No blacks or women allowed? Google Workforce Breakdown Shows White Males Dominate At Tech Giant

[951-Riverside]

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MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) — Google released a breakdown of the demographics of its workforce for the first time Wednesday.

Google has struggled to diversity its workforce in a sector dominated by white males, which was evident in the breakdown, showing that 70-percent of their total workers are male, and 61-percent are white.

Male workers described as working within Google’s ‘tech’ sector dominated even further, representing 83-percent of those employees.

The Mountain View-based company is a dominating force in the tech industry, attracting the best and brightest, and the breakdown sheds light on the issue of creating a diverse workforce.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/05/28/white-men-technology-workers-bay-area-silicon-valley-google-workforce-breakdown-shows-white-males-dominate-in-tech/

[NobodyHere]

1. This looks roughly the same as the demographics in my college classes

I'm in a computer science program.

Gotta get the degree first.

[JJChambers]

2. Uhhhhh, isn't the US 63% non-Hispanic white?

Why would we be concerned that google employes 61% white?

It seems like whites are represented appropriately, while males are represented somewhat disproportionately and Asians are represented extremely disproportionately, compared to national demographics.

[YoungDemCA]

3. From the article:

The numbers included Google’s global workforce, and didn’t include a breakdown of the U.S. demographics.

[JJChambers]

16. I thought it was GLOBAL for gender, US for ethnicity demographic

Also, for LeftMom, Google is based in CA but has countless offices all over the USA.

http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/locations/

And 50% of tech jobs in Silicone Valley are held by Asians according to statistics I have read.

[LeftyMom]

8. Google is in California. Californa is 39% white, 38% latino, 13% asian and 6% black.

And of course everywhere is roughly 51% female, and Google's workforce is 70% male.

[JJChambers]

17. FYI

Google is based in CA but has countless offices all over the USA.

http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/locations/

[LeftyMom]

18. Thank you for stating the obvious. Their main campus is still in California.

[JJChambers]

24. Ok, and their demographics are compiled from the entire country...

If their demographics were compiled from California, you would have a point: as it is you're trying to stir the pot by being shady about your data.

Conservative tactics.

[LeftyMom]

25. If a significant chunk of their workforce is in California, their workforce should look like CA.

Instead their workforce looks less diverse than the country as a whole.

And you're skipping the gender demographic entirely, to nobody's surprise. A 70% male workforce is a sign of a problem unless you're hiring in Vatican City.

[JJChambers]

27. No I'm not

I said that men were over represented, just not whites, based on the national demographics.

Silicone valley tech jobs are held by 50% Asians. Is that a sign of the demographics of people who choose the tech industry, racism, or other factors?

[LeftyMom]

32. It's partly Bay Area demographics and part the H1B program being abused to keep wages down.

Whites are enormously overrepresented. Google has 20,000 employees in Mountain View alone, and their next biggest facility is in NYC. So their population is much, much, much whiter than their environment.

[Nye Bevan]

33. But Google is in Mountain View, California, which is 56% white.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View,_California#Demographics

Pretty close to their actual percentage of white employees. The difference would be accounted for by offices elsewhere.

[LeftyMom]

35. Mountain View wasn't 56% white until Google took it over. The South Bay used to be largely latino/a.

Tech companies set up shop there because it was cheap. Then they priced the people who lived there out.

[Nye Bevan]

36. LOL. In 2000 it was 64% white. And in 1990 it was 73% white.

And 1980? 80% white. So it seems that, if anything, Google has made the city more diverse.

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 70,708 people, 31,242 households, and 15,902 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,263.7/km² (5,861.4/mi²). There were 32,432 housing units at an average density of 1,038.3/km² (2,688.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.77% White, 20.67% Asian, 18.26% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 2.53% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 8.32% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View,_California#2000

http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/MountainView70.htm

Always dangerous to make up facts in the internet era.

[LeftyMom]

37. The whole south bay has been getting whiter. There's not one labor pool in one San Jose suburb.

You're not familiar with the area, are you?

[Nye Bevan]

38. http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/MountainView70.htm

[bettyellen]

19. But is it 17% women? Next we will hear that women don't want the jobs, LOL

bullshit

[JJChambers]

21. I already said the demographics were skewed for men vs women

My point was that whites aren't over represented. Men are, absolutely.

[KansDem]

4. Google begins...

I believe these folks were the first employees.

[devils chaplain]

5. 61% are white. This is less than the U.S. population as a whole. Why did you put that in bold? N/T

[LeftyMom]

6. California's population is 39% white. Google is based in California.

By comparison, California's population is 38% Latino/a. Needless to say, Google's workforce does not resemble the demographics of their home state.

And of course the population is roughly 51% female everywhere, but Google's workforce is 70% male.

[Ecumenist]

7. AMEN, LeftyMom.....Just wait, people who are closet racist & mysogynists will argue that you're

wrong and that is just the way things fall in the world. Such a shame... AND pathetic.

[LeftyMom]

9. The tech boom drove latino/a families out of the south bay.

It's fucked up.

[mwrguy]

42. It's ethnic cleansing

Using money instead of guns.

[devils chaplain]

11. I dislike Google, but in their defense...

I think underrepresentation of blacks, Latinos, and women is more an industry-wide phenomenon than a company one. I suspect it's more a function of tech grads being white and Asian men rather than of discrimination by Google.

[LeftyMom]

15. They're hiring grads who grew up in their world. There are three UCs within driving distance.

If the population of qualified folks doesn't resemble the local population in any way what are they doing to fix that? I mean, we're talking about a company that has the money and foresight to build mysterious barges and robot cars and weird shit like that. They can't set up some tech programs for young people in Richmond or something? Come on.

[devils chaplain]

28. I would hope that they would, but...

A lot of these tech jobs require at minimum a Bachelor's-level knowledge base, and those Bachelor's degrees are dependent upon a solid high school level math foundation. The best way to help diversify tech is to improve our primary public educational system.

[Nye Bevan]

30. +1. Google did not get to where they are today by refusing to hire smart black people (nt)

[bettyellen]

20. 17% female? that is a disgrace.

[Nye Bevan]

39. Is it a "disgrace" that only 2% of kindergarten teachers are men?

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/93410/index.asp?sectionid=7

Is that explained by sexism in hiring, or are there other factors in play?

[bettyellen]

44. It is a disgrace too! Teachers salaries are way too low in America, and that's what happens.

[Nye Bevan]

34. But Mountain View, California, where Google is based, is 56% white

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View,_California#Demographics

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. The Great Whiteness Defenders will Have Questions

How come blah blah blah.

The usual.

[Throd]

12. This proves.......something

[IoNP]

26. Perhaps something. ...... ominous...

Dun dun dun....

[AverageJoe90]

13. While this is definitely unfortunate, we must realize that there are many factors at work...........

the very tangible realities of prejudice, both personal & structural, notwithstanding. One thing we need to focus on, is education, particularly of less fortunate neighborhoods; there is, I honestly believe, a lot of untapped potential in places where you might normally least expect(Southeast L.A., Detroit, or a trailer park in rural Tennessee, for example). And I stand by that 100%.

[madville]

14. Not surprising at all

In the technical fields. I have worked in electronics my whole life, mainly radio communications and radar. I've worked the entire range of employment options, military, Feds, contractors, private companies, etc.

The entire field is about 90% white and 90% male in my experience. Most technicians are white males and most engineers as well with the exception of a sizable chunk imported from Asia/India.

Why is it not very diverse when it comes to gender or race? I really don't know now that I think about it, the opportunities seem to be there. As a manager at times sorting through resumes the pool is usually white and male, can't recall ever even reviewing a resume from a female now that I think about it.

The big question is how do get minorities and females to WANT to be weird and nerdy electronics technicians/electrical engineers in the first place?

[Adrahil]

22. It's not a Google problem. It's a tech problem, and not necessarily racist or sexist.

I'd guess my company is 95% white guys. We're an engineering services firm. We have one black guy, one Indian, one hispanic. WE have 3 women on the technical staff. Probably 60-70 white guys including me. This is NOT due to racism or sexism that I can detect. When we post a job, that's the mix of the people who apply. I haven't seen a black female engineer in a long time.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

23. I work at a tech company, and the outlook is dismal

We've had 5 or 6 job openings in the last year on my team(a group of software engineers), and among those openings only one applicant was female. America does a terrible job of fostering STEM skills among elementary school age girls, and by the time college comes around they've decided on more "suitable" career aspirations, probably because there's a certain element of society that actively discourages females from seeking employment in those fields. It's really, really sad.

[Nye Bevan]

40. Is is also really sad that only about 17% of elementary school teachers are men?

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/men-teach-elementary-school/story?id=18784172

Is there sexism in hiring going on here? Is there perhaps a "certain element of society" that actively discourages males from seeking employment in this field?

[Nye Bevan]

29. Here's a guaranteed, sure-fire way to reduce the percentage of white employees.

Raise the H-1 visa cap.

[Anansi1171]

31. Suggestions?-nt

[Crabby Appleton]

41. For 2011-12 bachelor’s graduates in CS increased to 12.9 percent women

According to the Computer Research Association

http://cra.org/govaffairs/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/CRA_Taulbee_CS_Degrees_and_Enrollment_2011-12.pdf

"The fraction of women among bachelor’s graduates in CS increased to 12.9 percent in 2011-12, compared to 11.7 percent in 2010-11."

see table 5 for breakdown by ethnicity

64% White
16% Asian
4.5% Black
6.3 Hispanic