Black Tech Pipeline connects Black IT pros to DEI-committed employers

In 2018, Pariss Chandler posed a question on Twitter, asking “What does Black Twitter in Tech look like?” A software engineer at the time, Chandler consistently found herself to be the only Black person in the room at work and wanted to connect with others who were having similar experiences. The tweet went viral, connecting her to a large community of Black tech workers on Twitter, much to Chandler’s surprise. From that unassuming beginning grew Black Tech Pipeline, a full-fledged nonprofit working to connect Black tech professionals with one another, and with hiring companies.

“That tweet ended up taking off and gaining virality, which I didn’t expect. I didn’t think anything would happen with that tweet just because I had no followers [at the time]. And it was cool because it kind of happened overnight. All these Black technologists from all over the world responded,” she says.

Other Black engineers and IT workers replied to and reposted her tweet, sharing their experiences, photos, and anecdotes about what it’s like for them as Black professionals working in an industry with a well-known diversity problem. From there, Chandler says, “it formed this community, and people were meeting each other, and everyone was really excited.”

Companies also saw the conversation surrounding Chandler’s tweet and reached out, asking whether she could help them recruit Black talent into their organizations.

A networking problem, not a pipeline problem 

Despite having no prior experience with recruiting, Chandler embraced the opportunity, even as she continued as a full-time software engineer. She now had a pool of talented Black technologists in her widening network, and she quickly started figuring out how to connect them with tech companies that were looking to diversify their teams.

“I started having companies DMing me on Twitter asking if I would recruit candidates from this new community into their companies,” says Chandler, who believes the idea of a pipeline problem for Black tech workers is something of a myth. Instead, she says, the heart of the issue for companies seeking Black tech talent is a networking problem.

The illusion of a “pipeline problem” is perpetuated by the bubbles that exist in the technology sector — people think there aren’t enough Black IT candidates simply because they don’t see Black tech professionals at conferences, in leadership positions, or applying to jobs in their organization. But Chandler says this is more about people’s networks, and their inability to step outside their comfort zones. And, on the flipside, many Black tech professionals don’t have the right networks and connections to find available jobs.

“Companies expect [Black tech professionals] to come to them, but these people do not know they exist or cannot access them. So how do they expect them to find the opportunities available to them?” she says.

To combat this, Chandler believes people in the tech industry who “live within their own little bubble,” typically surrounded by “people who look like them,” need to get “comfortable being uncomfortable and leaving that bubble, expanding it, and meeting other people in the community,” she says. Many jobs are landed by referrals, connections, and shared networks, so it’s important that those networks remain diverse.

“That’s why it’s so important to be intentional about meeting people of diverse backgrounds, not just people that make you feel comfortable because that’s what you’re used to. That’s not reflective of the world that we live in,” she says.

A shift to focus on retention

For about two years, Chandler helped companies connect with candidates as a side job, while working full-time. Over time, however, she noticed that a lot of her recruits were coming back to her looking for different opportunities. Or, alternatively, she would reach out to candidates she worked with in the past, only to discover that they weren’t happy with their current positions.

“They were not being retained at those companies. And when I asked them why, it was that they just weren’t having good experiences,” Chandler says. “They weren’t being supported. They felt like those companies were being performative. And I felt really bad about that, because I never vetted any companies — my intention was never to become a recruiter, I just wanted to do something good.”

This inspired her to shift her recruiting model to include a vetting process for companies to “make sure that they’re being intentional” before connecting candidates with them. The last thing she wanted to do was continue sending people to companies that didn’t have, or weren’t upholding, a commitment to DEI. And that’s when she established Black Tech Pipeline (BTP), offering unique recruiting options for organizations looking to diversify their workforces.

“I didn’t think it had to be overly complicated — if someone’s having a good or bad experience, you’ll find out simply by asking,” she says.

As part of her approach, Chandler checks in with individuals she has helped place at companies to see how things are going, whether there is anything her recruits want to talk about, or if there are issues they want her to relay to their employer. On the BTP job board, Chandler also includes information about each organization’s DEI strategies, values, policies, and promises — the results of her efforts to determine whether people of color will thrive at the organizations she partners with, focusing on employee experience, career growth, and overall company culture.

To make those assessments, Candler conducts interviews with company personnel to get a sense of each company’s culture, recruitment process, diversity numbers, retention rates, and any other issues that might help her determine whether the organization is dedicated to DEI or is simply performative. Her hope is that this will lead to more meaningful connections between her recruits and the companies she partners with, helping Black tech workers find companies where they will want to stay and grow their careers. 

Chandler acknowledges that when interviewing companies, she can only go by what she is told. And while she believes this process helps her “mitigate harm,” she understands she “cannot promise that it can be prevented.”

Still, identifying any red flags out of the gate is crucial to her mission. Such red flags include not having a DEI strategy, or having one that comes across as lip-service because its values aren’t reflected in the company culture. Another red flag is an organization that doesn’t seem interested in feedback, growth, and learning, as the best fits for Black tech professionals are companies that are truly open and committed to growing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the entire organization.

A focus on feedback and community

That feedback factor is vital for retention, Chandler has noted. As part of her vetting process, Chandler will ask company representatives whether they collect feedback, what they do with the data, and if there are any identifiable adjustments they have made as a result of this information. Companies that invite and accept feedback — and then put that feedback to good use — are more likely to foster environments where Black employees can thrive.

“[These companies] know that they have to do better and they want to do better and they want to learn,” she says.

As part of her recruitment process, Chandler stays in touch with candidates for the first 90 days of their new jobs, conducting biweekly check-ins to ask about their experiences and ascertain any areas where the company can improve. In a way, she serves as a mentor for her recruits, offering support and guidance as they get started at their new jobs and navigate new environments.

This support and mentorship offered by Chandler — and the larger BTP network — can be crucial for Black tech professionals, especially those who are the only Black person on their team. Chandler says that many of her recruits, and Black technologists overall, feel they must work harder than their non-Black peers and that they are often held to a higher standard.

“When they do mess up, it weighs more heavily on them than it does their peers, and they’re quicker to be let go than anyone else,” she says.

This pressure can often make entering a new position daunting — it’s impossible to truly understand a workplace’s culture until you’re inside. Chandler’s goal is to help make this less of an unknown for recruits, identifying organizations that understand the mental load of being the only Black person, or one of few, on a team or even in an entire organization. Companies that don’t create welcoming and equitable spaces for Black tech workers, or that don’t seem interested in identifying any problems in their organization, do not get to make use of her services.

“It has to be on the company to want to change, and to want to look at those biases and learn and do better. But there’s only so much you can do when you’re working with humans. It’s not a technological problem — it’s a human problem,” she says.

Black tech workers who are navigating predominantly white spaces in the tech industry have the added mental load of navigating microaggressions or hostile work environments, using mental energy to code-switch, or simply trying to figure out which authentic parts of themselves they can bring to the workplace. This can become exhausting and demoralizing, especially while handling the responsibilities of a full-time job. The Black Tech Pipeline helps alleviate some of this burden by building and creating a community for Black tech pros, who can connect with others, in-person or virtually, and find peers and mentors who have the shared experience of being Black in the tech industry.

“It does bring comfort to people. It is a safe space where you can ask questions, talk about different experiences, or ask about how to go about something — that’s basically what we’re here for. And we don’t create any restrictions around accessing that information or advice,” says Chandler.