AUSTIN, Texas – The AfroTech conference has released its numbers on Austin’s economic impact.
In November 2022, the first AfroTech conference in Austin brought together black tech recruiters from big companies like Meta and tens of thousands of black professionals from across the country.
“Maybe six, seven years ago, there was a big discussion about there not being enough black people in tech,” said Simone White, senior vice president of AfroTech.
White said they would help fill that gap.
She said AfroTech had 25,000 attendees during the six-day conference and contributed $18.2 million to the local economy, generated over $216,000 in local property taxes and supported 148 jobs in Austin.
“It’s important to us that when we come here, we make sure we’re actually supporting the city,” White said.
This year, organizers aim to be more involved in the community by offering accessible educational events across the city, not just in the convention center.
“We love to educate them and give them a gateway into the technology ecosystem,” said White.
The tech ecosystem is currently readjusting after many companies overhired during the pandemic, resulting in a high rate of tech layoffs that we’ve experienced has impacted Austin.
White said unfortunately, in many cases, those responsible for hiring diverse talent in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion departments were the first to be fired, at a time when the Texas Legislature was taking action to abolish DEI Programs approved at universities.
“We have to be very vocal about making sure that the work we’ve done over the last five to 10 years doesn’t go in vain,” White said. “We want to make sure that if you’re laying off or hiring, you’re rehiring for those positions, too.”
Although tech companies are cutting jobs, many of them are determined to attend the conference, White said. So by the time they are ready to hire, the participants are already on the list.
The conference takes place from November 1st to 5th and tickets are available now.
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