Diversity in Tech: Breaking Barriers with Avis Yates Rivers

In this episode of CPO Open Mic, Mike Schiappa, Chief Procurement Officer at Beeline, talks with Avis Yates Rivers, CEO of Technology Concept Group International and board member of the National Center for Women in Information Technology and the Women’s Business Enterprise Council.

In the podcast, Avis shares her insights on the long-overdue need for diversity in the tech workforce. She describes the roles of non-profits and corporations in breaking down barriers to “diverse voices and ideas and approaches to problem-solving.”

She and Mike also discuss supply chain challenges and the importance of managing “tail spend,” which can include up to 80 percent of a typical company’s suppliers and, too often, all the company’s diverse suppliers.

Topics Include:

• Why has women’s participation in computing jobs not risen but dropped since the 1980s?
• How can technology solve social ills when so few women and minorities are involved in its use and its design?
• What risks do companies run by focusing too much attention on their top 3 or 4 suppliers and too little on the rest of their supply chain?