```yaml
---
slug: too-many-males
published: 2015-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
description: Women are 50% of the workforce, but only 15% of LinkedIn's new spotlight
changelog:
  - on: 2016-09-01
    note: One year later, there is significantly broader representation in LinkedIn's Next Wave program. We're not at equal representation, but it's at least trending in the correct direction.
---
```

To much fanfare and coverage, LinkedIn [recently announced](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meet-linkedin-next-wave-150-professionals-35-under-who-daniel-roth?trk=ranking-overview-f-link) their Next Wave influencer program. Browsing the list of people selected, I started feeling uneasy with the number of men who were also listed as CEOs. Back in 2014, Harvard Business Review [put out a fact sheet](https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womens-leadership-gap/) showing only 14.6% of executive roles are held by women despite being more than 50% of the workforce.

Putting the 150 new influencers into a spreadsheet, 23 of them were women holding executive roles. So let's talk about that

## An Analysis of LinkedIn's Next Wave

LinkedIn's Next Wave is a quarterly list of professionals that the company wants to highlight. Many hold leadership roles in their companies, although there are also contributors, activists, and other individuals who make up the total collection.

Digging deeper into the numbers doesn't offer any additional comfort.

- 66% of the C-level writers selected are men. Over 60% of all leadership positions highlighted in the Next Wave are men. **Law** has seven highlighted men, all of whom are C*O individuals. Women in Law are represented by a single CEO and one Partner. Despite having a an even split in the **Retail** and **Fashion** category, four male CEOs were highlighted while only one female CEO was. Almost half of the categories presented were 70% male.
- A bright spot in the data is the **Energy** category. Not only are the number of highlighted individuals balanced, but there is a much better 5:4 mix of men to women in leadership positions. Furthermore, the majority of the C-level positions highlighted in the Energy category are women.
- But when you put it all together, 23 of 150 individuals are women in a C-level position. 15% of LinkedIn's Next Wave are women in an executive role.

## What Went Wrong?

Unfortunately, without any insight into LinkedIn's editorial process, we can only speculate what happened. However, the blog article indicates through tidbits around MBAs and volunteer work that some amount of aggregate analysis was done. While it's possible nobody spoke up, it's also possible LinkedIn never really asked.

It's unfortunate this is the long shadow given the company's [recent diversity efforts](http://blog.linkedin.com/2015/06/08/linkedins-2015-workforce-diversity/). Coming up short on something billed to "highlight different professionals and companies that are doing extraordinary work" feels like people weren't paying attention.

The *next* Next Wave needs to be better.

## The Next Next Wave

As the default professional network of record, LinkedIn has the ability to affect change in both their own technology industry as well as the larger economic workforce. However, the list in its current form reinforces our unconscious perception of what it means to be a thought leader (male, mostly white). Those who are underrepresented benefit the most from an effort to be more inclusive.

According to LinkedIn, these lists of individuals are curated as a quarterly exercise. While it's unrealistic to go back and remove individuals from the current list, the list itself can be improved. Here's a few suggestions.

- Basha Rubin and Mirra Levitt founded Priori Legal to help businesses find the lawyers they need and would be great additions to the **Law** category.
- **Retail** and **Fashion** could be improved by asking Ellie Williams, President of Tog+Porter to contribute.
- Rachel Holt holds the East Coast of Uber together and would add new perspectives to **Automotive**.

There are countless other diverse voices that could make LinkedIn's Influencer program better. Improving the influence program is two steps. First, share the influencer demographics. Just like how LinkedIn and many other companies share their employment numbers, a program designed to promote thought leaders should also be transparent about their program's makeup. Second, continue to improve those influencer demographics. Since LinkedIn is committed to bringing new lists of people to follow every quarter, there's 3 more opportunities this year to make these lists better and improve the overall diversity of the influencer program.

Dan Roth and team have done a fantastic job in creating the momentum and energy that defines LinkedIn's Influencer program. It's up to LinkedIn to take this energy and convert it into a force for change.

You can view the raw spreadsheet [here](https://docs.google.com/a/felocity.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsFZrRNV8BVyfiJAjnvilf5y7J1O0oxkUxq5y-uiw74/edit?usp=sharing).


One year later, there is significantly broader representation in LinkedIn's Next Wave program. We're not at equal representation, but it's at least trending in the correct direction.

Document

Women are 50% of the workforce, but only 15% of LinkedIn's new spotlight

Link

Too Many Males

```yaml
---
slug: scd-diversity-fund
published: 2016-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
description: CSUMB is getting high marks for minorities in STEM, but they need support
changelog:
  - on: 2021-03-01
    note: The fund's five year tenure has concluded. I've updated the post to include out findings and learnings. I still encourage you to support this university's mission to increase under represented groups in computer science.
---
```

It's no secret that [tech lacks diversity](https://gigaom.com/2014/08/21/eight-charts-that-put-tech-companies-diversity-stats-into-perspective/). For most companies, less than 20% of individuals in technical roles identify as female. Less than 20% identify as [non-white, non-asian](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/opinion/sunday/silicon-valleys-diversity-problem.html?_r=0). These are just reported categories. It should be obvious. We, Silicon Valley, have a diversity problem.

A small Cal State fifty miles south of San Jose is doing something about it. As of 2018

CSUMB accounts for 5.8% of all CS graduates in the CSU system (23 schools), but represents 9% of all graduates in the CSU system identifying as female. The university represents 7.6% of all graduates in the CSU system identifying from a Latinx background.

The university is creating opportunity in computer science at a rate higher than any other CSU in the system, thanks to the work of the School of Computing and Design (SCD). Established through alumni donations in early 2015, the SCD Diversity Fund represents a two part plan to create a more diverse and inclusive industry.

1. To encourage opportunity for students currently enrolled at CSUMB, the **Diversity Conference Program **will send individuals in good academic standing to conferences and events such as Grace Hopper, Self.Conference, and Out For Undergrad
2. Giving back to the communities that surround the university, the **Technology Ambassador Program** encourages current students and CSUMB alumni to return to their schools within the Monterey/Salinas area and inspire the next generation of students to overcome the challenges of the Digital Divide

This is a program I am excited to have a hand in both founding and funding.

## Get Involved

The SCD Diversity Fund is an ambitious five year plan. While funded through the CSUMB alumni working in Silicon Valley, the program can only reach a fraction of the university's students. To grow the effort, we are calling upon the alumni, community, and people who believe in the Vision of CSUMB to continue to develop the fund. 100% of the donations are allocated towards the university's commitment to diversity in technology.

On the [CSUMB Donation page](https://donate.csumb.edu), you can designate **SCD Diversity**. (The fund's 5-year program has concluded)

![CSUMB Logo. An Otter holding a circular frame, depicting California and the location of Monterey Bay](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1795/146831579-ab9945e2-ea99-4a6c-a9ab-c75a45ae4456.png)

## Fund Details

The SCD Diversity Fund is allocated in the following manner:

- 65% of contributions go towards the Diversity Conference Program
- 20% of contributions go towards the Technology Ambassador Program
- 15% of contributions enable the School of Communication & Design to pursue additional diversity efforts outside of the above two programs

You can find [CSUMB's enrollment fact sheet](https://csumb.edu/iar/enrollment-fast-facts-most-recent-term) online.

## 2017 Update

The fund is live and contributions from the Alumni community have helped make an impact in student lives and included sending over 30 students to their first conferences in 2016. To maximize the number of students exposed to a conference environment, students took busses to the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, while the fund subsidized the admission costs.

## 2018 Update

Students underrepresented in Computer Science attended Adobe MAX in 2017, while the School of Computing and Design launching the Technology Ambassador Program in the local tri-county area. More than a dozen students and faculty visited eighteen different high schools to share their experiences and expose students to opportunities in computer science.

## 2019 Update

In addition to a return to Adobe MAX, the fund also enabled students to attend the Game Developer Conference and the International Collegiate Programing Competition as part of the 2018 conference program. The technology ambassador program visited an additional eight schools, reaching out to hundreds of underrepresented students considering careers in computer science. Finally, with expanded funding, the SCD Diversity fund also sponsored the SCD Game Jam, a 30-hour weekend-long event for CS game design students across CSUMB's diverse student body.

## 2020 Update

The School of Computing and Design continued their pattern of enabling both design and computer science students in SCD to attend conferences, while the TAP program returned to every Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito county school visited in prior years. The computer science department's [revised mission](https://csumb.edu/scd/cs-mission) outlines their diversity-centric goals:

- Increase the percentage of women in the CS program to over 30%
- Increase the percentage of underrepresented students in the CS program to over 30%

## 2021 Update

A lot happened in 2020. With the fund's focus on enabling success for underrepresented groups in computer science, it made sense to fund students' at-home success through technology. This meant webcams, modems and routers, and even funding repairs of student equipment when necessary. The digital divide was on display more than ever during the pandemic, and it required incredible effort to help students succeed. The success is best measured in retention; funds enabled more than a dozen students to stay enrolled in an environment where the pandemic would have put a stop to their education goals.


The fund's five year tenure has concluded. I've updated the post to include out findings and learnings. I still encourage you to support this university's mission to increase under represented groups in computer science.

CSUMB is getting high marks for minorities in STEM, but they need support

Diversity

2016

SCD Diversity Fund (concluded)

2015

Too Many Males