Social Impact | WillowTree

What is the Digital Divide?

In underserved populations, barriers to technology can hinder people from learning tech skills that are crucial for success in today’s economy and put them at a distinct disadvantage.

The highest-paying jobs for the coming generation will be in technology or will require the use of technology in a meaningful way. Within the tech industry, there is a significant lack of diversity in comparison to the population as a whole.

Of particular concern is that the percentage of women and minorities in tech (compared to the distribution in the overall population) has actually been declining since the mid-80s, per sources such as NPR, Wired, and U.S. News.

We aim to bridge the digital divide by provide access to technology, education, and mentorship to those facing barriers to the tech industry. These strategies serve our goal of increasing diversity in the technology industry as a whole.

Our approach.

Community Engagement

WillowTree’s Community Engagement program supports local organizations that work with youth from historically underrepresented groups with a focus on technology. The goal is to offer youth opportunities to engage with new technologies and the wide variety of tech careers that exist. WillowTree engages with the community through school visits, office tours, volunteering in the community, and facilitating curated activities with local organizations.

In order to have the greatest impact on our communities, each office focuses efforts toward an organization that aligns with this mission. The respective organizations that are partners for each office are:

Charlottesville, VA

C4K

C4K combines mentoring and technology to prepare youth for brighter futures. The organization provides mentoring in a creative, safe, and supportive out-of-school learning environment, access to professional-grade technology, project-based learning, and youth leadership opportunities.

Columbus, OH

TECH CORPS

TECH CORPS believes studying computer science, regardless of a student's ultimate occupation, provides the critical computational thinking, knowledge and practices necessary to be ready for college or career. They develop computer science and technology programs and deploy tech-savvy talent to educate, excite and empower K-12 students and teachers.

Durham, NC

East Durham Children’s Initiative

EDCI creates a pipeline of high-quality services from birth through high school graduation for children and families living in a 120-block area of East Durham, with a vision to create a future where every child in East Durham successfully graduates from high school, ready for college or a career.

New York, NY

Bridging Tech

Bridging Tech bridges the digital divide and empowers K-12 students affected by homelessness in the U.S. by providing educational opportunities and technology. Their mission is to give laptops for learning to students in need during times of physical and emotional displacement.

Work From Anywhere (WFA)

Mentoring Youth Through Technology

Mentoring Youth Through Technology (MYTT) is a nonprofit designed to inspire, educate and mentor youth through technology. Our organization provides STEM education, job readiness training, college pathways, entrepreneurship training and much more.

The Whitney French Digital Design Scholarship

Whitney French, who was a Senior Product Designer at WillowTree and an inspiration to everyone she touched, passed away suddenly in 2017. She was incredibly passionate about giving more women the opportunity to make an impact in digital design and supporting their education and development. In Whitney’s honor, WillowTree created an annual scholarship that supports women in the field of digital user experience and design.

Pledge 1%

In 2017, WillowTree joined the Pledge 1% network, a national coalition of companies dedicated to doing well by doing good. As part of our commitment, WillowTree will be working to provide our world class digital services to leading nonprofits at substantially reduced costs.

About the Pledge 1% network

Pledge 1% is a global movement to create a new normal where giving back is integrated into the DNA of companies of all sizes. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges founders and companies to pledge 1% of equity, profit, product, and/or time to causes of their choosing. Over 3,000 companies in 80 countries have joined the movement, including Twilio, Glassdoor, Box, Yelp, General Assembly, Docusign, Salesforce, Atlassian, Techstars, and now WillowTree.