Business and Educational Leaders Share Strategies for Creating Greater Diversity and Inclusion in STEAM Fields
NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The T.D. Jakes Foundation, a global nonprofit that focuses on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education, workforce preparedness and job training to create greater diversity and inclusion, and gender equity, in traditionally underrepresented fields, recently hosted its first roundtable, inviting business and educational leaders to take part in a lively discussion as part of the launch of both the foundation and its in-house think tank.
(PRNewsfoto/The T.D. Jakes Foundation)
Hosted in partnership with the Brooklyn STEAM Center, an innovative career and technical training hub for 11 and 12 grade students located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the roundtable included the foundation's founder T.D. Jakes and its president and CEO
Hattie Hill, as well as educators and representatives from for-profit, technology-focused businesses and educational nonprofits.
"Technology is taking over, and our community is being marginalized," Chairman Jakes said. "I am convinced that you cannot be what you do not see. I don't find many young people in our community aspiring to these jobs because they simply don't see them. Fortunately, many business leaders are looking to be part of the solution—and we want to be the bridge that connects them to communities in need of resources."
Members of the roundtable spoke about the inherent challenges—such as accessibility and basic awareness—that have long put women and people of color at a disadvantage in securing high-paying, in-demand jobs in industries like technology. They also shared strategies to break through those barriers to prepare these communities for success in the 21 -century workforce.
"The future of work, the way we're looking at automation and robotics are foreclosed on kids that do not have technology exposure," said Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, fellow at Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, and a roundtable participant. "We're in a middle passage that has people caught between what these new opportunities are and what they're not. It's not just about giving students broadband access but also the devices to complete their homework."
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