Back in 2013 Portland tech companies pooled their resources and made a glossy video touting the city as an up-and-coming destination for ambitious tech firms tired of the Bay Area’s crowds and prices.
Seven years later they’re taking a very different approach.
The Silicon Forest has cemented its status as one of Silicon Valley’s favorite tech outposts – so much so that some economists wonder if the absence of locally grown companies presents an economic risk to Oregon.
So the latest TechTown video, out Thursday night, features companies’ efforts to diversify their workforces. Portland, like nearly every domestic tech community, has struggled to make one of the region’s most lucrative industries accessible to a broader set of people.
Women make up less than a third of Oregon tech workers, according to recent Census data, African Americans are only 2% of the tech workforce and Hispanics constitute just 6%.
The newest video kicks off at last fall’s annual 4K4Charity fun run, the brainchild of late Elemental Technologies CEO Sam Blackman. The video series was also launched by Blackman, who died suddenly in 2017.
Funds raised by the run help support Rosemary Anderson High School, a private school for students who have struggled to find their footing at conventional schools. Its focus includes students from diverse backgrounds.
Other companies’ efforts featured in the video include New Relic, Vacasa, Thesis and Zapproved.
Ten companies spent $45,000 altogether on the video, augmented by $10,000 from Portland’s economic development agency and another $5,000 in state money.
“Our opportunity and obligation is to come together and make the needed investments to move the needle on inclusion and diversity in tech," said Yvonne Wassenaar, CEO of Portland-based software company Puppet, in a written statement accompanying the video’s release.
-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699
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