To Increase Diversity, U.S. Tech Companies Need to Follow the Talent

We believe that this article pertains to all industries, not just tech, but it is most apparent with technology companies in the U.S. and the incorrect assumption that talent only exists where the venture capital originates—NY, CA, and MA. To truly make the industry more inclusive, tech companies need to let go of their geographic biases and change the way they recruit, organize teams and allow employees to work. As companies have moved to remote work during the pandemic — and possibly forever — tech companies should re-envision a recruitment and retention strategy targeted at talent from places far from the usual clusters. (If they’re already doing so, they should double down on this strategy.) Even if the work-from-home trend does not take off across the board, the current enthusiasm for it creates a window of opportunity to narrow the diversity gap by recruiting under-represented groups and retaining them.