“Despite many employers pledging to redesign their talent strategy to improve  racial equity, the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the opportunity gap for low-income and Black or Latinx students,” said Kristen Titus, executive director of the Cognizant U.S. Foundation. “CodePath’s model successfully addresses systemic barriers to employment, such as lack of access to social capital or internship experiences, putting students on a clear pathway to success in the tech industry.” 

CodePath has a proven track record of increasing diversity in the tech industry with its transformative approach to computer science education—of the 3,300 students served last year, 69% identified themselves as underrepresented minorities or came from low-income backgrounds. 

After completing CodePath’s free programming, Latinx alumni are 11 times more likely to land technology jobs than their peers, while female alumnae are three times more likely and Black alumni four times more likely. And, one year after graduating from CodePath’s program, 85% of Black and Latinx alumni are still working in the technology industry as software engineers.

“CodePath is uniquely well-positioned to facilitate an inclusive recovery by helping both colleges and employers adopt programs that are intentionally designed to place underrepresented minorities into in-demand jobs,” said Michael Ellison, CEO and co-founder of CodePath. “As one of our first funders, we are thrilled to receive this new grant from Cognizant U.S. Foundation to scale our mission, shape a more equitable talent pipeline in big tech and provide our students more pathways to power.”

For more information, please visit: codepath.org and www.cognizantusfoundation.org.