How to Hire Technology Talent More Inclusively E25
Arizona’s technology ecosystem can only become more vibrant by attracting and retaining diverse technology talent. In fact, by emphasizing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) throughout their hiring process, Arizona businesses can solidify Arizona’s role as a more innovative and vibrant economic powerhouse that sets a precedent regionally, nationally and globally.
The April 2022 episode of the Arizona Technology Council’s AZTechCast podcast featured e-commerce experts including Angela Hughey, president, ONE Community; Biju Menon, CEO, FairHire; Steve Tepper, executive director, Arizona Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired (ACBVI) and Erica Young, enterprise solutions architect, SHRM. These leaders joined Karen Nowicki, president and owner of Phoenix Business RadioX, and Bianca Buliga, director of marketing + communications at the Council, in exploring technology’s role in discussing how to hire technology talent more intentionally and inclusively to further propel Arizona’s technology revolution.
Throughout this hour-long episode, this panel of experts defined what inclusive hiring means to them and to the organizations they represent. The conversation began with the suggestion that hiring needs to be re-evaluated from the HR perspective. Rather than creating job applications that are meant to weed out applicants based on their education level or years of experience, it was suggested that HR departments should intentionally design applicants that “weave in” applicants that may traditionally be overlooked. Many organizations may be immediately disqualifying applicants that could provide immense value just because their applications may seem lacking on paper.
In February 2013, ONE Community launched the UNITY Pledge, a concerted effort by Arizona businesses, organizations, faith leaders and individuals to advance workplace equality and equal treatment in housing and public accommodations for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ) individuals and their allies.
In February 2014, SB1062 began making headlines. ONE Community was in a unique position to reach out to their UNITY Pledge signers and encouraged them to share what they know – that discrimination is bad for business and bad for the State of Arizona.
They partnered with ONE Community business member, FASTSIGNS on Central to create the OPEN for Business to Everyone signs. During the peak of SB 1062, they distributed more than 3500 signs in less than 72 hours and the sign was shared more than 100,000 times on the internet, garnering national attention. This campaign along with the efforts of their partners was integral in encouraging Arizona’s governor to veto the bill, and a movement was born.
Since that time the UNITY Pledge has become the largest equality pledge in the nation.
ONE Community’s innovative educational and advocacy programs have built the foundation for our actionable work. Each year brings new victories and new challenges on the path to true equality for all Arizonans. They continue to build the bridges and the partnerships that will get the state there and they promise that they will not rest until we all reach the goal of creating an Arizona that truly celebrates, respects and protects us all.
Angela Hughey is the co-founder & President of ONE Community and ONE Community Foundation. Founded in 2008, ONE Community is the coalition of socially responsible businesses and organizations moving diversity, inclusion and equality for all Arizonans forward. ONE Community Foundation provides educational opportunities to ensure better understanding of nondiscrimination and the importance of being LGBTQ inclusive.
In 2013 Angela and the ONE Community team launched the UNITY Pledge a concerted effort by Arizona businesses and individuals to advance workplace equality and equal treatment in housing and public accommodations for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) individuals and their allies. Over 3,300 businesses and organizations and more than 20,000 Arizonans have taken the UNITY Pledge; the largest equality pledge in the nation.
Ms. Hughey is a 2012 graduate of Valley Leadership Institute. She has won awards for her work as an independent filmmaker and was honored with the YWCA 2013 Tribute to Leadership Award for Public Service. Ms. Hughey has received the HRC Individual Equality Award and was inducted into Echo Magazine’s Hall of Fame.
Ms. Hughey is a 2013 inductee into the Phoenix College Alumni Hall of Fame. Angela and ONE Community led the open for business to everyone coalition in the first quarter of 2014 in response to SB1062, which led to an educational campaign of the same name, which focuses on diversity, inclusion and equality for all Arizonans to ensure the economic sustainability of the state.
Echo Magazine named Angela their 2014 Woman of the Year. In 2015, Angela became the founding Chair of Valley Leadership’s Leadership Advance Program for high potential leaders, overseeing the program for two years. Angela was the 2016 recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s Al Brook’s Community Leadership Award. Angela was a member of the Arizona Community Foundation’s LGBTQ Philanthropy committee from 2016 through 2018.
Ms. Hughey is the recipient of the 2018 Positively Powerful Woman of Equality Leadership Award and is a 2018 Diversity Leadership Alliance Diversity Leader honoree. Ms. Hughey was a member of the City of Phoenix and State of Arizona 2020 Complete Count Census Committees. Angela currently serves on the boards of the Phoenix Community Alliance and Visit Mesa. Angela is a 2020 Phoenix Mercury Believe in Women and In Business Magazine Women of Achievement honoree, and one of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Most Admired Leaders for 2021.
Follow ONE Community on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
With the vision of creating a level playing field in the recruitment process FairHire is committed to improving diversity in workplaces. Our Blind Hiring platform helps employers to remove bias (using anonymised CVs) and ensure hiring is done on merits without bias. 
Biju Menon is a strong proponent of equality in diversity and is the founder and CEO of FairHire.
Prior to FairHire, he has worked in management and operational roles in diverse sectors (publishing, technology, manufacturing) across China, Spain, Netherlands, India and the United Kingdom.
Biju is a Double degree MBA graduate from Cranfield University specialising in International Business Strategy. He guest lectures on the managerial decision making in the University of Bocconi (Milan) to their Masters cohort.
Outside of work, Biju is an avid cricket player and was once a semi-professional player in the UK for around four years.
Connect with Biju on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired has been empowering people with vision loss since 1947. Our highly skilled and experienced multi-disciplinary team of professionals offers individualized training utilizing state of the art technologies and proven rehabilitation practices.
ACBVI assists clients in coping with vision loss – with courage and dignity and a “Can Do” attitude. We are proud to provide the resources our clients need to achieve independence and a full participation in the spheres of life they choose. We celebrate each and every blind and visually impaired person who develops the skills and a tenacity to go to work, go to school, and actively participate in society.
Steve Tepper has been serving non-profits for over 25 years, providing a voice for those who often times don’t have one.
Steve has been with the Arizona Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired for almost 2 years and is awed by what he sees their clients achieve on a daily basis.
Steve and his wife Karen have two girls with one at ASU and the other in Horizon Honors High School.
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn and Facebook.
SHRM is a professional association for HR professionals, dedicated to supporting all things work, workers, and workplaces.
Erica Young serves as SHRM’s Enterprise Solutions Architect, where she connects Fortune 500 organizations with solutions that positively impact people and business. She is passionate about meeting people where they are with their development needs. Which is evidenced by her 10+ career in learning and development, organizational psychology and HR.
Since joining SHRM, Erica has held three roles. She started off building research-based products on SHRM’s research team, then moved onto the founding SHRMLabs team. SHRMLabs explores the intersection of work and technology. Because of her work on SHRMLabs, she came across hundreds of budding workplace technology solutions and speaks to the HR and talent community about talent tech trends. And most recently joined the SHRM Enterprise Solutions team.
Erica has a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, with a focus in instructional systems design (ISD). She earned her SHRM-SCP, is a co-host on the podcast, Career Compass, and consistently speaks as an official SHRM Speaker’s Bureau speaker on workplace tech, the future of work, belonging, and upskilling.
Outside of work, you can find Erica DIYing her home, tending to her overgrown indoor jungle, and giving her cat, Suki, more attention than she wants.
Connect with Erica on LinkedIn.
About AZ TechCast
AZ TechCast is dedicated to covering innovation and technology in Arizona and beyond.
Through the art of connected conversation, AZ TechCast’s guests will share their expertise, success stories, news and analysis about the region’s leading startups, companies and emerging technologies, as well as the latest industry trends and critical issues propelling the state’s growing technology ecosystem.
About Your Hosts
Steve Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona.
Zylstra serves on numerous councils, committees and boards, was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, and “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal. In addition, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of science in technology from the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Ariz.
Zylstra earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering technology from Western Michigan University.
Karen Nowicki is a successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. Karen was crowned the first-ever “Mompreneur of the Year” Award in 2010 for the southwestern states. She was recognized for her leadership, business acumen, and work-life balance.
Karen has been an expert guest on regional TV and radio shows, including Fox Phoenix Morning Show, Sonoran Living, Good Morning Arizona, The Chat Room, and Mid-Day Arizona. She has been a regular contributor to many print and online magazines – publishing articles and blogs for business and education.
In addition to working with private coaching clients, Karen is also the Owner & President of Phoenix Business RadioX. The Business RadioX Network amplifies the voice of business – serving the Fortune 500,000, not just the Fortune 500. Phoenix Business RadioX helps local businesses and professional associations get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, profession, and community.
Of all the experiences Karen has had the privilege of participating in over her vast career, she shares that Phoenix Business RadioX is a pinnacle adventure!
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn and follow Phoenix Business RadioX on Facebook and Instagram.
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bianca Buliga is a trilingual first-generation American of Romanian ethnicity. A marketing professional with experience in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, Bianca currently works as Director, Marketing & Communications for the Arizona Technology Council.
Previously, Bianca worked as Marketing Communications Lead at Proctorio, a learning integrity platform that offers remote proctoring software ensuring exam integrity for learners around the world.
Bianca also worked as Senior Marketing Manager at SEED SPOT, a social impact incubator that educates, accelerates, and invests in impact-driven entrepreneurs creating market-based solutions to social problems. In January of 2020, Bianca was selected as an awardee of the Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange Program and traveled to the African island of Mauritius to run entrepreneurship programming for 15 impact-driven ecopreneurs on behalf of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Bianca has also completed comprehensive consulting projects for IBM, ESAN Business School, and the Peruvian government, and interned at the Arizona House of Representatives and U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania.
Bianca earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Northern Arizona University in 2014 and her Master’s degree in Global Affairs and Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2017. She is an avid reader, yogi, and world traveler always planning her next trip.
Connect with Bianca on LinkedIn.
About Our Sponsor
The Arizona Technology Council, Arizona’s only statewide organization serving the technology sector, fosters a climate of innovation to enhance technology in Arizona.
A trusted resource in strengthening Arizona’s technology industry, the Council proactively eliminates impediments that companies face, accelerates the entrepreneurial mindset in the state’s expanding innovation ecosystem, and works to create a destination for companies to be, thrive and stay.
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