Tech Bros and Solving Diversity Issues

In our last episode, we discussed the value of diverse perspectives. We wrap up our William A. Adams interview with ideas for solving diversity issues. We have seen where he has made great strides in raising awareness. However, we do not wrap up our conversation without offering solutions to this problem. It makes no sense to complain about a problem without suggesting solutions.

I enjoy the idea of "tech bros" that William brings up. This is a concept we see in all sorts of groups and cliques. Gatekeepers in the group need to be won over before we can become a part of it. We can focus on winning them over in those situations or create a different group. That new group allows us to build momentum and credibility to win over gatekeepers better than one person alone.

Nevertheless, William broke those barriers on his own and now uses those experiences to guide the next generation to be seen for what they bring to the table instead of what has been defined as valuable to employers. He gets it all to a simple point. Diversity loses its value if we try to whitewash the diversity out and force hires to conform to our experience.

William A. Adam is an award-winning D&I innovator, engineering trailblazer, and philanthropist. After rolling out critical XML code globally in many of Microsoft's core products, he was named the first Technical Advisor to the CTO, Kevin Scott.

As co-founder of the LEAP apprenticeship program – named Microsoft's D&I Program of the Year in 2020 – William helped launch the training of more than 26 engineering cohorts worldwide. Today, 98% of LEAP participants work at Microsoft or other high-tech companies. His most recent collaboration is with the leadership of the U.S. Virgin Islands to establish and train a technical talent pool and build critical technology infrastructure.

Early in his 30-year career in software engineering, he was one of the first Black entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and was recently profiled by the Computer History Museum. Through his company, Adamation, William developed mission-critical custom enterprise apps for Steve Jobs' NeXT computers and pioneered a network instant messaging service purchased by the CIA. He's been awarded two patents.

Today, in addition to his role at Microsoft, William is the philanthropic founder of The EV3NT, a collaborative, community-based hackathon designed to use technology to address critical real-world needs. William is busy as a husband and father of three when he's not tinkering with bits and bytes. He builds kitchen cabinets, knits, and tries to recapture the exhilaration of riding a motorcycle in India.

His Web Site: https://www.william-a-adams.com