{"id":43353,"date":"2022-01-17T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T15:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msftuspartnerblog.azurewebsites.net\/en-us\/us-partner-blog\/?p=43353"},"modified":"2022-01-14T14:41:23","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T22:41:23","slug":"closing-the-opportunity-gap-and-advancing-racial-justice-in-the-tech-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/americas-partner-blog\/2022\/01\/17\/closing-the-opportunity-gap-and-advancing-racial-justice-in-the-tech-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing the Opportunity Gap and Advancing Racial Justice in the Tech Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream \u2013 one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, \u2018We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.\u2019 I have a dream …\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s legacy inspires us to be kind to ALL humans, to ensure equality for ALL people, and his dedication to the nonviolent pursuit of racial equality moves me to action.<\/p>\n

His life\u2019s work led to the Civil Rights Act which banned discrimination in employment, public accommodations and other aspects of life, and the Voting Rights Act to stop discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests.<\/p>\n

His posthumously published book, A Testament of Hope,<\/em> urges Black Americans to continue their commitment to nonviolence, but each and every person bears a personal responsibility in this effort to make MLK\u2019s dream a reality. As an ally, I can work to dismantle systematic racism that has been ingrained into our society. It takes all of us working together to bring hope and love to every corner of our nation.<\/p>\n

While progress has been made thanks to MLK and many civil rights leaders, there is much work left to do. MLK\u2019s nonviolent protests and commitment to equality paved the way to the current Black Lives Matter movement which has elevated discussions around the racism that is still experienced today. Institutional racism is a legacy of past and current public policy, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms, that continues to perpetuate inequity and opportunity gaps.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s ongoing commitment to racial justice and closing the opportunity gap<\/h2>\n

In an effort to help correct these gaps, Microsoft collaborated with the Black partner community to launch the Black Partner Growth Initiative (BPGI) and other initiatives to provide access to resources, skilling, and opportunities needed to overcome barriers to growth and accelerate success in a long-unlevel playing field.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has taken our role in addressing economic inclusion with a commitment to increase Black partner representation in our ecosystem by 20% within three years. We\u2019ve scaled up existing programs and launched new initiatives in a multi-year, multi-faceted approach to building a more inclusive workforce.<\/p>\n

During the recent Voices for Innovation webinar, I had the opportunity to speak with partners about the important work we\u2019re doing around this at Microsoft.<\/p>\n

During that webinar, I highlighted a few of the core programs we\u2019re expanding and adding in an effort to increase representation and strengthen our culture of inclusion within our partner community, including<\/p>\n