CONTACT:

Office of Communications & Legislative Affairs

131 M Street, NE
Washington DC 20507
(202) 663-4191

Phone

KIMBERLY SMITH-BROWN
CHRISTINE NAZER
(202) 663-4191
newsroom@eeoc.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

ADVANCING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL IN THE TECH INDUSTRY

Exploring New Ways to Achieve Inclusive Workplaces and Tackle the Significant Challenges
that Remain In Promoting Diversity in Tech
WASHINGTONThe high tech sector has become a major source of economic growth fueling
the U.S. economy. Yet, diversity and inclusion in the tech industry has in many ways gotten worse, a
number of witnesses told the members of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
at a public meeting held today at agency headquarters in Washington.
EEOC organized the meeting Innovation Opportunity: Examining Strategies to Promote
Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces in the Tech Industry to highlight the significant challenges that
remain in advancing opportunity for women, workers over 40, and other groups in the tech industry. In
addition to the testimony, EEOC released a report on employment patterns in the high tech industry,
which analyzes data both nationally and in Silicon Valley from the Employer Information EEO-1 Report
(EEO-1) collected in 2014. The Diversity in High Tech report is available on the Commissions website.
The high tech sector has been an innovation leader, transforming how we live our lives today
and driving solutions to some of our greatest societal challenges. Lets harness that creative thinking and
entrepreneurship to ensure that the talents of all Americans are fully utilized in this vital industry, said
EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. Standing still is not an option. Making progress in expanding opportunity
in the high tech industry is critical to strengthening our economy and reducing inequality in our
communities. Expanding diversity and inclusion is critical to unlocking the full potential of tomorrows
economy.
Dr. Ronald Edwards, Director of EEOCs Program Research and Surveys Division in the Office
of Research, Information & Planning (ORIP), provided an overview of the report, Diversity in the Tech
Industry, based on research EEOC conducted on firms in the tech sector, in Silicon Valley, and
nationwide. The results were starkin most job categories, the representation of women, African
Americans and Hispanics were significantly less than their representation in the overall workforce. For
-more-

EEOC HEARS ABOUT DIVERSITY

IN THE TECH INDUSTRY

-3-

women, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos, their representation diminished markedly at
higher levels in the organization, such as Executives and Managers as compared to Professionals and
Technicians.
We will not harness the power of technology to tackle a broader set of societal challenges unless
the technology workforce better reflects society, said Kweilin Ellingrud, a partner at the consulting firm
McKinsey & Company. There is a critical shortage of Americans in computer science, and we will not
fill the talent shortages that we face unless we include women and minorities more actively, she said.
This includes identifying and eliminating both unconscious and conscious bias in the workplace, said
Ms. Ellingrud.
To achieve a more diverse technology workplace and help close the talent gap, it will be critical
to get more women and minorities in the technology pipeline. As Ms. Ellingrud noted, We will need
more women and minorities to be aware of computer science and related topics, be willing to try it, have
access to it (either in school or in an after-school program), consider majoring in it in college, pursuing
the degree, and ultimately entering a career in technology.
Education alone, however, is insufficient to promote diversity--venture capital firms play a role
in addressing or exacerbating disparities in entrepreneurship, according to Ben Jealous of Kapor Capital.
Too often, the firms create a cycle of high-paying employment opportunities in tech entrepreneurship
excluding women and people of color. Jealous, the former President and CEO of the NAACP, is now an
advisor to tech start-ups and working to close gaps in financial inclusion.
One way to overcome bias is to use technology itself, Jealous told the Commission. There is an
entire field of startups creating innovative solutions to workplace diversity and inclusion. Its called
People Ops Tech, and there are dozens of companies working to eliminate bias in hiring, find diverse
talent pools, and create welcoming work environments for everyone.
Camilla Velasquez, another speaker, works as head of Product and Marketing for Justworks,
which provides human resource (HR) services to different companies, many of them in tech. For most
start-ups, she told the Commission, HR policies are the last thing they think of when starting and
growing their companies. But by adopting sound EEO practices from the start by outsourcing HR
functions to another company, entrepreneurs can focus on what they do best, while still maintaining a
professional HR presence.
Age discrimination is not measured by EEO-1 forms, so the data are less precise, but this form of
discrimination is the most widely articulated by companies, Laurie A. McCann of AARP Litigation
Foundation told the Commission. Older workers are often openly declared to be undesirable due to their
perceived lack of skills or new ideas. Her written statement quoted a venture capitalists ageist
comments, declaring himself an incredibly enthusiastic fan of very talented twentysomethings
because they have great passion and dont have distractions like . . . children.
Age discrimination in the technology sector is perhaps most evident in companies hiring policies
and practices, which are designed to attract and hire younger employees. Job postings declaring a
preference for new or recent graduates are common and some companies have actually specified which
graduating class they are seeking, McCann testified.

EEOC HEARS ABOUT DIVERSITY

IN THE TECH INDUSTRY

-3-

Major tech firms are addressing this problem with a series of programs designed to improve the
skills and motivation of women and minorities to pursue STEM studies, testified Erin Connell, a
partner in the San Francisco office of the law firm Orrick. Some of the most innovative and promising
diversity initiatives coming out of the technology sector focus on education.
The Commission will hold open the May 18 Commission meeting record for 15 days, and invites
audience members, as well as other members of the public, to submit written comments on any issues or
matters discussed at the meeting. Public comments may be mailed to Commission Meeting, EEOC
Executive Officer, 131 M Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20507, or emailed to:
Commissionmeetingcomments@eeoc.gov.
The comments you provide will be made available to members of the Commission and to
Commission staff working on the matters discussed at the meeting. In addition, your comments may be
published on EEOC's public website, or disclosed in response to Freedom of Information Act requests
and in the Commission's library. By providing comments in response to this solicitation you are
consenting to their use and consideration by the Commission and to their public
availability. Accordingly, do not include any information in submitted comments that you would not
want made public, like home address, telephone number, etc. Also note that when comments are
submitted by e-mail, the sender's e-mail address automatically appears on the message.
EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about
EEOC generally and this meeting in particular is available at www.eeoc.gov
###