PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEY IMPACT: WIDER NET: INNOVATION AND INCLUSION IN TECH {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's Paley Impact events. This evening examines the impact and importance of diversity in technology fields. After a sizzle reel featuring scenes from the Paley Archive of women and people of color engaging with technology from such show as "Silicon Valley" (2014), "I Love Lucy" (1952), "Star Trek" (1967), "Mission: Impossible" (1972), "The Flash" (2014), "Head of the Class" (1987), "Family Matters" (1991), "A Different World" (1993), "Heroes" (2006), "Scandal" (2014), "CSI: Cyber" (2015), "Person of Interest" (2013), "Project MC2" (2015), "The Start Up" (2015) and "The Fosters" (2015), host Diane Lewis (executive vice-president of programming, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces Jessica Singleton (chief digital officer for the city of New York). Singleton comments on City Hall's advances in technology and the creation of the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline, the $10 million project supporting the growth of the tech sector and creating training opportunities for residents, including computer science classes for students of all ages. The Mobile Dev Corps training program at the Flatiron School helps to create careers for mobile engineers, and many local companies are expanding their internship programs to accommodate the new trainees.
Next, Mario Armstrong (contributor, "The Today Show" and founder of the #NeverSettleClub) moderates the following panelists: Daisy Auger-Dominguez (global head of diversity staffing, Google), Matthew Burnett (CEO and co-founder, Maker's Row), Christina Lewis Halpern (founder and executive director, All Star Code) and David Tisch (managing partner, BoxGroup). The conversation touches on such topics as: the importance of retaining the top talent in the tech sector by expanding policies of inclusivity; Burnett's background in the fashion industry and the unproductive "one size fits all" mindset in both fields; why addressing inequality issues is "morally just" as well as good business; the holistic program in Halpern's All Star Code that assists in building the "soft skills" needed for the tech industry; why better schooling and workplace training is needed to aid young people whose parents have little to no experience with technology and programming; the Google in Residence program and its affiliation with Washington D.C.'s Howard University, as well as many other historically-black universities; why change to the "cyclical" lack of diversity in tech fields must come from "the top down" and start with the companies' investors; many large tech companies' recent refusal to divulge their statistics on their staff diversity and hiring policies; the importance of smartphones in making technology accessible to the average person; and the challenges of "code-switching" when working in a white-dominated technology field as a person of color.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: Burnett's sense that his company seems "welcoming" because of its diverse staff; the ageism prevalent in the "very young industry"; Google's partnership with Hollywood companies to create interesting media portrayals of STEM characters in order to attract young people to tech careers; and the importance of strong leadership in spearheading change.
Tanzina Vega (digital correspondent, CNN) then takes the stage and moderates the following panelists: Kay Madati (executive vice-president and chief digital officer, BET Networks), Alex Sepiol (senior vice-president of original scripted programming, USA Network), William Caballero (filmmaker and content creator), and Knatokie Ford (senior policy advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy). The conversation touches on such topics as: how media portrayals of "geeks," formerly stigmatized as unappealing, are now "sexy"; comparisons to "The CSI Effect," in which the popular CBS procedural series sparked a national interest in forensic science; the importance of raising awareness of unconscious biases and creating "aspirational visions" of tech careers; the popular tech-heavy USA series "Mr. Robot," partially inspired by creator Sam Esmail's relatives' involvement with the Arab Spring uprising; the increased diversity of the fall 2015 pilots and Madati's memories of "the blackest upfronts ever"; the BET original film "The Start Up," which focuses on young black and Latino entrepreneurs; Hollywood's broadly stereotypical ideas about the tastes of black and Latino viewers; the business side of social media, including the success of shows like "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" thanks to Twitter commentary from young viewers; Caballero's television series "Grandpa Knows Best," featuring life advice from his outspoken Puerto Rican grandfather, from which a clip is shown; and the importance of diverse voices behind the camera as well as in front, as highlighted in a recent controversial episode of "Project Greenlight."
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: the frequent changes in media-consumption platforms, including YouTube's plans for a subscription-only program; the importance of consumers "voting" for change through their purchases and commentary; and the need for "empowering" portrayals of diversity beyond superficial entertainment.
Three young tech innovators then speak briefly about their creations, starting with Adrian Grant, who discusses his new app, The SENNA, which allows users to easily explore the latest pop-culture trending topics and "hip-hop buzz," often used by advertisers to appeal to diverse millennials. Next, Suma Reddy discusses her app, Waddle, which allows users to rate and review various local businesses and share their opinions and recommendations with their friends, not unlike their competition site Yelp. Finally, Sebastian King discusses his work as a web developer at Foursquare, explaining that he knew nothing about programming until he decided to help create a web presence for his father's business and gained an education in coding. Armstrong closes the evening by reading a number of tweets from enthusiastic audience members.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:54:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 124332
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Diana Lewis … Host
- Mario Armstrong … Moderator
- Tanzina Vega … Moderator
- Daisy Auger-Dominguez … Panelist
- Matthew Burnett … Panelist
- Christina Lewis Halpern … Panelist
- David Tisch … Panelist
- Kay Madati … Panelist
- Alex Sepiol … Panelist
- William Caballero … Panelist
- Knatokie Ford … Panelist
- Jessica Singleton … Guest
- Adrian Grant … Guest
- Suma Reddy … Guest
- Sebastian King … Guest
- Sam Esmail