The lack of diversity in IT doesn’t just leave underrepresented workers feeling alienated; it can also make them feel unsafe. That’s certainly true for the LGBTQIA+ community, with only 76% of LGBTQ+ workers reporting they feel safe in their workplace and 64% of trans and gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals saying the same, according to a report from Blind. Moreover, only 35% of LGBTQ+ and 41% of trans or GNC workers say they feel “represented in upper management at their company.”
While the tech industry has made more of an effort to foster greater workplace diversity in recent years, there’s still a lot of progress to make for LGBTQ+ workers. Despite the industry lagging behind in equality, there are a number of organizations committed to bringing equality to the tech industry by creating communities and offering support for underrepresented trans, queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender nonconforming IT workers.
Lesbians Who Tech
Lesbians Who Tech is open to the LGBTQ+ community and its 50,0000 members include women as well as nonbinary, trans, and gender nonconforming individuals. The organization aims to connect LGBTQ+ tech workers and to create more visibility for queer, female, trans, GNC, and POC leaders in the industry. Lesbians Who Tech also offers the Edie Windsor Coding scholarship, which grants scholarships to LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary tech workers to help kickstart their technology careers.
LGBTQ in Technology Slack
The LGBTQ in Technology Slack is a safe space for LGBTQ+ people in tech to chat, support one another, and connect virtually over a Slack channel. This moderated Slack channel is open to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning, as well as “any of the many other subgenres of people who are not generally considered both ‘straight’ and cis.” It’s a great way to connect with other LGBTQ+ individuals in tech in a casual and low-pressure environment.
LGBTQ Tech
LGBTQ Tech offers programs and resources to support LGBTQ+ communities and works to “educate organizations and policy makers on the unique needs LGBTQ+ individuals face when it comes to tech.” LGBT Tech conducts research on LGBTQ+ individuals’ personal experience with technology and the tech industry and works at the “national, state, and grassroots level on programs and policy informed by research.” The organization also offers resources to members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. LGBTQ Tech also offers programs that bring technology to homeless, isolated, and disadvantaged LGBTQ+ individuals across the country, as well as a program dedicated to motivating LGBTQ+ youth and young adults interested in science, technology, engineer, arts, and mathematics fields.
Maven Youth
Maven Youth is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ youth to “network, organize, and educate for social change through technology and the tech sector.” They provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth ages 14-24 across the country by offering summer camps, a youth leadership council, workshops, apprenticeships, leadership retreats, hackathons, and networking experiences. The organization also helps its young members explore various careers in tech, build skills, and develop their speaking, presenting, teaching, and mentorship skills through its Tech Career Readiness program.
