Media and technology stand as the two most powerful sources keeping us connected and informed to the world around us. Yet both are not representative of who actually makes up the U.S. today. The technology industry has acknowledged that it needs to increase diversity in its workforce, yet many of tech’s biggest players have seen low single-digit increases in their percentage of women and BIPOC employees. In media, women and diverse people are also still gravely underrepresented – they are less often featured as experts in news stories and less often reporting the news. This panel of leading business diversity advocates will dissect the barriers in making diversity and inclusion happen in these two industries, and what the serious repercussions are to our society if things don’t change.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Nadja Bellan-White
VICE Media
Brenda Darden Wilkerson
Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology
Jennifer Risi
The Sway Effect