TGIF! This week is all about diversity (and inclusion). Whether it's wins on the policy or hiring front, or reasons why some are finding obstacles and barriers, these articles share a variety of opinions and insights to this ongoing conversation.

Check back at the end of each week for our Friday finds.

Here's what we're reading – May 4

• Read: Meet Three Latina Tech Founders Challenging Diversity Statistics by Mary Ann Azevedo for Crunchbase. In 2017, only 16 percent of startups had a female co-founder or founder. The number of LatinX founders is even smaller. This article profiles three female founders who are also Latina, building awareness for this growing group of powerhouse women.
• Read: How Slack Got Ahead in Diversity by Jessica Nordell for The Atlantic. Last week, Slack released its 2017 Diversity Report. Based on the findings, they're ahead of the game for diversity practices in comparison with other Silicon Valley counterparts. Learn what initiatives they've taken (spoiler: one of their key practices is to hire from non-traditional sources, including Hackbright!).
• Read: 6 Things Successful Women in STEM Have in Common by Laura Sherbin for the Harvard Business Review. STEM has historically been a challenging field for women – not because it's too hard, but because of institutional biases and practices that discourage women from thriving. However, for the women who do succeed in STEM, there are a few outstanding characteristics and practices that help them forge their path.
• Read: The 2017 TechCrunch Include Progress Report by Matthew Panzarino and Henry Pickavet for TechCrunch. As the title suggests, this blog takes a look at the progress and efforts the TechCrunch team has made to improve their diversity and inclusion practices. It goes in-depth into their different events and metrics around their numbers. As with many D&I initiatives, there's room for improvement, but starting with transparency and accountability is a strong start.
• Read: 12 Ways Your Company Can Prioritize Diversity by the Forbes Technology Council for Forbes. The Forbes Technology Council is a group of elite CIOs, CTOs, and executives who offer firsthand insights on tech and business. In this piece, they share their actionable advice for improving and prioritizing diversity at your company.
• Read: Giving up on ‘diversity and inclusion’ by Jon Evans for TechCrunch. Arlan Hamilton is a leading VC founder who has historically championed diversity and inclusion. However, in a recent talk, she shared that she would no longer be giving talks on the topic. Has talking about diversity and inclusion replaced doing anything about it?
• Read: Continuing Our Commitment to Diversity in Engineering by Upeka Bee for the Gusto Engineering blog. This inspiring personal post shares one engineer's strategy, approach, and actions that helped her company increase its ratio of women on their technical team.

What are you reading, watching, and listening to? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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