Dwana Franklin-Davis
Contributor
Dwana Franklin-Davis is a lifelong technologist currently serving as the CEO of Reboot Representation, a coalition of tech companies pooling their philanthropic resources to double the number of Black, Latina and Native American women receiving computing degrees by 2025.
Ruthe Farmer
Contributor
Ruthe Farmer is the founder and CEO of the Last Mile Education Fund, and a global advocate and evangelist for equity and inclusion in technology and engineering.
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10 Men Making Waves For Women In Tech
The number of low-income students attending college is increasing: According to a 2016 report from the Pew Research Center, the total share of undergraduate college students who come from low-income families increased from 12% in 1996 to 20% in 2016. However, only 11% of students in the bottom income quartile complete their degrees within six years, compared to 58% for those in the top quartile.
This discrepancy should make you pause. Why are so many low-income students making it to college but not to degree completion, and thus, not reaching their full potential in the workforce? One short answer encompasses the issue: a lack of unique and targeted support and resources. And, in the tech sector specifically, this lack of support stems from a problematic ecosystem that often assumes privilege and affluence in its students and future employees.
These assumptions (subconscious or not) perpetuate a tech industry that fails to access a critical and fruitful talent pool by wrongfully and consistently disqualifying low-income students from the educational and career opportunities that open doors.
It’s clear that the tech education-to-career pipeline fails low-income students before degree completion and entrance into one of the highest-paid sectors in our economy –– but …
