As Apple and Google hire in the Triangle, they should embrace diversity

This week, Apple announced plans for a $1 billion RTP campus, with up to 3,000 new jobs. This comes on the heels of Google’s Durham announcement last month.

That’s exciting news. If nothing else, it’s cool to think that some part of the newest Apple or Google technology may be designed right down the road by one of our neighbors.

But which neighbors will benefit most? Who is likely to get those thousands of new six-figure salary jobs?

If Apple and Google truly embrace diversity in hiring and commit to improving tech education in under-resourced areas, they can transform the Triangle — and beyond. Partnering with our area’s HBCUs and organizations like Code the Dream, with a demonstrated record of successful software development education and commitment to diversity, can result in a win for Apple, Google and North Carolina.

Every day at Code the Dream, we see what truly diverse talent can do. Over 80% of our developers are people of color. In six years of operation, we have hired remarkable people whose resumés — initially, at least — might have kept them from consideration at top tech companies. But reading between the lines, these resumés reflected lives that exhibited the tenacity, intelligence, and work ethic that fuels companies like Apple and Google. Diversity of thought and life experience is exactly what we need to drive innovation.

One way that big tech companies can do this is to emphasize hiring those in our remarkable community here in the Research Triangle. Our home state, and this area in particular, boasts an array of people from every ethnic and racial background, every part of the wealth spectrum, urban and rural communities, and across the globe.

The deeply-rooted Black community is exemplified by thriving businesses and the area’s HBCUs. In response to Apple’s announcement, the presidents of Shaw University and St. Augustine University, two Raleigh-area HBCUs, called on the company to create hiring pipelines and funding partnerships that can help to ensure it moves towards its stated goals by showing real commitment to inclusion, and benefiting all Triangle residents. Apple’s partnership with St. Augustine, announced in January, is an encouraging step in this direction.

While companies like Apple and Google have been leading a push for change, the overall state of diversity and inclusion in tech is still frightening. Only a tiny fraction of the highest paid tech jobs go to Black and Hispanic workers, or women in general. That feeds our huge and growing wealth gap and means that the pool of people solving the world’s problems and coming up with new innovation is simply much smaller than it could be. Imagine the progress we could make if the brightest minds from all backgrounds truly had a seat at the table of ideas and innovation!

The U.S. tech sector has change-making power that might be unparalleled in history, and an undeniable responsibility to make sure its benefits are equally shared.

At Code the Dream, hundreds of diverse, talented people apply for a free coding education and for apprenticeships each year — so many that we can currently accept fewer than 20%. We know the talent and the drive is out there. If Google and Apple recognize that talent, the opportunities they could offer would be truly transformational.