Gender, racial diversity part of city’s tech push

Mayor John Tory and other city officials will use diversity criteria when picking which tech events to attend.

Thestar.com
June 15, 2017
By David Rider

Mayor John Tory says he and other Toronto city officials are less likely to attend tech and innovation events if they feature all-man panels and programming with little ethnic diversity.

Tory made the pledge Thursday at the “Women founders and leaders in technology” event, part of the #MoveTheDial initiative aimed at increasing female participation and leadership in Canadian tech.

“Our city is home to a diverse array of talent that must be represented in the events and programming we put on for each other and for the world ... ” Tory said. “Diversity and inclusion are a huge part of our value proposition and I will be supporting and championing those events that help build that reputation at home and globally.”

In written responses to the Star after the event, Tory said he, his “advocate for the innovation economy” Councillor Michelle Holland, economic development chair Councillor Michael Thompson and others at the city will “prioritize” the many events they attend based on the gender and ethnic balance of people being presented.

He said he came up with the idea himself after observing many such events and speaking with people including Jodi Kovitz, founder of #MoveTheDial who was part of his trade delegation last fall to Israel.

“Many rooms contain almost all men in large crowds,” Tory said. “We will try to look at diversity overall in our selection of events with an emphasis on gender since that seems to be the bigger challenge.

“By doing this we are asking everyone to be intentional about the public face we put on our events and our conversations about tech. Our city is diverse and that should be reflected.”

California’s Silicon Valley in particular has been criticized for a “tech bro” culture populated by male, mostly white coders who, when they strike it rich, invest in other startups run by people who look mostly like them.
In Canada’s booming tech sector, Kovitz said, women founders and leaders have historically faced challenges getting equal opportunities to develop their skills, share their stories and actually advance in the industry.

She lauded Tory’s announcement and said the push is not to get women on panels or making keynote speeches as tokens or afterthoughts, but to have events seek diversity from the start “as a way to get the most robust experience because a fulsome talent pool will absolutely produce a more prosperous result.”

Saadia Muzaffar, founder and head of partnerships at TechGirls Canada, also lauded Tory’s initiative but said the city could do more to make tech look like Toronto.

“I'm glad to see people in our city's public offices pledge to using their influence to encourage better representation of talent in the events they choose to attend, but I am also very aware of how these endeavours often define ‘diversity’ in very narrow ways,” she said.

“I'd like to see the mayor's office issue a statement that will serve as a guideline for event organizers to use as a compass - one that prioritizes not just the inclusion of women, but also Toronto's LGBTQA+ folks, our amazing racialized and immigrant communities, our variously-abled neighbours.”

Otherwise, she said, Canadian tech risks becoming a “cautionary tale” like the U.S. Fortune 500 list that has 32 women - up from 21 - but only two women of colour.