State Department Responds To It's Own #DiversityFail

Thanks to Nancy Scola over at Tech President, we have a response from the State Department's Jared Cohen, about the major lack of diversity within the New Media Delegation to Iraq:

What it came down to, Cohen told me, is that the State Department focused on selecting companies to represent the American tech industry in Iraq. The invited business entities picked from their own rosters who they would send along on the trip. "The State Department reached out to companies that it felt represented a microcosm of the industry," said Cohen, "but we wanted companies to, depending on their own interest and personnel, select who should participate in the delegation."

To frame it another way, the lack of gender parity on the State Department's tech delegation to Iraq simply mirrors the lack of diversity in the male-dominated American tech industry.

Personally, I find this to be a pretty sorry excuse, but it brings up an important question: who is responsible to ensure that diversity is taken into consideration?

In this case, Cohen seems to suggest that the impetus was not on the government (forget all those female tax payers), but rather on the corporate companies to make sure the delegates were not a homogenous group.

Lame, lame and even more, lame. 

First off, it's everyone's responsibility to keep a sense of diversity top of mind when they are sending a representative of their company or organization to meet with foreign dignitaries or the public. This diversity can come in the form of gender, race, intellectual thought, religion or socioeconomic status. But the thought has to be there in the first place, no matter what.

Secondly, if we are going to point fingers as Cohen as done, then I throw the ball back in his court and suggest that it was the State Department's responsibility to ensure diversity because it was the only entity that could see the big picture. And while yes, diversity in tech companies is typically pretty low, that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of female options as noted in this great series by Fast Company. 

Stop being lazy, people!

Unfortunately, Cohen's thinking is what we see far too often. It is the same response one gets at conferences where all the panelists are men. For some reason or another, the organizer can't find "enough" women so they tend to rely on the same old names and faces. Et voila, another patriarchy is born!

This is why it's important for any marginalized group to constantly flesh out lists and resources of diverse names that can represent the whole. It is up to us to keep making noise and working with organizers to ensure they can see beyond their own backyard when it comes to filling up these important seats in the public eye. Only then, maybe, can we somehow find a win instead of a "fail" when it comes to diversity & technology.

(Photo credit: Jason Liebman)