It seems to me like many of the problems here <i>shouldn't</i> necessarily be addressed by specially-targeted programs run by the tech industry. That will just make things more fragmented for people like Maurice who might want to be, for instance, mechanical engineers instead of programmers.<p>It seems like the <i>genuine</i> ways to address this would be:<p>* <i>Some</i> kind of telecom/internet access becomes a social right, provided universally. The easiest <i>actual</i> ways to do this are municipal public libraries, open libraries at community colleges, and municipal wifi.<p>* Transit and mobility subsidies for the poor, or possibly just for <i>everyone</i>. It simply shouldn't happen at all that someone lives mere miles away, in the same city, from hackathons and other educational/career-building activities and yet can't afford the trip. I also can't count the number of poorer people I've met who simply have fewer chances in life because they were born in a rural area and cannot afford to move until there is a signed-and-sealed job offer with relocation provided.<p>* Trades training and job counseling as part of the public education system. Because <i>duh</i>.<p>Making even the most basic infrastructure and opportunities for-profit has resulted in a "You must be <i>this</i> well-off to enter" barrier for things that we <i>like to believe</i> are normal and universal. We should make them <i>actually</i> universal.
What happens when you compare this barrier to that of another career?<p>Even after reading the article, I still think programming has the fewest artificial barriers of any other professional job. Of course, there is still a mountain of shit that poor people need to climb- but once Maurice can functionally write code, he can find a job that pays WAY more than other entry level work. College would further his career, but isn't a requirement.<p>Do you think someone could get a white collar finance job just because they were able to figure out some trading vernacular on McDonalds WiFi? Or what about a career in HR? No way. Those have all the same barriers as a tech job, while requiring more institutional accreditation and social proof.
According to the pew research center, Median net worth for American Households was as follows in 2013:
Whites: $141,900
Blacks: $11,000
Hispanics: $13,700<p>So if you care about the lack of diversity in race in the industry, a good place to start is addressing the underprivileged.