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If Indiana is to reach its potential as one of the nation’s great tech hubs, we must inclusively attract, retain and develop talent to meet growing demand. The 2023 TechPoint Tech Workforce Report makes this imperative clear, and TechPoint’s Mission41K initiative sets a goal to inclusively grow the state’s tech workforce by 41,000 people by 2023.
If we are to succeed in that mission, we must draw talent from the fullness of the available talent pool, which includes women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.
In theory, I’m the type of talent that Indiana wants to attract: a diverse (female) technology leader, a small business owner and supporter and a coastal transplant who is actively investing in my community and is actively engaged in growing and retaining talent in the state.
But the unfortunate reality is this: Recent legislative activity is making Indiana an increasingly unfriendly environment for women, for people of color and for the LGBTQ+ community. I am now among the many Indiana residents evaluating whether my family can remain here in light of an anti-diverse legislation, including the abortion ban and bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
The human implications of said legislation are well-known, so let’s address the economic impacts. Tech and tech-enabled companies contribute $51 billion in Indiana gross domestic product. For every 10,000 tech-related jobs added in Indiana, the state gains an average of $698 million in wages and $103 million in state and local taxes.
According to the 2023 TechPoint Tech Workforce Report, “talent shortages present a broad-based threat to Indiana’s economic growth and the productivity improvement and resulting financial well-being of Hoosiers.” This is especially true in the tech sector, where “difficulty in accessing tech talent is the greatest barrier to greater digitalization across all sectors,” the report says.
The talent migration presented by the new remote work economy should present a huge opportunity for Indiana. But rather than capitalizing on that, we are pushing people away.
Indiana is home to some of the best universities in the world, but we frequently fail to retain graduating talent due to a number of factors, including lack of social progress and a non-diversity-friendly Legislature. Millennials and Gen Zs now constitute 46% of the total American workforce, and their ranks continue to grow as Baby Boomers retire.
According to Forbes, “44% percent of millennials and 49% of Gen Zs surveyed said that over the past two years, they have made choices about the types of work they would do—and the organizations they’d be willing to work for—based on their personal values. As consumers, they often stop or initiate relationships based on how companies treat the environment, protect personal data and position themselves on social and political issues.”
Indiana won’t meet its Mission41K talent goals without drawing from the full talent pool, including women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. And to be successful in our goals, we need to create an inclusive and welcoming environment in Indiana where all people from all backgrounds can bring their authentic selves and diverse perspectives to work.
The business community stood up against anti-diverse legislation in 2015 when leaders rejected then-Gov. Mike Pence’s enactment of the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. And it’s time for businesses to speak up again. We failed to collectively raise our voices in the most recent legislative session. We can no longer afford to be silent; our action is overdue.
I invite you to join me in telling legislators that you and your business are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Tell them their actions stand in the way of business success, your ability to attract and retain talent, and the health and well-being of your employees.
We must wield our business and economic influence to effect change.•
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Maxwell, a TechPoint board member, is chief technology officer for worldwide defense and intelligence at Microsoft.
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