Baltimore Corps wins $100K for its anti-bias tech hiring platform

Maryland-based organization Baltimore Corps has recently received $100,000 following a successful national initiative to create a platform that combats the prevalent gender and racial bias in tech talent hiring.

The organization focused on equity and racial justice was one of 10 winners nationwide of the Tech Done Right Challenge, which was launched by the Oakland, California-based Kapor Center.

“By building a tool that controls for biases in hiring practices, Baltimore Corps is repairing the leaky pipeline for people of color and women seeking placement in the tech field,” Kapor Center said in a Medium post announcing the organizations receiving grants. “This tool will serve stakeholders across Baltimore’s tech ecosystem to mitigate systemic barriers, including the lack of social capital and networks.”

The Kapor Center made a total of $1 million available through the Tech Done Right Challenge to support local efforts aimed at building a more diverse and inclusive tech sector. Kapor Center received 120 applications from 48 U.S. cities.

In developing the platform, six-year-old Baltimore Corps is building on its work connecting people of color and gender minorities to social impact careers. In the work of sourcing, screening and matching talent, many of the same barriers apply in the tech sector, said Baltimore Corps Director of Development Dani Faulkner.

“People of color and gender minorities have a consistently harder time accessing employment opportunities because they are excluded from social networks and because of racial and gender bias that permeates within the hiring process,” Fauklner said.

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