Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Challenges and Opportunities

Public Knowledge is excited to announce “Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Challenges and Opportunities,” a new report from Tsion Tesfaye, Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge and diversity and technology equity advocate. Early-career opportunities offer people a pathway to build careers in tech policy. This is why Public Knowledge conducted research into the challenges […]

Public Knowledge is excited to announce “Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Challenges and Opportunities,” a new report from Tsion Tesfaye, Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge and diversity and technology equity advocate.

Early-career opportunities offer people a pathway to build careers in tech policy. This is why Public Knowledge conducted research into the challenges tech policy organizations face in reaching people of color interested in the field. This report explores racial and ethnic diversity in early-career roles in technology policy, offers ideas for increasing diversity in such roles, and outlines the impacts of technology policy on people of color. The report grows the body of knowledge about diversity in public interest groups while raising awareness of the most promising practices groups can implement to attract — and retain — diverse advocates.

This report includes a survey of technology policy organizations and found that:

  • Job opportunities are circulated primarily within the tech policy groups and their networks, therefore making access to these networks crucial for entering the field.
  • Job description content can influence the applicant pool, decreasing or increasing the pool of diverse applicants.
  • There is a lack of data on early-career hiring in technology policy nonprofits; encouraging data collection could increase diversity.

We featured the report at a recent event, “A Seat at the Table: How Tech Policy Groups Can Welcome Diverse Talent.” You can view it here