Anna E. Cook, a UX Designer, independent contributor to Medium and Colorado TechGirlz volunteer, wrote a part two for her Mind the Gap article that discussed the gender gap in the tech industry. In this second part, she details five different ways organizations can build more diverse and effective teams. The full article was originally published September 2, 2019 on Medium.

As we learned in part 1, we know diversity gaps exist in the tech industry, we know they affect our organizations and due to the reach of technology in this era, we know that the gaps affect a broad population. The effects of our cultural biases, from parents, teachers, schools, employers, and society as a whole are a huge reason we are dealing with the diversity issues we currently are. It will take time for these social norms to change, as all societal changes take time. So what can we actually do now to make a change within our organizations? I’ve put together five of the easiest and most effective changes you can make to build more diverse teams today.

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I wrote these posts to speak about my personal experiences as I’ve become empowered in my own technical prowess, but more than anything to advocate for the future leaders in technology. Diversity in tech is an issue that begins long before hiring processes. For us to be truly invested in change, we have to help underrepresented kids feel empowered with technology. We have to invest in education from K-12 to higher education and onwards. Big tech companies have already started to invest in STEM education initiatives, but there is a lot of room for others to help.