Harnessing CUNY as a Launchpad into Tech Careers

New York City's fast-growing tech sector has become the city's most consistent source of new middle- and high-wage jobs. But even as demand for tech talent surges, New Yorkers of color remain strikingly underrepresented among the city's tech workforce. As city leaders consider options for expanding access to the well-paying jobs powering the city's economic future, there is no institution better positioned to accelerate these efforts than the City University of New York (CUNY). CUNY graduates more than 9,000 students annually with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees, including nearly 4,000 students with technology degrees. Among all CUNY students enrolled in STEM programs, approximately half are Black and/or Hispanic, and roughly 71 percent of all CUNY students come from households earning less than $40,000 per year, however most tech companies in the city employ few if any CUNY grads. This new report details the barriers that prevent larger numbers of CUNY graduates from breaking into the technology sector, showcases programs at CUNY and elsewhere that are working, and advances more than a dozen achievable policy recommendations to ensure that far more CUNY graduates are able to access well-paying tech careers. The study was informed by extensive data analysis and draws on more than 75 interviews with CUNY officials--including college presidents, administrators, faculty, and career advisors--as well as decisionmakers from technology companies, including HR officials and company executives; leaders of nonprofits focused on expanding pathways into the tech sector; and more than 20 current and former CUNY students pursuing technology careers. [This report was written with Eli Dvorkin.]