By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
For decades, Silicon Valley and its tech giants have played an increased role in influencing how business is conducted and how individuals communicate, so Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) said her legislative priorities include leveling the playing field in technology.
“I consider diversity in the tech industry to be one of the most critical issues facing the new generation and the next,” stated Congresswoman Clarke during her keynote address for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Zenger News’ TECHCONFERENCE 2021.
The daylong conference was designed to help minority small business owners and reveal the secret to success during and after the pandemic.
Presented in association with Digital Hollywood, a platform that allowed registered attendees to video chat in real-time with other guests during the conference, the one-day summit included thousands of Black-owned media members, Fortune 1000 businesses, and community-based businesses and cultural institutions.
“From combating algorithmic bias, preserving cyber civil rights and combating the threat of cyber xenophobia, cyber racism, and cyber terrorism, let me be very clear, all these threats are real, and I’m dedicated to fortifying and diversifying the frontier that is the tech industry,” Congresswoman Clarke declared.
“When an industry is as expansive, and when the decisions that come out of that industry affect the lives of all of us; each of us has a role to play,” she added.
The Congresswoman proceeded to moderate a panel discussion on “Black Women in Tech: Diversity and Inclusion in the Industry.”
The panel featured former Federal Communications Commission Chair Mignon Clyburn, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee of the Center for Technology Innovation, and Angela Y. Ball of NBC Universal.
NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards, and Zenger News’ Andre Johnson opened the conference by discussing how small business owners can overcome the challenge of bridging the technology gap and keep up with the competition.
Dr. Chavis also moderated a panel on data and innovation, which featured Raymond Bell Jr., of Toni Thomas Associates and the H.O.P.E Project, Attorney Tina Williams-Koroma of TCecure, LLC, and Perry Carter, the president of National BDPA’s Greater Washington, DC Chapter and founding publisher of bdpatoday.
The conference also featured a fireside chat with Dana White, the chief communications officer at Hyundai North America.
White spoke passionately about how the pandemic has opened new doors for some savvy minority business owners.
At Hyundai, White leads a team of innovators to help one of America’s largest automakers recruit small business owners for its global supply chain.
White said Hyundai is making one of the largest efforts of its kind to find new suppliers and business partners among the African American and Latino communities with a multi-million-dollar commitment.
White also revealed what the automaker seeks in new business partners and how to participate in its outreach programs.
“I think it is really important to remember that people care more about what you bring to the table than who you are,” White asserted.
“People care more about when you can bring answers when you can problem solve, and it is amazing how quickly people don’t care about your identity. They’re like, that’s the woman who solves my problems, and I need her here now. That is the key.”
White noted that the desire for diversity comes from the top, and Hyundai has a visionary chair who has made the company one of the best in the world because of the global talent it has assembled.
“I really feel like Hyundai has done a great job with the democratization of Technology,” White exclaimed.