Page 74 - Innovation Delaware 2019

FOSTERING DIVERSITY
Aand Inclusion
How Delawareans are working to grow access to the innovation economy
recent report from Paychex. almost any state — for both for-profits com found Delaware ranks and nonprofits.”
second in the nation for The innovation economy, with its number of minority-owned highly desirable — and highly lucrative
businesses as a ratio of the overall popu- — tech and research opportunities, still
BY MATT WARD
entrenchment of recruiting practices. “I think employers need to be much more cognizant of the lead sources that they’re using to recruit,” says Young. “People have wholly different soft skill sets based on their life experiences.” Young is a big booster (and an alumnus) of the University of Delaware. But, he says, employers will find qualified candidates at Delaware State, Delaware Technical Community College, Lincoln University, Wesley College, and Goldey-Beacom, too.
One of Delaware’s most prominent organizations working to rewire the
lation. The same report placed Delaware first for the number of minority wom- en-owned businesses.
It sounds good, but those numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story. “The total GDP of those minority- and women-owned businesses is an extreme- ly small percentage of the GDP of the state,” says Dan Young, director of the Doctor of Business Administration program at Goldey-Beacom College.
“It is also easier to incorporate here than
has work to do in expanding access to more diverse populations. In Delaware, entrepreneurs, government officials, aca- demics, non-profits and others are trying to close that opportunity gap.
The gap “isn’t just a Delaware thing,” says Young, who also mentors young entrepreneurs at Goldey-Beacom. “This is a global thing, and it’s perpetuated by a number of different pieces.”
One tangible barrier to creating a more diverse workforce, Young explains, is the
72 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
MAKING CODING SKILLS
ACCESSIBLE
COURTESY OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION AND FAME INC.