Why we’re entering a significant moment in the fight for equity in tech

In summer 2020, protests erupted across the U.S., sparked by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black Americans. Within the tech industry, many leaders made public statements, financial commitments, and policy changes meant to improve equity and inclusion within their walls—and in the products they peddle.

To commemorate the first anniversary of these protests, Fast Company partnered with The Plug, a publication that covers the Black innovation economy, to examine what those commitments are, what they have achieved—and how much work still remains. (You can see the resulting data visualizations and first-person testimonials from Black employees, entrepreneurs, and customers here.)

For Ken Chenault, the chairman and managing director of VC fund General Catalyst, a board member at Airbnb, and the cofounder of OneTen, a group of executives committed to upskilling, hiring, and advancing one million Black Americans in the corporate world, the amount of talk about DEI feels promising—but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Fast Company: The tech industry responded to the George Floyd protests by acknowledging that it had not made enough progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion and saying it would do better. What kind of progress or lack of progress have you seen?

Ken Chenault: I’ve seen an increased awareness of the need to do something. There’s been activity, but the reality is, in a year we certainly have not seen much progress. Now, I wouldn’t expect to see a great deal of progress in a year, but I do think people have started to put together initiatives and I think that there is a sincere intent to try to bring about progress.

The key thing at the end of the day is, are we going to have persistence? And I think that the key signal is going to be what happens in year two. Will there be the same intensity? Will there be the level of focus, and will we start to see some tangible progress in the tech and venture world?

Have we seen companies put themselves in a place where year two can be more tangible and obvious?

I think we’re seeing some companies do that. I’ve certainly seen more engagement in, one, trying to come to grips with the race issue. And so I think that there’s a lot of work on the awareness side that’s taking place. I think that people are starting to look at how can we help founders—people of color—in the ecosystem. And so I think there’s more activity that’s going on there

And then what I’m also seeing is we have several technology companies involved in the initiative that Ken Frazier and I have been leading with Ginni Rometty and others, OneTen. And I think that that’s an area where hopefully we can start to see some tangible progress and movement. This is one where I’m encouraged by the words. Now we’ve got to see some action and we’ve got to see some results.

Can you talk a little bit more about OneTen and the kinds of things you’re doing to try to help?

Roughly 75% of Blacks between 18 and 50 who are in the job market don’t have a college degree. And however many of the jobs require a college degree. And so one of the things that is happening is we’re re-speccing jobs. We’re working with a range of sources on training and development programs. I think it’s going to be incredibly beneficial. What’s important is it’s a 10-year journey. So people are making a financial commitment, an annual financial commitment for 10 years, and an annual jobs commitment for 10 years. I think that will spread. While a million jobs in 10 years may sound lofty, what I would hope is we’ll achieve a multiple of that.

And I think what’s also going to happen, frankly, is it’s going to benefit all employees, all people, because if you re-spec the jobs, it certainly opens up opportunity for everyone. And I think what’s important here is—OneTen is an example—you’ve got to change what we’ve been doing. You can’t just say, “I’m going to work harder and do the same things,” because you’re going to get the same result. What we’ve recognized is there are things that are systemic that need to be changed and improved. And I think we can succeed without any diminution of quality.

Does the tech industry have any particular opportunities—or maybe challenges—given that there are all these engineering jobs where you need a certain background in some cases?

I think what’s very important is the tech industry has to be involved in apprenticeship programs. It has to be involved in training. It has to be involved in the initiatives that are going to up-skill people or in fact provide people with the knowledge. The tech industry is, in a number of respects, behind other industries. And that doesn’t make sense, because if you are focused on innovation, this is an area that I would hope 10 years from now, the tech industry is by far the leader. And that’s not the case today.

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