Technology shapes almost every facet of our lives from how we work, to how we communicate but this dynamic industry doesn’t represent all of us.
Only 4% of the workforce is Māori and less than 3% Pasifika, leading to concern that the solutions of the future are not being solved with everyone in mind.
Brittany Teei runs 3bagsfull, a software development company that also offers online courses so people can study from the comfort of their own home. Her company then places its graduates into their first, entry-level tech jobs.
But starting her own tech company was, for the former tennis pro with no formal qualifications in the industry, a bit of a leap.
“I had this image in my head of like a geeky white dude being a techie,” she said. “And I was like, that obviously isn’t me if I’m female and I’m Cook Island and I’m Māori, so I had to get over that hurdle first.”
She thinks it’s imperative that with the rise of AI in particular there’s diversity at the table and in the labs.
“A lot of the technologies out there have such a massive influence on our lives, if we're not at the table designing these solutions then they're not going to be designed with us in mind.”
Success is part of the problem
Graeme Muller, CEO of industry body Tech NZ, agrees and points to the sector’s success as being part of the issue.
“The biggest issue is access to skills. Digital technology is growing at a faster pace than people are being produced who know how to create the digital technology.”
This shortfall of people able to fill the roles is not unique to New Zealand but in the scramble to fill all the vacancies he says there is almost inevitably going to be an imbalance.
“If you look at it one way it’s very diverse. We’ve got people from all over the world because we’ve run a very strong import campaign for a number of years. But from a New Zealand diversity perspective, it’s pretty poor.”
It’s also a heavily dominated male workforce with only 27% female.
“So what does it mean from an equity and bias perspective as you bring in more machinery and algorithms that are making the decisions.”
Muller says big tech companies are increasingly thinking of alternative ways of recruiting; taking on interns rather than expecting someone to have come through a traditional tertiary qualification pathway.
That’s the gap Teei is trying to fill too, recognising that her own career path was unconventional and that for many Māori and Pasifika, their family circumstances may take priority over university life and its accompanying student loan debt.
“The stats all show that we don't make it to the end of that pathway. Māori and Pacific are dropping off because they've got other life pressures they have to deal with so it becomes a choice of supporting my whānau or studying.”
In Rotorua, Potaua Biasiny-Tule at Native Tech has a similar approach.
The digital and creative hub targets rangatahi who’ve fallen through the gaps by offering an appealing and inspiring place to be themselves. It’s full of LED lights and Starwars and Pickachu characters.
“It is to take them from the sometimes harsh reality of their own home or school life and to bring them to a place where it is fun, where learning can be engaging,” Biasiny-Tule said.
Native Tech offers NCEA levels 1 and 2 and micro-credentials in animation, 3D-printing, coding and cyber security. It’s had 4000 young people through its doors and is expanding by opening three new hubs before the end of the year in Wairoa, Christchurch and New Plymouth.
“It’s a lot of fun, cause our kids have enthusiasm but they don’t have qualifications. So we can help them at a young age to get the skills that they need.”
For Teei, back in Auckland with her cohort of technology newbies, the industry presents an opportunity to level the playing field.
“The computer doesn't judge where you are or what your skin colour is, I think it's an equaliser in that way. It means someone who doesn't have the means to go to university can upskill themselves from the comfort of their own home.
“But once you have those things in place the world is your oyster .”
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