10/12/2011
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from the 18th district in Texas, will chair a panel discussion on Friday, which is aimed at boosting or beefing-up the number of African-Americans active in the technology industry. This panel discussion is going to be a part of the annual leadership conference of the Congressional Black Caucus.
In a statement released to the press, Rep. Jackson Lee, said, “Despite that fact, African-Americans are currently underrepresented within this space. I am excited to be joined by such a distinguished group of panelists committed to increasing African-American participation and opening up a whole new area of job growth and wealth creation for our communities.”
She also said in her statement, “Through the economic downturn, the technology sector has continued to attract investment capital and create jobs.”
At present, the rate of unemployment of African-Americans, which is estimated to be around at 16.7%, has significantly remained above the national average, with some observers voicing out their belief that it could be much higher in reality because of the huge number of black workers who have already given up on their efforts in trying to find a job.
Latinos and Blacks lag behind the Asian-Americans, as well as whites, in the technology sector.
Among those who are scheduled to be on the panel are Andreessen Horowitz general partner Ben Horowitz, Tristan Walker of Foursquare, Yahoo senior director Regina Wallace-Jones, AOL founder Scott Case and Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat from the state of Colorado.
