Headquartered in Charleston, SC , Blackbaud leads the world in powering software for social good – which includes: nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations and other institutions. According to their website, “Our vision is to power an ecosystem of good that builds a better world.”Apparently, they have been building a better world, and Forbes Magazine has recognized them building a better company, that understands and appreciates the value of diversity.
Forbes recently included Blackbaud as one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2018, in the IT, Internet/Software and Services category. This category also includes other companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Paypal. These companies were chosen based on anonymous, independent surveys from working Americans.
On their website, Blackbaud discussed how they focused on growing their diversity program for the past two years, through education, awareness, recruiting, and community involvement initiatives. They also launched additional initiatives that focused on diversity, they stated:
“The recent launch of affinity groups; unconscious bias training; diversity audits and benchmarking; partnering with United Negro College Fund (UNCF) for the STEM Innovation Summit; Blackbaud Executive Women’s Summit and Blackbaud Women in Tech events; third party partnerships (ex. Fortune mentoring programs); participation as an executive board member for the SC Lowcountry Business Leadership Network focused on hiring and retaining disabled employees.”
According to Forbes, 76% of jobs in tech are held by men; and for Blacks and Latinos the numbers seem even more bleak – the makeup computes to only about 5% of the tech workforce. With tech being a major component in our lives, it is vital that we are a part of this field. With the recent controversy of people demanding more diversity in tech and Silicon Valley, it’s great to see a company, launched in the great city of Charleston, SC being recognized globally for diversity in tech.
You can see the entire Forbes listing here.
Sources:
Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion
