37.5%. South Asians represent 15.8% of the tech workforce, Arabs represent 2.5%, and Indigenous people represent 0.9%. Pay gaps in the technology field Survey data found that 21% of wage bias is based on gender. In 2021, the gap (across the entire workforce) in Canada was 11%, with women earning just $0.89 per dollar earned by men. In tech, the wage gap between genders and ethnicities in 2022 was less severe but still not equitable, with Asian and Caucasian men leading in salaries. The below chart represents what different ethnicities are paid per dollar earned by a Caucasian man: Men Women Asian $1.02 $0.99 Caucasian $1.00 $0.95 Hispanic $0.97 $0.92 Black $0.93 $0.90 Source: 2023 State of Wage Inequality in the Tech Industry The importance of DEI in tech In technology and STEM companies, business success is often linked to increased productivity and innovation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion directly support business and individual success and prosperity across a slew of additional metrics, as outlined below. DEI can amplify innovation Companies with DEI priorities often see increased productivity and innovation. Employees at DEI-led companies are 2x more engaged and 57% more effective at collaborating with co-workers. When innovation teams come from different backgrounds or experiences and are effective collaborators, this combination can foster a creative environment in which new ideas and innovations are common. Companies with strong DEI earn more Companies with compelling DEI policies are more successful than their counterparts. 75% of companies with strong DEI values exceed their financial targets, while gender-diverse teams outperform gender-homogenous teams by 50%. This is likely due to the increased innovation and productivity diverse teams report, leading to enhanced business outcomes for the organization. DEI can increase employee satisfaction Happy employees are the secret sauce to a successful company. 78% of employees believe working for a company that values DEI is essential. When tech employees feel their presence and contribution are valued, they often come to work happier and are willing to work hard to make the company successful. DEI can boost employee retention Your employees want you to practice DEI in the workplace. 37% of workers would change jobs to work with a more inclusive team. DEI in the workplace is more than putting motivational posters on the walls; it requires action to create a workplace where diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of every day. Challenges to achieving DEI in tech Implementing DEI in tech companies often comes with challenges that the organization and its stakeholders must overcome to succeed. Below are some challenges you may face when implementing DEI initiatives at your company: Challenge Solution “We’re in a male-dominated industry.” Tech is traditionally viewed as a male-dominated industry. This bias has made it difficult for women and other underrepresented groups to enter the industry or rise the ranks to leadership or management positions. Examine the ratio of men to women in your organization and undergo unconscious bias training to eliminate gender-based hiring practices. “There’s a lack of role models for women and underrepresented groups.” Many women and underrepresented groups have difficulty imagining themselves in this male-oriented industry due to a lack of role models in the field. 52% of women say companies could attract greater representation by hiring more female role models. Hire more women and other diverse groups and share their stories of success with the world through articles, networking, and thought-leadership content. Encourage your staff to become role models themselves. “We don’t have data to prove our DEI.” Ignoring your organization’s inequity won’t impress today’s savvy tech workers. Still, many organizations lack the data to illustrate their current state of diversity, equity, and inclusion. They also lack tracking or systems to measure growth in their DEI initiatives. Create measurable DEI goals and set up tracking analytics and surveys to measure the “before” state and your progress as you work towards your goals. “Our internal applicants aren’t skilled enough for a promotion.” Many DEI-focused organizations try to promote from within before seeking external applicants. While this is a great practice to support employee retention initiatives, it can be seen as providing biased promotions if your staff are not given equal opportunities to upskill and reskill to earn a promotion. Provide opportunities for upskilling and reskilling programs available to all employees who want them. Lighthouse Labs can create a custom program for your team that helps them stay up-to-date on your industry's latest tech and coding trends. “Women aren’t applying for our tech jobs.” Due to the industry's perceived male dominance and lack of role models, some companies struggle to attract qualified female candidates for tech roles. They also struggle to attract those from non-white ethnicities, those with disabilities, or candidates from the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Examine your job descriptions and titles to ensure they use gender- and ethnic-inclusive language. You can also contact professional associations or schools for these underrepresented groups to get resumes. Lighthouse Labs can help you find the perfect, qualified, equitable fit. Ask us about hiring a Lighthouse Labs tech graduate today. Best practices for promoting DEI in tech Here’s a summary of the best practices in promoting DEI at your tech company: Understand your DEI challenges and goals Listen, learn, act Support an environment conducive to equitable improvement Avoid “window dressing” your DEI initiatives Measure your DEI success Dedicate to pay equity Understand your DEI challenges and goals The first step to becoming a successful DEI-focused tech organization is to audit your current state. Look at the analytics and ratios within your organization and survey your staff to get their opinion on how diverse, equitable, and inclusive your organization is. This information will help you identify opportunities for improvement. Identify the challenges your organization is facing, and set realistic goals (like OKRs or S.M.A.R.T. goals) to help you become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. To help you get started, download our free resource: DEI in tech: Practical exercises for understanding and implementing DEI in the tech workplace. DOWNLOAD NOW Listen, learn, act Communication is a big part of your DEI initiatives. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to learn from your tech teams and observe their challenges. Dr. Kristen Liesch, CEO and Co-founder of Tidal Equity, suggests engaging directly with tech professionals facing challenges and working together to brainstorm solutions. “Engage the people who experience those challenges in the co-design of their solutions. Not only will this create a more collaborative culture, it will create more comprehensive solutions.” Support an environment conducive to continuous equitable improvement A DEI initiative is not something you do once in a while. It should become a permanent part of your everyday work culture. A thriving, long-term DEI-focused culture requires constant monitoring and adjustments as needed. You can create an equitable culture by: Providing equal opportunities for upskilling and reskilling on your team Creating opportunities for staff to give feedback and ideas Creating inclusive staff events and social gatherings Avoid “window dressing” your DEI initiatives Dr. Liesch says she has noticed that tech companies aren’t traditionally very good at DEI. She says she’s observed many companies that claim to have strong DEI attitudes but never follow through with action. “The ‘window dressing’ rarely matches the substance of the organization,” Dr. Liesch says. “At the very least, the ‘window dressing’ is an aspirational image for what the organization would like to be, or become.” Having an aspirational image of an inclusive and equitable organization is essential. Still, tech companies must take public, actionable steps to reach that aspirational future. Measure your DEI success When you report back to your stakeholders, they’ll want proof that their investment in DEI at your organization was successful. This can be done through measurable analytics. Here are a few examples of metrics that can help you measure the success of your DEI programs: Employee retention Employee satisfaction The ratio of men vs women vs non-binary folks The ratio of different underrepresented groups in your organization Representation of job applicants Survey data relating to company culture and inclusion Dedicate to pay equity A huge issue in the workplace is the pay inequity that exists in many organizations. Certain groups are paid less for doing the same work as a colleague; in tech, this pay disparity is as much as 11%. Do an audit of pay scales and bonuses on your teams. Ensure that if two team members are doing the same job and have the same level of experience, they are paid the same. You can offer incentive-based bonuses based on performance as long as all staff have the same opportunities to earn these bonuses. Case Study: How Clio doubled female representation in their workplace Clio is the world's leading legal practice management software, with offices throughout Canada and globally. In June 2018, they were preparing to double their 61-person software engineering team but were concerned about widening the gender gap (currently at 87% male and 13% female) in their engineering team. Their goal was to create an engineering team that was 25% women. This meant that 35% of their new hires during the hiring blitz had to be those identifying as women. To accomplish this, they created a detailed strategy that included women’s event sponsorship, encouraging referrals from current staff, measuring their progress, and more. This initiative was successful, and they reached their goal by the end of 2018. Lighthouse Labs' commitment to DEI Our work matters. We believe our value is created by our impact. We are generous contributors who engage communities to strengthen them. Our impact initiatives allow us to work with mission-driven organizations to help Canadians gain new skills. Here are a few examples and testimonials of the inclusive and equitable environments we promote in the classroom and the community: Inclusive bootcamp culture for Ben Marsh Ben was looking to change careers and do more work that aligned with his interests, leading him to pursue the Data Science Bootcamp. He says he came out of it with a new set of tools and skills he didn’t have before. “I appreciated the diversity of both of my cohort and the instructors and mentors. Getting to know them and their backgrounds helped me understand more the different paths and career options that could be available to me in the field of data science.” Today, he works as a Data Analyst for a non-profit organization. Making tech more accessible for coders like Fatima Before Lighthouse Labs, Fatima worked in the nonprofit sector, helping shape public policy initiatives, especially about child poverty in Ontario. Our Web Development Bootcamp helped her transition from a non-tech career to becoming a web developer for LoyaltyOne. She is working to ensure their Air Miles site is accessible for Canadians with disabilities. “Looking back, I can see my growth trajectory,” says Fatima. “By the end, when you realize you’ve become a web developer, you see how far you’ve grown. And that’s a really great feeling.” Lighthouse Labs' public inclusions and equity initiatives Other initiatives and programs supported by Lighthouse Labs include: ICT Boost (2022-2024): Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP), this program provided fully-funded opportunities for 1,700 equity-deserving individuals to shape a better future for themselves and their families. Women in Tech Alberta in Partnership with IDRF (2022/23): Lighthouse Labs partnered with IDRF to eliminate barriers to employment and the prohibitive costs of tech education through training on Introduction to Web Development and the Web Development Bootcamp. Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Program (until March 2025): Funded by the Government of Canada, this wage subsidy program connects underemployed post-secondary graduates with digital employment opportunities at small businesses. It is our way of helping Canada’s youth prepare for the digital workforce. Indigenous Tech Talent Development in partnership with First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) (since 2017): The Bridging to Technology program provides Indigenous youth with comprehensive wrap-around training and services they need to pursue specialized training in a technical field. Creating a more innovative and inclusive tech industry Creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is essential to supporting employee job satisfaction and innovation and boosting your company's bottom line. As illustrated above, companies who make DEI part of their everyday corporate culture and policies see happier employees and greater overall business success than those without DEI focuses. The technology industry is behind the curve in many aspects of DEI, but that doesn’t mean it can’t improve. Your organization needs the courage to address your DEI Challenges. “Tech companies can measure the success of their DEI initiatives only if those initiatives are targeted interventions designed to solve for the very specific challenges that organizations face in regards to best serving their diverse employee and customer base,” says Dr. Liesch. Is your company best serving its employees and customers? With Lighthouse Labs’ off-the-shelf and bespoke, tailored tech upskilling and reskilling programs, your team can stay ahead of the technology curve so you can better serve your customers. These skills also help your staff get earned promotions and career advancement opportunities. When actively working towards DEI in your tech organization, you support a more innovative and inclusive tech industry. Get started upskilling and reskilling your team with Lighthouse Labs. Connect with our Talent Acquisition team to hire diverse tech talent today.