In today’s tight job market, filling open technology positions can be an enormous challenge. This is especially true for state and local governments, which compete with the private sector to hire the best and brightest minds. Meanwhile, government tech teams are stretched thin as they support operational needs and take on increasing numbers of new project requests.

The IT workforce at higher education institutions decreased in size during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from Educause, a nonprofit aimed at improving higher education through IT.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) is recommending several key steps that state technology organizations can take to boost workforce diversity and inclusion (D&I), including formalizing programs to measure progress and putting senior state tech leaders in charge of making those programs work.