Leaders in education, government and business welcomed scores of students Wednesday to the second annual Diversity in Tech Summit at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

Sponsored by the Congressional Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus, the summit aims to cultivate students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

The event also showcases Howard University’s unique relationship to STEM interests as one of many historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) throughout the country.

“We know two things: first, tech jobs are the jobs of the future and two, HBCUs are key to diversifying the tech industry,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a press conference kicking off the summit. “We do want to establish and make a claim for our niche in tech, and we know that our niche in tech is supporting underrepresented communities.”

Middle school students had the opportunity to meet with representatives from tech firms such as Apple, Intel, Spotify and Bank of America, who introduced the schoolchildren to the latest technology and discussed the importance of diversity in tech industries.

“The goal is to bring HBCUs and the tech industry together so that we can be more aware of the pipeline from students to the industries and corporations,” said Howard University President Wayne Frederick. “The economy is changing, technology is going to form for a lot of what happens in the future and so our universities need to be at the fore front of that.”

Mr. Frederick said Howard University’s involvement is critical in developing and maintaining that pipeline so that students in STEM courses can find tech jobs after graduating.

Miss Bowser noted that HBCUs have produced 42% of the country’s black engineers and 47% of its black female engineers. Efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the workforce have succeeded throughout the District, the mayor added.

“D.C. is one of the top cities in the nation for people of color in tech, and this year D.C. was named the No. 1 city in the nation for women in tech,” Miss Bowser said. “The reason is because a diverse workforce means more diverse and equitable solutions.”

“When you are a mayor of a thriving city, we know that part of our struggle is to continue that progress and to ensure that we are not leaving people behind in attaining that progress,” she said. “A focus on making sure that our residents have good-paying jobs, while we attract companies that have those good-paying jobs to our towns is how we continue to equalize opportunity in cities like Washington, D.C.”

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