Championing diversity, equality, inclusion, and belonging at DevSecCon and Snyk

The gender gap in computing is going in the wrong direction. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. The percent will continue to decline if we do nothing. We know that the biggest drop off of girls in computer science is between the ages of 13 and 17. This is just one representative statistic of many that require collective action.

Here at Snyk, we prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B). We know there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and we’re especially excited to join forces with our broader community. To help make DEI&B a focus at DevSecCon24 — our global, vendor-neutral, community-driven, DevSecOps conference — we included opportunities for those attending to learn and to give back.

Supporting nonprofits that promote diversity in tech

We asked the attendees of DevSecCon to nominate three inspiring nonprofits leading the computing industry diversity charge. We then teamed up with our sponsor partners (listed below) to put financial wind ($55K USD) in the sails of these nonprofit organizations.

EMEA: Woman of Security (WoSEC)

Women of Security (WoSEC) is for women, and those who identify as women, who have an interest in cybersecurity. WoSEC chapters meet in person in cities around the globe to network, vent frustrations, find peers and make new friends. Activities range from talks and workshops to brunches and other social gatherings.

Asia Pacific: Indigitek

Indigitek is a First Nations founded and operated charitable organization. Indigitek works to build opportunities and pathways for First Nations people to participate in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

Americas: Girls who code

Girls Who Code is building the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers. They are on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. The group is changing the game by reaching girls around the world and is on track to close the gender gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2030.

Special thanks!

Thanks to all of our DevSecCon community members and the following industry partners for teaming up with us on this important investment in diversity and inclusion for our industry and the people that make it so special.

• Snyk

• Bridgecrew

• StackHawk

• sysdig

• IriusRisk

• Teleport

• LaunchDarkly

• Trend Micro

• CircleCI

• We Hack Purple

• Codefresh

• Contrast Security

• Cloudbees

Diversity and allyship panels

At Snyk, we've made a conscious decision to strive for true DEI&B within all departments, as well as within our industry, because we know that diverse teams (and markets) perform better at all levels. Snyk Impact is our operating framework that embeds social and environmental value creation for all of our stakeholders into everything we pursue including how we mobilize and empower our community to enable positive impact. Enabling more diversity in our industry is a key focus for us.

To look at and share the mental modeling and choices we’ve made at Snyk to welcome more diverse representation, we hosted a panel at DevSecCon24 with Snyk talent leaders Heidi King-Underwood and Taiwo Omotayo. Some of the key takeaways include:

• Start with education: From unconscious bias to cultural awareness training, it's important to educate your team. But be sure to segment the training so people don't feel overwhelmed. There's no need to tick off every single item right away, just keep moving forward.

• Retention is as important as recruitment: What it takes to hire an employee is often very different from what that person needs to thrive and grow as part of the team. While being vocal about diversity during recruiting is important, companies must also be willing to invest in their employees to retain them.

• Provide internal and external support: Support diversity through employee resource groups, company-sponsored events, and groups like Sistas in Sales which promotes hiring Black women into sales.

• Measure the results: While measuring diversity can be difficult due to individual privacy rights and laws, it's important to find ways to measure your successes and failures in order to track (and report on) progress.

• Be intentional: “Be intentional about diversity,” said Taiwo. “Don't do it because everyone else is doing it, but because you think it's the right thing to do. It will quickly show if you’re intentional about diversity and inclusion in the way your business operates and the things you encourage in your business.”

Another panel we ran at DevSecCon was LGBTQ+ Allyship in the Workplace, with Snyk Lead People Partner, Nathan Jeune-Manning. To learn even more about DEI&B at Snyk and our perspectives and practices specific to the LGBTQIA+ community, we encourage you to listen in on this conversation.

We know that there's still a lot of progress that needs to be made in order to create a truly diverse workplace and industry, but we're up to the task. If you are too, consider joining Snyk on our journey to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.