Randolph Carnegie spent years addressing issues like unconscious bias in technology and architecting plans to reduce the confidence gap in minorities, and he shares those philosophies with two groups that are important to him; students on Chicago’s Southside and CompTIA’s Advancing Diversity in IT Community.
“There’s a shortage of people in the IT industry, so let’s broaden the base,” said Carnegie, who spends a good part of each year telling students at Harlan Community Academy and Urban Prep about the benefits of working in technology. “Let’s train more people.”
Carnegie brings the same philosophy to CompTIA’s ADIT Community, which creates a space for African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos and provides resources, tools and opportunities for all people to advance their IT careers.
Like the ideas he’s promoting, the ADIT Community is inclusive. It focuses on the advancement of minorities, but the invitation is open to anyone who supports the mission. The community’s overall goal is to measurably increase the level of diversity and inclusion within technology — the same thing Carnegie’s been pushing for all these years. It’s influenced the way he leads his own company, Ken-Kor Consulting Inc., and bleeds into the way he engages students in Chicago.
“We talk about technology and try to get them engaged, letting them know that there are options out there for careers that they never considered,” he said. “Sometimes they think they have to be a geek to work in tech, but technology needs all sorts of people. You can be a non-technical person and make a difference.”
Whether he’s acting as a mentor, CompTIA member or thought leader on diversity, Carnegie’s message is the same: Let’s broaden the pool of workers and bring more talent to the tech industry.
“We’re not trying to exclude anybody,” he said. “We’re just trying to make the pot bigger.”
