sfgate.com/opinion/article/Tech-industry-s-next-big-thing-diversity-50634...

The tech invasion of San Francisco is creating concerns about growing income disparity and the displacement of working-class residents. There's no lack of job opportunities, but there are not enough people being trained how to code, noted Daniel Lurie, founder of Tipping Point, which raises money for nonprofits working to eradicate poverty. Founder Mitch Kapor, a pioneer of the personal-computer industry, and his wife, Freada Kapor Klein, are long-standing advocates for diversity in tech industries. [...] Brown has suggested companies expand their recruitment efforts beyond Ivy League schools to include national African American fraternities and sororities. Jay Banfield, founding executive director of Year Up San Francisco Bay Area, talks about tech industries broadening their definition of skills to include characteristics such as determination and what he calls grit, qualities prevalent among young people growing up in disadvantaged circumstances. -- Poor and disadvantaged communities and individuals can be trained and employed in good-paying jobs, strengthening their communities and the overall economy. According to PitchBook, companies with at least one female founder made up just 13 percent of the venture capital deals this year, although that's up from 4 percent in 2004. Jennifer Arguello, senior special project adviser at the Kapor Center, said perception helps limit Latino participation in the industry, in addition to the lack of educational resources.


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