The Mayor of London has launched an initiative to help tackle the underrepresentation of young Black men in London’s technology sector.
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office said young Black men make up just five per cent of London’s growing, 589,730 strong technology workforce, in a sector which is worth £56bn 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 per cent of young white men.
The spokesperson said the Mayor’s Design Lab will create 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 will also be 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.
Jabeer Butt OBE, CEO of the Race Equality Foundation welcomed the initiative and said he would like to see it replicated in other industries.
“Targeted initiatives are absolutely key to closing the unemployment gap that currently exists between White British people and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
“Studies show, for example, that people from the latter group need to send a much higher volume of applications to get a positive response from employers than a White British person.
“This drive to tackle the underlying factors blocking more diverse candidates from entering and progressing within the tech world, rather than simply focusing on short-term gains, should be replicated in other industries where we see a similar underrepresentation of minority ethnic communities.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office said the initiative 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 mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “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.
“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.”
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.
Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of Colorintech said: “The tech industry has long spoken about the increasing demand for talent in the sector. It’s great to see such a range of Innovative businesses marry that commercial imperative societal need to address the inequality across the economy experienced by young Black men.
“We are delighted to be working with the Mayoral team, and these organisations to make a tangible difference and call on the national government to look at such initiatives as a blueprint on how to really “level up” and address inequalities outside of London too.”
