'Disrupting' Tech's Diversity Problem With A Code Camp For Girls Of Color; NPR, 8/17/15

Eric Westervelt, NPR; 'Disrupting' Tech's Diversity Problem With A Code Camp For Girls Of Color:

"One nonprofit group, Black Girls CODE, isn't waiting around for more diversity reports. The group is taking action with regular weekend coding seminars for girls of color. And this summer, it's held boot camps where young girls learn the basics of tech design and development...

"Organizations like this help bring more people into the pipeline just as much as a diversity board at a large corporation," says Keisha Michelle Richardson, who volunteered to mentor young girls at a camp session in San Francisco. Richardson is entrepreneur and senior software engineer at Westfield Labs.

"The biggest takeaway that I'd love them to get is just a love for building something with technology," says Richardson. "A love for tinkering. A love for someday maybe thinking about pursuing a career with this burgeoning industry.""

What Pinterest is learning from the Pittsburgh Steelers about diversity; Forbes, 7/30/15

Laura Lorenzetti, Forbes; What Pinterest is learning from the Pittsburgh Steelers about diversity:

"“We think one reason it’s been so hard to get numbers to change is that companies haven’t stated specific goals,” wrote co-founder Evan Sharp in a blog post.

Pinterest laid out its diversity goals for 2016, including boosting hiring rates for full-time engineering roles to 30% women and 8% underrepresented ethnic backgrounds.

Also in the list of goals is implementing a standard that’s similar to something known as the Rooney Rule, named after Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and chairman of the National Football League’s diversity committee. The Rooney Rule requires all NFL teams to interview minority candidates as part of the hiring process for head coaches and senior football operation jobs.

The rule was implemented in 2003 following the firings of head coaches Tony Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dennis Green of the Minnesota Vikings, despite both coaches having impressive winning records. Around that same time, a study came out that revealed that black head coaches, despite winning a higher percentage of games, were less likely to be hired (and more likely fired) than their white counterparts. Only three years after its implementation, the share of black head coaches had grown to 22% from 6% prior to the rule."