Getting to Gender Equality in Tech by 2030

One of a few dozen men in attendance, I had an extraordinary night at The Female Quotient’s Annual Equality Reception in New York, at Advertising Week, championing the cause of women’s equality in every strata of society and culture. Tennis legend and equal rights advocate Billie Jean King was a featured speaker.

This event is in powerful alignment with The FutureCast Foundation’s 3rd annual FutureCast conference, this Friday, October 20th, where Women in Tech US President Lori Rodriguez and Critical Mass Chief Innovation Officer Ara Kurnit will share a talk entitled “FUTURE OF TECH: Getting to the Roots of Tech’s Gender Imbalance - A Business Imperative”. Wendy Hu , Founder of VISUAL CONDUCTOR will moderate this powerful conversation presented by Critical Mass.

The session will explore how “advancing technology is poised to change nearly every facet of society—but adopting powerful technologies like AI without gender and racial representation risks inflicting direct harm on women and BIPOC. It’s also a proven business risk, increasing the likelihood of reputational damage and performance loss (like forfeiting 10x higher profit margins).

The gender and racial gap in STEM fields starts far earlier than we often acknowledge, forcing STEM programs for girls and BIPOC individuals to play catch-up. So, how can we deal with the root causes of alienation from tech and cultivate a lifelong interest instead?”

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. Goal Number 5, is to achieve gender equality for all women and girls by 2030.?

At the TFQ’s Annual Equality Reception? I was struck by one of Billie Jean’s quotes. She shared the need for all of us to “ask for help.” Also, Female Quotient CEO Shelley Zalis passionately advocated that gender equality isn’t just a women’s issue, it is an issue that affects men and needs men.?

Listening to both of them made me think about a phrase that I often say and that is “all of have something. None of us have everything, but if we put all our somethings together we have everything.”

As a #girldad of four daughters, I’m inspired to lend my “something” to the cause of gender equality and that is The FutureCast Foundation continuing to create platforms for thought leaders to share insights that can make a meaningful social impact. At our inaugural FutureCast in 2021 we featured Muthoni Muriu from UN Women and this year’s talk at FutureCast 2023 about women in tech is one that I believe will create a more hopeful future for gender equality in the industry. In order to build a more equitable world for all of us, it requires all of us. I hope that you will join us at FutureCast 2023. Register at www.futurecast.me.

ABOUT FUTURECAST?

FutureCast is an inaugural Anthem Award-winning event presented by The FutureCast Foundation, a global think tank founded by Julian S. Newman. Established in 2021, FutureCast is an innovative and interactive experience that brings together diverse thought leaders from around the world to showcase and strategize social impact solutions. Learn more at www.futurecast.me.

ABOUT JULIAN S. NEWMAN

As the visionary founder and CEO behind FutureCast, Julian S. Newman was named a Diversity & Inclusion Leader of the Year at the Inaugural Anthem Awards in 2022. Featured on NPR and Fox News affiliates, Julian is? an international award-winning expert leading the consulting firm Culture Creative. He is the creator of The Akoni System, a leadership development system and author of the forthcoming book Beautiful Together.