For Kave, diversity means all that is Different and Unique in us and others. That being but not limited to :

Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual orientation, Socio-economic status, Age, Physical abilities, Religious beliefs, Political beliefs, lifeviews and more.

This intersectionality is possibly the best way an individual or organisation can come to in  trying to understand diversity and thus decide to extend to inclusion which is when one recognises that personal, cultural and institutionalized discrimination creates and sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for others.

Kave's perspective comes from her personal experience living, studying and working in five different countries with the longest contexts being South Africa and Germany. Before women empowerment became a diversity topic Kave was already working with migrant and refugee women and girls in South Africa with the goal to create a space where they could access socio economic and educational resources. In the same domain Kave advocated for social cohesion and inclusion of African migrants and South African citizens in the fight against xenophobia. This work reminded Kave that similarity is not equal to acceptance nor inclusion.

Diversity and Inclusion in Tech

Kave has been working in the field of Talent Acquisition and Employment branding in tech for the last four years. The challenge to attract, hire and retain diverse technical talents has significantly increased. Other than tech being a competitive and fast paced field, the number of qualified and experienced technologists are staggering low to try and meet the demand at hand. 

The most prevalent imbalance has been gender followed by race and ethnicity in building diverse technical teams. There are countless explanations as to why this has happened and mostly influenced by how Kave defines diversity. However the core fundamental challenge in meeting the diversity challenge begins with the number of women and girls enrolling in STEM oriented courses at university which then results in how many women and girls are graduating and then getting jobs in tech.

Image source adeva

Together with the Hackerrank women in tech report for 2019 and the state of women in tech report 2019 women make up only 20 percent of technologists and are occupying junior positions.  For the few women who have graduated and have now started to work, the technology industry has been unable to retain nor promote the women  in the field. Women are leaving the industry and the prime explanation for leaving has been their work environment. 

Image source adeva

WHY SHOULD WE INTERVENE?

Considering the impact and influence that technology is having and will have in how we live and work, it is extremely important that we build an ecosystem that is able to absorb and retain a talent pool that reflects the people using the products we are building. Women and especially Gen Z women are tech boomers and earliest adopters and consumers of most tech products and services, failing to have a better representation means that our businesses are also not doing well. It is then imperative that every customer sees themselves as part of the journey not just the consuming end.

WHAT IS KAVE DOING ABOUT IT?

Kave has lived diversity and inclusion and because of that, she seeks to create spaces where the discussion for diversity and Inclusion in technology would be encouraged. With her passion and courage, she created the Blackintech Berlin group as well as the Women in Data Berlin group where both communities foster a continuous conversation on diversity and inclusion but also provide support and learning opportunities to underrepresented groups interested in learning skills that will enable them to get into tech.

Diversity Features with Kave’s contribution

• What does diversity actually mean in tech by Silicon Allee

• Eliminating Ethnic Discrimination in Tech by Nato Innovation Technology

Diversity Driven Groups Led by Kave