The Mayor of London has launched an initiative to help tackle the underrepresentation of young Black men in London’s thriving technology sector.
The intervention is the latest part of his Workforce Integration Network programme which is focused on increasing the number of young Black men in the capital’s key industries.
Tech Nation statistics show young Black men make up just five percent of London’s 589,730 strong technology workforce, in a sector which is worth £56 billion to the economy.
Across the capital Black men aged 16-24 are among the most likely to be out of work – with almost one in three unemployed compared to just 15 percent of young white men.
“It’s simply not right that young, talented and ambitious young Black Londoners are not being given the opportunity to prosper in the capital’s thriving tech sector,” said Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
“The impact of the pandemic has reinforced why the work of the Workforce Integration Network is so important. We have already successfully supported 20 large businesses in the construction and infrastructure sectors, representing a combined workforce of over 100,000, to remove barriers holding young Black Londoners back, and I’m pleased that we are now building on this work with more action.
“I’m determined to ensure no Londoner is left behind as we recover from the pandemic. Someone’s life chances should never be limited by their family’s background or the colour of their skin. This new initiative will give tech and digital businesses better insight into the role they can play to address inequalities, improve diversity and create industry-wide change.”
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Exploring the causes of underrepresentation
Rather than just focusing on ‘skilling up’ young Black men to apply for jobs in the tech sector, the Mayor says the Design Lab3 “creates a space for businesses to come together, critique existing practices and explore the causes of underrepresentation in their workforces and the sector as a whole.”
Large businesses are then are supported, as part of a 12-month programme to build an action plan to recruit, retain and progress more young Black men in their businesses. This action will focus on areas around recruitment, supply chains, workplace culture, data and progression.
It also includes a programme of workshops, one-to-one sessions, data collection, supply chain assessments, introductions to suppliers and networking and recruitment opportunities delivered by the Equal Group in partnership with City Hall.
At the end of the year-long programme, the businesses involved will have built a bespoke action plan to address the lack of diversity in their organisations and ensure that young Black Londoners who face additional barriers to employment now have the right opportunities and support to join and thrive in the tech sector.
The eight technology companies selected to take part in the programme are: Dell Technologies, Informa Tech, Cloudreach, Ford Motor Company, Profusion, Cognizant, Panaseer, and Telent Technology Services.
The action to tackle the lack of young Black men working in the tech sector follows previous efforts to address underrepresentation in the construction and infrastructure industry. This successfully engaged more than 20 companies representing a combined workforce of over 100,000 – all of whom committed to test solutions to some of the key diversity and inclusion challenges faced by the sector. Across the Workforce Integration Network programme more than 250 businesses have been engaged and supported.
