Faisal Bhutto is the SVP of Cloud & Cybersecurity at Calian IT & Cyber Solutions.
If the past three years have shown us anything about our industry, it’s that lasting changes can happen instantly and rely on the technological skills we have today. When looking at the future of the tech landscape, we must begin by examining the industry’s current state and identify areas that are lacking. For years now, this has included representation, diversity and a skills gap shortage. While the pandemic exacerbated these issues, it also shone a glaring light on just how severe the problems are, forcing the industry to look—and act—critically.
Occurring in tandem with this reckoning, the industry has been saddled with mass layoffs across companies of every size, indications of a recession or an economic slowdown, and a growing need to address climate issues with technology. Despite these mounting challenges, demand for emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies is rising, creating new jobs in preparation for the next wave of innovation.
As companies look to fill these roles, they must prioritize diverse talent to overhaul the industry and enhance technological capabilities while also addressing issues and preventing new ones. With so much talk about diversifying tech in recent years, it’s important to understand what this workforce will look like and, more importantly, where to find the talent to propel it.
Extend opportunities to refugees.
Despite a renewed focus on hiring more women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) employees in tech, more can be done to improve diversity, increase representation and foster more inclusive workplace cultures in this industry. This will require companies to explore other avenues and extend opportunities to underserved populations. This can include refugees and other displaced populations, which often reflect communities of color.
International programs like the UN Refugee Agency are already tapping into this potential by partnering with global tech companies to support education and training in the field. These programs are tailored to meet the needs of refugee students interested in developing or enhancing their digital skill sets and provide digital access, connectivity and expansive learning opportunities.
Beyond teaching tech skills and improving digital literacy, these programs also help foster a sense of community, focusing on ideal classroom designs and teaching methods that can be conducted remotely, in person or through a hybrid model. Much like the current workforce distribution, this flexibility allows refugee students to enroll in programs that work for them and develop the technical and personal skills needed to navigate the industry.
Beyond the skills they can learn, refugees often bring their own skill sets and technical capabilities that they learned prior to leaving their homes. These perspectives are critical to shaping a more modern, globalized tech field.
Address biases in AI and ML.
Advances in AI and ML are accelerating at a breakneck pace without signs of slowing down in the coming years. The industry will need a workforce capable of keeping up with the developmental speed of these emerging technologies, along with data and insights from underrepresented groups to increase diversity and reduce the harmful impacts of prejudice on the tech.
Because AI and ML depend on the information they’re fed to train their algorithms, the lack of diversity across the industry has led to human biases in the tech that reflect a workforce that’s primarily white and male. This has led to instances in which devices have difficulties identifying foreign accents, produce written results with gender stereotypes and misrepresent people of color as criminals when compared to white people.
Although AI can help identify these biases, it can’t correct itself when it lacks the information to do so. Diversifying our tech workforce will not only contribute to creating more fair and equitable ML systems, but it will also help ensure the tech reflects our global populations.
Combat climate crises with affected populations.
As technology continues to develop to address climate change and clean energy needs, building a workforce from underrepresented backgrounds will be key in identifying and resolving solutions. This is because climate displacement caused by extreme weather events in recent years has forced people from their homes, resulting in climate migration and climate refugees. In 2019, it was estimated that extreme weather displaced nearly 24 million people, nearly triple the amount that were displaced due to conflict.
Research from the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that underrepresented populations will be most affected by climate change and extreme weather events. In the U.S., this means women, gender-diverse people and BIPOC populations. However, similar patterns are reflected globally. As a result, technological developments will require input from people with the knowledge and lived experiences of these communities and locations.
In an increasingly global world, our greatest strengths will come from the talent behind the tech. Emerging technologies will thrive with greater representation, and global issues will require diverse perspectives to drive innovation. Only by welcoming underserved populations and extending opportunities to join in the development of future tech will we find the cyber skills needed to fuel the next three years and beyond.
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