Serena Williams Invests In Karat To Expand Their Brilliant Black Minds Program

The tech industry is one of the greatest sources of opportunity in our lifetime. Even still, those opportunities have not been spread equitably, with Black software engineers suffering disproportionately.

With only 5% of all software engineers in the United States being Black, the hurdles to entry into the tech industry are being exposed. From structural disparities that delay early introduction to computer science, to a lack of information about how the industry employs; Black engineers encounter a number of systemic barriers. Black engineers often have fewer professional connections, which means they have less opportunity to prepare for technical interviews.

Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, conducted a study with Howard University and discovered that only 50% of Black engineers have had a technical interview before looking for work. However, the same study found that additional interview preparation boosts confidence – 79% of respondents with three practice interviews said they were more likely to succeed.

Karat is changing the narrative with the launch of Brilliant Black Minds, which closes the interview access gap. Serena Williams recently announced a strategic investment in the initiative that enhances access and inclusion in the tech industry.

The Brilliant Black Minds program is now open to all existing and aspiring Black software engineers in the United States who wish to improve their technical interviewing abilities thanks to this investment from Williams. Williams will teach the importance of practicing and developing a championship attitude in her role as a “Champion of Brilliance,” which will help participants land their dream job in tech. Williams will support Karat’s appeal for the industry to assist more than 100,000 new Black engineers in tech over the next decade.

“The technology industry is focused on solving some of the world’s biggest challenges. My focus is ensuring the solutions to those challenges are developed by all of us, ”Williams said. “There has never been a shortage of brilliance in Black America; only limits to the access and opportunities extended to our community. That is why I am proud to team up with companies like Karat who are taking actionable steps to bring more diversity and equity to the industry, as well as call on others to be part of the change. ”

The Brilliant Black Minds program uses Karat’s cloud interviewing to provide free interview practice, feedback, and coaching to aspiring software engineers in this community. The interviewing cloud is a human + tech solution that delivers predictive, fair, and pleasant live technical interviews done by a global network of interview engineers, with the goal of unlocking engineering value and accelerating recruiting.

Karat has been able to build more candidate-centric experiences thanks to the expertise and data gathered from hundreds of thousands of interviews, particularly for software engineers who were previously disregarded by standard hiring procedures.

The initiative is to start in the right direction in terms of increasing the number of Black engineers in the tech industry, but most people are still curious about the contingency plan for making this a reality in the next decade or two. Jeffrey Spector, co-founder and president of Karat, says that while doubling the number of Black engineers in tech is a lofty objective, they have a strategy in place to achieve it.

“If you look at the numbers over the last five or six years, a lot of companies have tried to focus on this, but they haven’t moved the needle,” Spector says. “Because it is such a major barrier for individuals to find employment and develop more inclusive companies, we at Karat feel we can truly make a meaningful impact by forming a movement and bringing together a collective of organizations and companies to provide practice interviews.”

Spector feels that it’s not just about gaining the job, but also about feeling at ease in that atmosphere. “We know that many other aspects of the shift must now take place, but the interviewing and hiring process is so important that we wanted to prioritize it.”

Mohit Bhende, co-founder and CEO of Karat, argues that coming from a profession like gaming, where he worked on the extended leadership team at xBox, he understands how homogeneous many tech sectors can be. “I was the only person of color for a long time. I’m Indian, but if you look at the tech sector, there’s a lot more racial diversity in other industries than there was in gaming. The whole goal of the tech industry is to stimulate innovation, which you cannot accomplish if there are only a few voices representing each sector. “

What excites Bhende about Karat, as the son of Indian immigrants, is how they’re using their interviewing cloud technology to do more than just process the next interview and recruit the next individual. The goal is to alter the industry’s representation. “It makes the purpose and meaning of what we do at Karat a lot more important and interesting from a cultural and societal standpoint,” adds Bhende.

By giving firms access to a larger, interview-ready talent pool, the Brilliant Black Minds initiative aids in the resolution of these important business concerns. More engineers means more engineering time, which leads to a slew of new and innovative ideas.

Anthony Mays, a former Google software engineer and senior advisor to the Brilliant Black Minds program, believes the program provides a secure and collaborative environment for Black software engineers to learn how to break the code on how the industry hires. “All it takes is one chance to transform a person’s life and the lives of others who follow,” Mays adds.

Mays describes how fear remains a barrier for many men and women who live in underprivileged neighborhoods. Both Williams and Mays, who grew up in Compton, California, understand the significance of the kind of transformation that technology can bring to communities that have experienced trauma and disenfranchisement. “The young kids that I grew up with often looked at athletes and entertainers as heroes and individuals they could emulate in order to get out of the hood and eventually make a better life for themselves,” Mays says.

With Karat, there’s now an opportunity to connect Black engineers today, who may come from underrepresented places, with the correct knowledge and tools, so that they can obtain a job offer that may be transformative for the rest of their careers, much like getting a job in tech at Google was for Mays’.

“It’s really difficult for young people to pursue something they can’t see, especially something that doesn’t appear to have a high likelihood of success. Young Black people are more willing to pursue chances in sports and entertainment, despite the high likelihood of failure, because they witness others succeeding. ” Mays continues, “I believe we must address the fear issue. It’s critical for me to go back to Compton and other parts of the country and show people that they can pass anyone’s hiring criteria. Assuring them that they have the mental aptitude and capability to do so.You may need to tap into new information and networks, but you will be rewarded if you take that chance, because technology is all about risk. It might not happen tomorrow, but it will happen eventually. “

Companies wishing to hire more Black engineers should contact the Karat team to discover more about what they’ve learned from their program, according to Spector. “If you’re a company looking to hire more Black engineers, we want to engage with you to make sure that we can deliver this level of service to as many companies as possible.”

To get involved in Brilliant Black Minds and join the movement to double the number of Black software engineers in the US, visit www.karat.com.