60+ Tech Leaders Join MassTLC in Signing the Tech Compact for Social Justice
“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” a quote often attributed to Gandhi, is a sentiment that is being frequently shared as many of our neighbors, colleagues and community leaders take to the streets and use social platforms to affirm Black Lives Matter.
While people and organizations are sharing their support for the movement, what we really need now is action. Today, more than 60 technology organizations in Massachusetts are raising their hands to say we commit to doing better and moving plans into action for social justice. We are proud to share that IDG, Inc. is one of the organizations signing MassTLC’s Tech Compact for Social Justice.
The commitment acknowledges that the Boston tech industry has not done enough to make our community diverse, inclusive and socially just for workers of all backgrounds. To participate, each organization has committed to change in three or more areas, and the MassTLC board will provide ongoing check-ins to hold each organization accountable.
Providing opportunities for all, including Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, as well as women, has always played an important role in my leadership philosophy, because being an organization that is more inclusive opens the door for innovation and allows us to better serve our customers, employees and the greater community. While IDG, Inc. has had a diversity and inclusion council for many years, we can and will do better.
For IDG, Inc. it means actively building upon areas of our Diversity & Inclusion Council’s plans in Massachusetts and across our offices in more than 50+ countries. The areas we commit to immediately work on are:
- We commit to greater racial diversity in hiring, leadership development, and/or board composition.
- We commit to reviewing, updating, and leveraging company products and communications platform to increase support for communities of color.
- This includes supporting communities of color, highlighting their stories in tech and educating organizations that want to improve their practices through research conducted by IDC and editorial content across IDG Communications’ brands, including CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PCWorld, TechHive and beyond. Content includes:
- We commit to advocating for public policies and/or lead with corporate policies that support economic opportunities for people of color.
This will continue to be an ongoing conversation at IDG and within the tech community. We look forward to seeing progress and showcasing that the tech community welcomes and celebrates diverse insights and that those strengthen our community.
Read IDG, Inc.’s employee communication on how, as individuals and together, we can and must contribute to ending racial injustice.
More About the Tech Compact for Social Justice
The Tech Compact for Social Justice was created under the leadership of the Executive Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee of the MassTLC Board of Trustees as a way for the industry to come together and affect meaningful change on a scale greater than any one company could achieve on its own.
In joining the Tech Compact we recognize that Boston and the tech industry have not done enough to support and encourage inclusion of Black, Latinx and Indigenous people, and we accept the responsibility to change at the company and at community level to make tech in Massachusetts a more diverse, inclusive and socially just place for workers of all backgrounds. To participate in the Tech Compact, tech companies commit to change in three or more areas relating to diversity, inclusion, and social justice.
MassTLC intends to survey and convene signers of the Compact to track how they are doing as well as any changes to their commitments, understand and help overcome challenges, showcase successes, and generally work together as a community towards common goals and making progress.
To learn more, and see who has signed the commitment, visit: www.masstlc.org/wecommit.