Community Inclusion Council on May 18
The Forrest Four-Cast: May 16, 2018
From national coffee chains that discriminate against minorities to the unconscious biases of gender-challenged boardrooms, current events have thrust the issues of diversity and inclusion onto the main stage in a way that few could have ever possibly imagined.
If you are in Central Texas and you are inspired to help create more diverse communities, then consider aligning your efforts with the Austin Community Inclusion Council. This city-wide initiative includes (but is not limited to) women, people of color, and the LGBTQIA+ community. They’ll meet Friday at Capital Factory, 7:30 to 9 am, to work on unifying efforts and changing the face of tech in Austin. Breakfast tacos and coffee will be provided to all attendees thanks to HomeAway. RSVP here to reserve your spot at this event.
Want more content addressing this issue? Then also explore the dozens of SXSW 2018 sessions focused on increasing tech industry inclusion. Audio recordings of several of these panels and presentations are highlighted below.
Tech-no-color. It’s no secret that Silicon Valley is a white boys’ club that needs to be cracked open. This panel delivered a powerful and interactive discussion about how to further build diversity and inclusion strategies with a focus on women of color. The group of senior leaders discussed how to start the diversity and inclusion (D&I) process, create goals, drive growth and accelerate change as well as how to re-envision the recruitment, retention and advancement of women of color in tech.
Inclusion and Tech: How to Get it Right. Research shows that a diverse and inclusive workplace can be a competitive advantage for companies. Representatives from startups and corporations talked about emerging technologies and how they can make the workplace and the world more inclusive. Panelists explored everything from how to eliminate bias in the workplace to how you can create flawed technology by not considering diversity from the start.
Minority Report: Engaging Kids of Color in Tech. Getting more diversity, inclusion and innovation in the tech industry must first start with getting more youth of color interested in tech, but it takes more than just an hour of code. Latinitas, Black Girls Code, Border Kids Code and Google Fiber have learned that it requires high-touch programs to really engage minority youth in the tech world and inspire them to go from becoming tech consumers to tech creators. This panel discussed what they’ve learned working with kids of color over the years.
The I Stands for Intersex, Not Invisible. Emily Quinn is a ballsy intersex artist and animator who used to work at Cartoon Network before coming out as intersex on MTV in 2014. And her whole world changed! Now, she’s an intersex activist, using storytelling and humor to create a more welcoming world for people who don’t fit in a box. In this session Emily shared her experiences as an intersex content creator and communications manager for interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth. She talked about creating television’s first main intersex character, creating viral intersex videos, and what it’s like as she continues to educate the world about living outside the binary.
Latinx Representation. Resistance and Identity. Representation, resistance and identity are crucial elements to making Latinx-targeted content work. Four panelists answered questions like: How do you listen to your audience carefully to create content that they want — and need? Why is the Latinx representation so varied — what identifies us and what brings us together? And how do you market to and target such a diverse community? Finally, learn what resistance means for the Latinx community and how it’s portrayed in Latinx-targeted content.
The Truth about Diversity in Tech. As a black man in New York City, Joseph Okpaku experienced the pain and frustration of standing on the side of the road watching taxis pass him by. Little did he know that he’d end up being a leader for a new type of service that is making being stranded without transportation options increasingly a thing of the past. From a law firm to government to his current role as Vice President of Public Policy at Lyft, Joe discussed what drove him to pursue work at an early stage tech startup, how he thrives as a black executive in Silicon Valley, and offered advice to others looking to blaze their own unique career trail and improve people’s lives.
Other Austin events for the week of May 14
May 14: Telemedicine Across Texas
May 14: Co-Founders Wanted Austin Meet Up
May 14: AustinRB Meet Up
May 14: Austin Clojure Meet Up
May 14: EFF Austin Meet Up
May 14: PowerUp Austin! & Networking Reception
May 14: Telemedicine Across Texas
May 14: Women Who Code Hacking Hangout
May 14: MicroConference: DevOps Days Redux
May 15: Networking Tips and Tricks
May 15: Music Tech Meet Up
May 15: Evening Of Python Coding
May 15: Product Management Info Session
May 15: Web Development Immersive Info Session
May 15: Learn to Code: Intro to Data Science With Pandas
May 16: Trends in Action: Accenture + Fjord AMA / Fireside Chat
May 16: Founders Live
May 16: Austin Startup Meet Up
May 16: Austin Go Language User Group
May 16: 2018 WIT Showcase Event
May 16: Build a Taco Website
May 17: Website SEO Teardown
May 17: Austin Cassandra Users
May 17: Unlocking the Answers with AI and Natural Language Processing
May 17: General Assembly UX Designer Graduate Showcase
May 17: Texas Society for Construction Solutions
May 17: Austin Hardware Startup Meet Up
May 17: Bleeding Edge Web Meet Up
May 17: SXSW 2019 Strategies for Success with Hugh Forrest
May 18: Austin Community Inclusion Council
May 18: US Census Hack / Viz-a-Thon
More upcoming Austin events:
May 22: Beers and Bar Charts: How We Rely on Data & Facts
May 22: foundingAustin Issue 7 Release Party
May 22: The World Spins Series: China, Innovation and Us
May 23: MassChallenge Texas Startup Showcase
May 23: Find Your Event’s Next Big Idea
May 24: Austin A-List 2018
May 29: Michael Pollan Book Reading
June 1–3: ATX Hack for Change
June 1–3: Dreamhack Austin
June 5: Austin Forum on Internet of Things
June 6: Austin Digital Marketing Conference
June 7–10: Startup Weekend Hackout 2018
June 21: Central Texas LGBT-Allies Diversity Summit
June 23: Austin Ice Cream Festival
June 25: SXSW 2019 PanelPicker Speaking Application Process Begins
August 3–5: RTX Austin 2018
August 22: Snap Judgement LIVE!
If you have a creativity-focused event that you want listed in this space, then please contact hugh at sxsw dot com.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
