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Women in Tech: Los Angeles’ Strategy

CIO Ted Ross outlines the importance of a technology workforce that looks like the community it serves.

Los Angeles CIO Ted Ross
Los Angeles CIO Ted Ross
Information technology jobs with the city of Los Angeles are in high demand, and for good reason. According to CIO Ted Ross, 9 percent of city jobs are in IT, yet they account for 17 percent of wages. As far as the people who hold those jobs, however, they are four times more likely to be men than women. It's a stat likely repeated in many IT shops across the country. 

In Los Angeles, officials have taken a number of steps to encourage more diversity in tech. Internal development efforts include a training program centered around key leadership skills like communication and negotiation. We caught up with Ross at the Los Angeles Digital Government Summit, where he outlined some of the other elements of the city's strategy. 

 

 

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.