Silicon Brighton: supporting diversity in tech

This year at Silicon Brighton, we unveiled our most ambitious project yet, Diverse Sussex; a community initiative to help Sussex’s tech sector better understand and address issues around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the region.

Increasingly over the years, there has been a lot of talk about the lack of DEI in the tech community and what can be done to tackle it. But, despite many businesses’ desire to improve, you only need to look around you (and at the multitude of reports there are online) to find there is some way to go until it is a fair and hospitable place for everyone.

Our aim with Diverse Sussex is to support organisations on their DEI journey, raising the collective awareness so that we can work together to bring about positive change locally.

No matter where you are in your journey, if you’re a digital business in Sussex or have a tech team, we encourage you to sign up as a Diverse Sussex signatory. Doing so solidifies your business’s desire to create a diverse and inclusive workplace and feeds into our shared understanding and commitment to progress.

You will be joining businesses such as: Make Real, Tillo, Afrori Books, Blast Theory, Psydro, Codebar Brighton, OneFamily, The Mindlab, Green Lemon Company, Healys LLP, INSHUR, Datacove, Alison Jones Coaching, 15below, Buff Motion, Azura Earth, Ideal, Watch This Sp_ce, Isla Collective, BrightLocal, Storganise, Plus X, and more.

By signing up, you will also contribute to annual reports helping us pinpoint where challenges and imbalances lie, gain access to our exclusive library of resources packed with advice and guidance, and be invited to regular events designed to inform your DEI knowledge and practices. Our first event is coming up on Friday 4th February; a workshop on psychological safety in the workplace, what it is and why it’s needed to guarantee an inclusive and high-performing team.

More information can be found at www.diversesussex.com. To register for our workshop on Friday 4th February, head to bit.ly/DiverseSussexWorkshop.