Montreece Smith, executive vice president of people for Per Scholas, has a mission to train BIPOC adults for tech roles to close the equity and diversity gap in tech.

“Talent is ubiquitous. Opportunity is not. Getting in the door is key.”

Montreece Smith, Executive Vice President of People for Per Scholas, a national tech training initiative with 20 campuses and a staff of 500, placing 20,000 alumni at more than 850 employer partners, says she is helping to drive the company mission of opening doors to tech careers for persons of color.

“We are changing the face of tech,” says Smith.

“@MoFindsTalent, Executive Vice President of People for @PerScholas, has a mission to train #BIPOC adults for tech roles to close the equity and #diversitygap in #tech. ”

“My personal passion was recruiting,” says Smith, who is based in Dallas, and has been working in human resources for 20 years. “I was always looking for nontraditional paths to find diverse talent.”

She began volunteering in 2015 for Per Scholas, first as a volunteer and then as chair of the Dallas Advisory Board. She began her current role in 2019 for Per Scholas, a mission that started in 1995 in the Bronx, as a company that refurbished computer equipment.

The evolution to tech training was part of a later expansion of Per Scholas and led to a perfect fit for Smith’s evolving career.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Smith became a teen mother at 16 and moved to Dallas in 1996, where she earned her GED, and began working as an executive assistant for a global consulting firm. The HR leader at her company one day asked if she could fill in for someone at a career fair. She said yes.

“I was in my element,” says Smith, who has been recognized as a Black Achiever in Industry by the Harlem YMCA.

Per Scholas offers free 15-week tech trainings with a variety of curriculums for adult learners from 18 to 60 and older. Eighty-five percent of learners are POC, she says, with 41% of learners identifying as women. This pipeline creation is essential, but is not the neat solution to a problem of the tech workforce globally that has wide equity and diversity gaps.

According to a new report from McKinsey, “How To Close The Black Talent Gap,” “Black people make up 12 percent of the U.S. workforce but only 8 percent of employees in tech jobs. “That percentage is even smaller further up the corporate ladder; just 3 percent of technology executives in the C-suite are Black, according to a McKinsey analysis of Fortune 500 executives.”

The report continues, “That gap is likely to widen over the next decade. Across all industries, technology jobs—those in data science, engineering, cybersecurity, and software development—are expected to grow 14 percent by 2032. Black tech talent in those roles is expected to grow only 8 percent over the same period.”

Smith acknowledges the gaps, sees the realities and causes and works to create solutions.

“The diversity and recruiting industry is dealing with bias and barriers,” says Smith, who is now the mother of three, and earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Western Governors University in 2009. “We need to get out of our way and make progress. Diversity security is important for a balanced and diverse workforce.”

““The diversity and #recruiting industry is dealing with #bias and barriers,” says @MoFindsTalent. “We need to get out of our way and make progress. Diversity security is important for a balanced and diverse workforce.””

The McKinsey report points to the urgency. “Black households stand to lose out on more than a cumulative $350 billion in tech job wages by 2030, an amount equal to one-tenth the total wealth held by those households, according to a McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility analysis. The wage gap in tech roles is expected to grow nearly 37 percent, from $37.5 billion in 2023 to $51.3 billion in annual lost wages by 2030.”

What Smith says she has seen in the industry of talent acquisition is that “DEI is in style and more of a hot trend for companies.” She adds, “Companies got it and diversity needs gained more attention.”

“What @MoFindsTalent says she has seen in the industry of talent acquisition is that “#DEI is in style and more of a hot trend for #companies.” She adds, “Companies got it and diversity needs gained more attention.””

Per Scholas is working to provide the skilled talent, fill the pipelines, and foster cultures of fairness and inclusion in workplaces.

With training funded by philanthropy and the partner employers, Smith says learners are “not just getting tech skills and certification, but they are finding this valuable at pivotal points in their lives.”

“With training funded by philanthropy and the partner employers, @MoFindsTalent says learners at @PerScholas are “not just getting tech skills and certification, but they are finding this valuable at pivotal points in their lives.” #techtraining”

As COVID affected so many workforce in-person arenas of retail, restaurants, hospitality and more, Per Scholas offered trainings that were remote, in-person and hybrid for learners looking to pivot into tech careers. In 2020, Per Scholas opened campuses in Chicago and Charlotte, N.C.

But just providing a diverse workforce is not the same as retaining, promoting and nurturing a diverse workforce.

History and new research demonstrate that is true, and progress on DEI initiatives and the establishment of fair and equitable workplace cultures is just not good enough; in fact, it is very poor.

“But just providing a #diverse workforce is not the same as retaining, promoting and nurturing a diverse #workforce. ”

A new Catalyst survey of nearly 3,000 women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Africa and the U.K. finds that more than half or (51%) of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups experience racism at work. “Women with darker skin tones are more likely than women with lighter skin tones to experience racism at work,” the study shows, as well as trans and queer women are significantly more likely to experience racism in the workplace.

And while the research shows that allyship and curiosity demonstrated by leadership in the workplace “can decrease the climate of silence and boost the diversity climate in their organizations,” many leaders fail at this call to action.

Catalyst reports, “49% of survey respondents say their senior leaders do not engage in allyship, and 43% say they do not engage in curiosity.” There is also a pervasive culture of silence.

“There are many techniques employers need to think about to engage, retain and promote” employees, says Smith, who has been a featured speaker at the Anita Borg Institute, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and the University of Southern California’s Center for Effective Organizations.

“Corporations fail because they put forth effort in recruitment but do nothing about development,” says Smith. ”WOC and BIPOC are watching,” so it would benefit leaders to consider what their websites look like, who is featured in marketing materials.

““Corporations fail because they put forth effort in recruitment but do nothing about development,” says @MoFindsTalent.”WOC and BIPOC are watching.” #DEI #leadershipadvice”

“They’ve got to pay attention,” says Smith,

Leaders need to create employee affinity groups, resource groups and make sure all employees are being listened to, and not in a culture of silence.

“Leaders need to create employee affinity groups, resource groups and to make sure all employees are being listened to, and not in a culture of silence. #workplaceculture #allyship”

Still, she is hopeful. “There is a level of awareness that many didn’t have in the past. Many now offer a voice and a seat at the table” to BIPOC tech employees.

Smith adds it is up to the individual to push for equity, acknowledgment and advancement in the tech workplace.

“Know your worth. Diversity does not mean less than. You are capable, you are worthy and you deserve an opportunity.”

Take The Lead Leadership Tip Of The Week:

“Know your worth. Diversity does not mean less than. You are capable, you are worthy and you deserve an opportunity.”— Montreese Smith, exec vp-people, Per Scholas

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com