MIT Solve

Step 2

Our Solution

TechSpark Connect

Our solution's stage of development:

Pre-Seed

Our solution:

Our solution is a diversity recruitment database for technical positions that allows job/internship seekers to apply and be considered for these positions without gender or racial biases by anonymizing their information. Our solution once scaled will be able to serve job/internship seekers worldwide who register on our platform.

Our pitch:

TechSpark Connect is a diversity recruitment database specifically geared towards marginalized individuals in the tech sector which includes females. Job and internship seekers in our target market will be able to view job postings and forward their interest to us. We then collate the top 5 candidates who have expressed interest, anonymize their information which will include their resumes, Github and Twitter activities, and snippets of previously written code and send this data to the companies who posted these jobs, and if there is mutual interest, we initiate a connection in the form of an interview and allow both parties to continue from there.

Our solution addresses the challenge question by ensuring that females along with other marginalized minorities in the tech sector can be considered on equal terms as their counterparts. It ensures that they are not discriminated against for opportunities because of things out of their control like skin color, nationality, and/or gender. It gives them the power to be considered on equal terms for positions that they are qualified and interested in which in turn leads to greater financial empowerment.

TechSpark Connect has the power to be impactful on a global front if scaled because people from all nooks and crannies of the world will be able to be considered for job openings without things like how their name sounds, what accent they have, or being unable to fit into the 'bro culture' being hindrances to their successes.

The problem:

The problem our solution solves is the unconscious bias that is apparent in hiring processes for technical positions. While there is a diversity wave crashing on the tech industry, making recruiters more watchful of these biases, there are still some less noticeable ones such as hiring a black male over a black female for example that are harder to notice and control as a result. This is where TechSpark Connect comes in. By removing the possibility of hirers and recruiters being biased, it leads to more diversity in the work place, leading to more females, and hence greater female empowerment.

Why our solution will solve the problem:

The Orchestra community had a problem with gender biases, and a study done by the NBER in 1997 showed that blind auditioning increased the number of female musicians in orchestras around the U.S.

Also, in a review of empirical studies on the effect of anonymous hiring processes in some European countries in 2010, Ulf Rinne of IZA World of Labor found that “discrimination appears to be strongest when employers decide Interviewees.” He found that anonymous applications were effective at encouraging a more diverse set of applicants, and anonymous hiring led to more minorities and women getting offered interviews.

Who recommended you to Solve - or - how did you find Solve?

Saw my friend liked one of your events on fb

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6