eBay VP of Global Government Relations & Public Policy Tekedra Mawakana joins the diversity panel.
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation hosted their 46th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) in DC last week – “Defining the Moment, Building the Movement.” The ALC is the premier policy conference tackling issues impacting African Americans and the global black community. Thought leaders, legislators and entrepreneurs join together to engage on issues such as economic empowerment, civil and social justice, and technology.
Alongside the conference, Bloomberg Government hosted a breakfast event with the US Chief Technology Officer, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and tech industry representatives – including eBay’s Vice President of Global Government Relations and Public Policy, Tekedra Mawakana – to discuss the importance of tech diversity.
Called “Powering Up Diversity: Tech Moving Forward,” the event began with a conversation with US CTO Megan Smith who explained aspects of the Administration’s approach to strengthening the STEM pipeline, equipping young people with the skills they need for high-paying jobs in the tech sector. One example of this approach is the TechHire initiative, of which eBay and the City of San Jose have been strong partners. Then Reps. G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), and Hank Johnson (GA-04) took the stage to discuss Tech 2020, the CBC Diversity Task Force initiative to address African American inclusion in the technology industry. They noted that the adoption of inclusion principles must be voluntary and that leaders at the highest levels must be invested in this issue in order to make change.
Finally, Tekedra participated in a panel to share industry perspectives on tech diversity, along with Fred Humphries, Vice President of Government Affairs at Microsoft; Marie Sylla-Dixon, Vice President of Federal Government and External Affairs at T-Mobile; and Dean Garfield, President of the Information Technology Industry Council. Tekedra thanked the CBC for shining a light on this important topic, and explained that eBay is listening. In fact, the company has taken concrete steps toward living our cultural values of diversity and inclusion, including the recent hire of eBay’s new Chief Diversity Officer, Damien Hooper-Campbell. We at eBay seek to empower people – not just our workforce, but also our community of users – to embrace the economic opportunity provided by our unique and open platform.