Today, we’re happy to announce our newest report, “Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Surveying Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Field,” by Public Knowledge Fellow and Research Lead Tinuola Adebukola. The report stems from a research project supported by the Nielsen Foundation.
It’s more clear than ever that technology – and therefore technology policy – will increasingly integrate into our daily lives. Tech policy governs speech, privacy, access to opportunity, economic mobility, and democratic participation. The people shaping these policies matter. If early-career roles remain accessible only to those with the right networks, financial cushion, or institutional familiarity, then the field risks narrowing the range of voices that define our digital future.
At a moment when diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives face mounting political backlash and institutional retrenchment, this research asks a question that is both urgent and foundational: Who gets to shape technology policy, and what determines who stays long enough to lead? Beyond just providing a seat for diverse voices at the policymaking table, sustainable equity requires infrastructure – transparent pathways, measurable accountability, and environments where early-career professionals are not only present, but positioned to thrive.
This report documents challenges and introduces tools and recommendations designed to help organizations embed equity into the structures that govern recruitment, evaluation, retention, and advancement. The goal is to encourage more organizations to adopt durable systems that expand who participates in shaping the policies that shape all of us.
The following can be attributed to Tinuola Adebukola, Fellow and Research Lead at Public Knowledge:
“Technology policy affects nearly every aspect of our digital lives. The question is whether the field that governs those decisions reflects the breadth of communities it serves. Progress in early-career access will only endure if it is reinforced by durable systems that expand opportunity and leadership.”
“This report outlines both the barriers that persist and the structural reforms that are possible. At its heart, this work is about strengthening confidence in the systems that shape who rises in technology policy. Promoting equity requires intentional design. It requires clear pathways, measurable accountability, and environments where emerging professionals are not just included, but supported in building influence over time. Tools like the Workplace Pulse Survey are meant to help organizations uncover areas of opportunity, take action, and to regularly examine whether their internal culture reflects their stated values.
“We encourage policymakers, advocates, funders, and organizations across the field to take action with this report.”
You may view the report here. You may also view our latest blog post, “More Than a Seat: Who Gets To Shape Technology Policy,” for more information, or register for our webinar, “More Than a Seat: Who Gets To Shape Technology Policy,” to join the conversation.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.