Credit: Laura Dee Photography
When it comes to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Atlanta is king (or in our case, queen.)
Today, more and more companies are looking to be at the forefront of diversity and are shifting their focus towards inclusion and representation in the workspace. (To that, we say what a beautiful time, to be alive.) And with Atlanta being the poster child for diversity and our next #CreateCultivate stop, we had to highlight some of the ways other companies can take notes from the state that’s leading the pack.
INTEGRATION AND BREAKING THE INVISIBLE LINES
As Atlanta continues to move away from a history of segregation, the same concept has been applied to work practices, landing two of the city’s biggest companies (Coca Cola and Southern Company) on the list of Black Enterprise’s Top 40 Best Companies for Diversity List last year.
And inventors are taking more risks in the city because of its potential. In 2014 firms invested about $500 million in Atlanta companies — the most in a decade.
DIVERSITY IN ATLANTA’S STARTUP CULTURE
More POC in Atlanta are looking to change the face of what the typical startup founder or entrepreneur looks like. More men and women of color are starting their own companies, especially in the tech sector, and not only that: Atlanta has been named #5 in the best cities for female founders with 44.3% number of female-owned firms in the city.
While only .2% of venture capital deals have gone to black female founders and black women-led startups raising only an average of $36k in outside funding, more WOC are getting out there to show they are the future of innovation.
Thanks to programs like The BIG Innovation Center, which is currently housing a four-month long accelerator program training black and Latina women from Atlanta how to launch their startup, how to acquire office space, and how to find mentors, we’re not too far from seeing more of “The Real Unicorns of Tech” in the startup world.
"We’re not too far from seeing more of 'The Real Unicorns of Tech' in the startup world."
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Atlanta still has a long way to go when it comes having more POC-- especially women-- as the faces of companies. However, this city is taking exemplary steps to ensure that not too far from now, when a female WOC is represented as the boss in a startup sitcom, it won’t be too farfetched.
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