Letter from our CEO
When the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition launched in 2018, the share of Black, Latina, and Native American (BLNA) women receiving computing degrees was declining, and corporate philanthropic investments to support these technologists were negligible. That’s why we set out to double the number of BLNA women graduating with computing degrees by 2025.
In our second Annual Impact Report, we have exciting news. In late 2024, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released its 2023 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) completion survey results.
From 2017 to 2023—two years ahead of our 2025 goal—the number of BLNA women graduating with computing degrees more than doubled.
This work didn’t happen overnight, and we didn’t do it on our own. Since 2018, coalition members have contributed more than $27 million to creating a more inclusive tech industry. 37 grantee programs and more than 1,000 Reboot Scholars have benefited from this generosity. We are endlessly grateful for the collective effort of advocacy organizations, grantee partners, educators, coalition members, and BLNA women and girls themselves. But we’re far from done.
First, the number of BLNA women computing graduates has grown from 2,533 in 2017 to 5,553 in 2023. This progress is worth celebrating, but 5,553 graduates is still a miniscule number for a national total. And, even as this number has crept up, BLNA women computing graduates’ share of total computing degrees hovers around just 5%.
Second, while the total number of BLNA women receiving computing degrees has doubled, the number of Native American women hasn’t doubled—yet. When we disaggregate our data, we can better see where more work is needed. We are already intensifying our focus on Native American women and girls in computing.
Lastly, we’re still feeling the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning and educational attainment, and we’re monitoring for a potential dip in computing degree completions for BLNA women.
Building an Inclusive Future Together
We know it takes sustained commitment, creativity, and collaboration to stay the course. The longer term impact of our work at the post-secondary level relies on a workforce that is ready to receive and support new talent. We made big strides this year with the launch of the Cornerstone Pilot Program—a corporate policy initiative to help companies work smarter, not harder, to keep their talent. We will be sharing resources and research to further this work in 2025 via our Culture Unlocked Library.
In 2024, we achieved our doubling goal and registered our 1,000th Reboot Scholar. In 2025, we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and support the next thousand scholars in 2025 and beyond. We will have more to share about the new path we’re charting to make computing fields more inclusive in the months to come. Until then, thank you for following our journey—we can’t do this work without you.
Onward,
Dwana Franklin-Davis
CEO, Reboot Representation