Closing the Opportunity Gap and Advancing Racial Justice in the Tech Industry

“I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream …”

—Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)

Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy inspires us to be kind to ALL humans, to ensure equality for ALL people, and his dedication to the nonviolent pursuit of racial equality moves me to action.

His life’s work led to the Civil Rights Act which banned discrimination in employment, public accommodations and other aspects of life, and the Voting Rights Act to stop discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests.

His posthumously published book, A Testament of Hope, urges Black Americans to continue their commitment to nonviolence, but each and every person bears a personal responsibility in this effort to make MLK’s dream a reality. As an ally, I can work to dismantle systematic racism that has been ingrained into our society. It takes all of us working together to bring hope and love to every corner of our nation.

While progress has been made thanks to MLK and many civil rights leaders, there is much work left to do. MLK’s nonviolent protests and commitment to equality paved the way to the current Black Lives Matter movement which has elevated discussions around the racism that is still experienced today. Institutional racism is a legacy of past and current public policy, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms, that continues to perpetuate inequity and opportunity gaps.

Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to racial justice and closing the opportunity gap

In an effort to help correct these gaps, Microsoft collaborated with the Black partner community to launch the Black Partner Growth Initiative (BPGI) and other initiatives to provide access to resources, skilling, and opportunities needed to overcome barriers to growth and accelerate success in a long-unlevel playing field.

Microsoft has taken our role in addressing economic inclusion with a commitment to increase Black partner representation in our ecosystem by 20% within three years. We’ve scaled up existing programs and launched new initiatives in a multi-year, multi-faceted approach to building a more inclusive workforce.

During the recent Voices for Innovation webinar, I had the opportunity to speak with partners about the important work we’re doing around this at Microsoft.

During that webinar, I highlighted a few of the core programs we’re expanding and adding in an effort to increase representation and strengthen our culture of inclusion within our partner community, including

• Microsoft Accelerate
• Career Connector
• Clear Vision Impact Fund
• Black Partner Growth Initiative

Microsoft Accelerate

We recognize that nurturing a more diverse workforce means investing in people early on. In 2020, Microsoft launched a global skills initiative with the aim of training 25 million people worldwide with skills needed for in-demand tech roles.

US-based implementations of the global initiative include Microsoft Accelerate and Microsoft’s community skills program. Microsoft Accelerate partners with local community leaders and businesses to provide no-cost tech skilling to underserved communities.

The Accelerate program is near and dear to my heart as I was in the room when this concept was born. We were in Atlanta, GA, where MLK grew up and went to college, meeting with the mayor’s staff, the chief of police, members of the city council, Chamber of Commerce, and other community leaders, discussing the unemployment problem in Atlanta and the surrounding areas.

Two primary challenges stood out: 1) significant unemployment rates impacting the citizens of Atlanta, and 2) numerous local companies that could not find qualified workers to fill their open positions.

Our former Microsoft US President, Kate Johnson, said, “What if we could help with both of those problems?” The idea was born to work with major cities for digital skilling for citizens and then also work with the Chamber of Commerce to host job fairs with local businesses that needed qualified workers once they had the skills needed.

Microsoft Accelerate centers on amplifying free training and resources within communities. The start-to-finish program provides subsidized upskilling and resources for small business owners to build digital skills, for students to be prepared for their first job, for those looking to change careers, and for educators to integrate technology into their classrooms.

Atlanta was home to our first pilot program. Since then, five additional cities have been added, with more to come!

Career Connector

As was the case in Atlanta, demand for digitally skilled workers is at an all-time high, with companies across the US struggling to identify enough capable applicants. At the same time, businesses are looking to build more diverse and inclusive workforces that better reflect the communities and customers they serve.

To bring the impact of skilling programs like Microsoft Accelerate to fruition, there is a need to connect historically overlooked talent of nontraditional backgrounds with the employers that need their skills. Career Connector, launched in 2021, does just this by creating a channel between job seekers historically underrepresented in the industry to tech and tech-enabled jobs across Microsoft’s network of customers and partners.

We aim to match 50,000 skilled workers with growing companies within three years.

Clear Vision Impact Fund

The Clear Vision Impact Fund, launched in August 2020, seeks to counter chronic underinvestment in minority-owned businesses through improved access to capital, and thereby enhance the positive impact that these companies have on the communities in which they operate.

Formed by Siebert Williams Shank & Co. with an initial $257 seed investment from Microsoft, the fund invests growth and operating capital in small and medium-sized businesses, with an emphasis on minority-owned businesses.

As of March 2021, the fund has grown to over $100M, well on the way toward the target size of $250M.

Black Partner Growth Initiative

The US-based Black Partner Growth Initiative (BPGI) is setting the framework for delivering programmatic elements that can be replicated globally for minority communities.

Created in close partnership with Black channel partners, the BPGI provides personalized guidance and support to help Black partners engage successfully with the Partner Network, and accelerate growth through greater community connections, stronger partnerships across Microsoft’s expansive ecosystem and platforms, and access to capital.

We’ve been blown away by the positive response of Black partners and their active engagement in helping to evolve and improve the program to better meet the needs of this community. This engagement has helped shape the brand-new #MicrosoftAdvance accelerator which kicked off with its first high-potential cohort in January 2022.

#MicrosoftAdvance accelerator participants unlock business resources designed to aid success, including 1:1 consultation with a dedicated advisor and tools to help jumpstart marketing.

While we view the first year of this initiative as a measured success, we are also intensely aware that our work in this area will continue to mature and evolve as we deepen collaboration with our partners, become sharper students of their lived experience, and learn from our partners and continue to better understand what a truly inclusive economy looks like.

Advancing racial justice and inclusion in your sphere of influence

Diversity helps us think about our processes, programs, and products in a different light. By working on these initiatives as well as our internal diversity and inclusion efforts, we not only produce better products and solutions for all, but also, we give our children a diverse group of people to look to for inspiration.

These programs and more offer unique opportunities to join other partners across the ecosystem who are partnering with organizations in their own community to equip students, displaced workers, and underserved populations with digital skills and more equitable opportunities to find their place in the thriving tech industry. Consider how you can leverage your own business and social connections to build a more diverse talent pool for high-demand sectors and establish Microsoft technology hubs in your area.

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” – Verna Myers

Tags: Black and African American Partner Growth Initiative, Education