A Special Anniversary Issue: Celebrating Gratitude

On the wall in my house is a large sign that says “Gratitude.” It’s a reminder to me each day to be grateful for the many blessings in my life. This theme couldn’t be more relevant as I reflect on the past year and Command’s Shift's incredible growth and myriad achievements. 

I am grateful that our movement has attracted many new organizations, partners, allies, and advocates because expanding our network means that we can expand our impact -- increasing more women of color in tech and tech-adjacent sectors.

Candice L. Dixon

Command Shift Turns One!

There are many milestones to celebrate from our first year:

• Thanks to our partners, we raised more than $3.27 million to support our ongoing efforts to break down barriers for women of color in tech, which will provide an estimated $17.2 million back into the local economy.
• Our breakthrough research - The Equation for Equality: Women of Color in Tech revealed that today, there are 2.5 million women of color working in tech-similar jobs, and with more training from organizations like NPower, could step into pure tech jobs and the potential for upward economic mobility.  
• Please check out our anniversary news release here. Watch our anniversary video, celebrating our achievements. And, if you haven’t had a moment yet to read our research report, we encourage you to do so today.

Activating the Equation for Equality: Accenture

Focusing on Skills-Based Recruitment

Accenture, a coalition member, has made apprenticeships a critical component of its overall talent strategy. In doing so, they have committed to 20% of its entry-level hiring this year to be apprentices and approximately 45 percent of entry-level roles do not require four-year degrees, consistent with their skills-based hiring approach. An overwhelming majority of apprentices who have gone through Accenture’s program have continued with the company.

The program is designed to attract individuals who do not have a bachelor’s degree; Accenture works with community colleges, non-profit skilling organizations (like NPower), and bootcamps to reach this population. Approximately 80 percent of apprentices do not have a bachelor’s degree when they join, 60 percent are ethnically diverse and nearly half are women.

Accenture’s apprenticeship program focuses on in-demand roles, setting apprentices up for success through training and job experience including in cyber, digital, data analytics, and cloud migration. 

We encourage you to read more about Accenture’s skills-based apprentice program on page 47 of our Equation for Equality Report. They are doing the work to diversify the industry.

NPower Alumna: Our Work in Action

Ateika Samuel is a young, single mother who emigrated from St. Vincent in early 2016. She had limited professional experience which included working at a restaurant as a shift supervisor to support her family back home. Before enrolling in NPower’s training program, she had been unemployed for six months in the U.S. and lacked information technology work experience. Through NPower, Ateika developed essential IT skills, obtained her CompTIA certification, and has spent the last four years at Citi, earning three promotions that have advanced her to the role of Assistant Vice President of Executive Experience & Strategy Operations. Ateika now serves as an alumni member of the Command Shift coalition and serves as a mentor for NPower graduates who intern with her company. She is always seeking ways to pay it forward to advance more women of color into tech careers.

“My NPower family has given me everything I need to achieve success: practical training; emotional encouragement; boosted self-confidence; and the real-life opportunities I am benefiting from at Citigroup. Reflecting on my life’s journey, and recounting all of the times when I fell and felt like giving up, I am grateful that I kept pushing through it all.”

Thank You to Our Partners!

It’s been an amazing year and we’re looking forward to advancing our work, focusing on increasing the representation of women of color in tech to 10% over the next 10 years.

In this spirit, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to the partners who are supporting our mission and activating the Equation for Equality. 

Steering Committee Members

Coalition Members

Our Newest Partners

We are thankful to all our partners, staff, allies, advocates, and friends who are working with us to carve new pathways to tech positions for women of color. It's been just one year, and we are so excited for Command Shift 2.0. You can get ready all of our updates in this newsletter so, please subscribe and stay tuned!

Command Shift, created by NPower Inc, is a national consortium with the goal to double the representation of women of color in entry level tech careers to 10% over the next decade. NPower is a national tech training nonprofit that is committed to advance equity in the tech industry by creating pathways to economic prosperity through digital careers for military connected individuals and young adults from underserved communities.