Diversity is not a zero-sum game
The feeling of belonging feeds into Philpot's work as a board member for GTA Black Women in Tech, which was started in 2019 by Flavilla Fongang .
"There's a festival in October which is designed to showcase some of the talents of Black women already working in technology and to show that it's possible. You will need to be resilient and you will need to stick your head above the parapet but you can. We know there's a talent gap in technology. The industry will have to hire more women and more Black women just to keep on top of the vacancies that they that they have. Business are being held back by lack of skills in these areas. So if you do have those skills don't hold back. You might be the only person who looks like you in the room. But if you're the first in the room, you can ensure that you're not the last."
"It's about having programmes and mentorship and ideally sponsorship to ensure that women and minority women are given the same opportunities that men get. A lot a lot of times men forget their disproportionate advantage. We can all think of people who play golf with their boss or hang out in a different sporting arena. A lot happens in those spaces that other women and minority women don't have access to."
This point cuts to the heart of much of the dissent about what some sections of academia and the media like to term "the diversity agenda." What some people perceive as positive action to try to level the playing field, others perceive as discrimination against the dominant group. If you lean on this narrative hard enough you can arrive at a position where it's unfair and patronising to minority groups to offer them any kind of help at all. You also end up viewing increasing levels of diversity as a zero-sum game, with white men as the inevitable losers.
"People who are in that majority group," reflects Philpot, "tend to overlook just how many advantages they have had. It's very easy for people to get defensive about this. This shouldn't not be viewed as taking something away from people who have historically enjoyed whatever privileges that they do enjoy, it's about growing the pie. On that basis, if you genuinely want to speak to all of your potential customers, irrespective of their race, gender or whatever else then surely having people within your organisation who can speak to those groups and communities is useful and helpful?"
Join us at this years' Women in Tech Festival on Tuesday 31st October in London; the meeting place for women working in tech, those who aspire to and for any tech organisation wanting to enhance diversity, make unrivalled connections, and empower and cultivate women leaders.
Individual delegates will have opportunities to connect with mentors and access practical advice on how to progress their careers.
Click to here to find out more and register now.