The 2023 LG NOVA Innovation Festival
The 2023 LG NOVA Innovation Festival
When we launched The Impact Seat Foundation, we wanted to build a stronger, more equitable, and more successful economy.
We know that diverse teams are more profitable, more successful, and more innovative than monoculture teams. Yet despite this well-researched and concrete data, the tech sector is still majority male and white. In the US tech industry, women occupy 26.7% of jobs compared to men at 73.3%. White Americans dominate with 62.5% of roles, followed by Asian Americans at 20%, Latinx at 8%, and Black Americans at 7%. White individuals comprise overall 83.3% of technology executive positions.
The Impact Seat Foundation’s CEO, Cheryl Contee, has seen firsthand the success diversity in tech yields. A seasoned tech veteran and the first Black female CEO of a NASDAQ listed company, Attentive.ly, Cheryl joined the LG NOVA Innovation Festival for the Innovation and Inclusion: The Power of Diversity in Tech panel session. With the aim of bringing diversity into tech spaces, this year’s LG NOVA Innovation Festival, sponsored by LG NOVA, fostered inclusivity and actionable discussions!
Our CEO, Cheryl Contee, was joined on the stage with moderator Alicia Hanf, Founder and Managing partner of Dear Mama Ventures, and panelists Flossie Hall, CEO of the Stella Foundation, Dorothy Johnson, VP of DEI at gener8tor, and Sakyi Oduro, Advisory Board member of Lockstep Ventures.
At the heart of a truly memorable session, the panelists gave a powerful message: inclusion and diversity isn’t just a nice-to-have in the workplace – it’s imperative for business success.
Panelists shared insights and strategies for broadening company-wide diversity, and most importantly, instilling inclusivity at the C-Suite and board level.The message was clear: when you're serious about including everyone, you're not just changing the game – you're also setting up for the long haul. It's about making your team stronger today and stronger in the future.
Everyone walked away with a new understanding of how powerful a diverse team can be, and the steps we can to create a powerhouse, innovative workforce.
The Impact Seat Foundation is proud to have participated in this important event to share our message that diversity, equity, and economic growth are inextricably linked.