Google faces renewed criticism for lack of diversity

Google is facing renewed criticism for its lack of employment diversity. While the search giant repeatedly claims it’s committed to workplace diversity, only 2 percent of Google’s employees are African American, and only 3 percent are Hispanic. The company is also the target of a federal investigation for alleged ageism.

Compare Google’s diversity numbers to rates in other areas of the telecommunications industry. According to Current Population Survey data, Hispanics make up 11 percent of the wireline workforce and 12 percent of the wireless. African Americans make up 14 percent of wireline positions and 12 percent of wireless-related positions.

Lawmakers are taking notice of the tech. sector’s lack of diversity. Earlier this year, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to Labor Secretary Perez highlighting the tech. sectors lack of diversity. "African Americans are not afforded the same opportunities to compete as their White counterparts in the technology sector," the lawmakers said in the letter. "This leads us to believe that the vast majority of technology companies holding government contracts are in violation of Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a violation that should be addressed with the utmost urgency."

Links:

At Google, women and minorities still lag (USA Today, June 30, 2016)

Federal investigators probe Google over age-discrimination complaints (Mercury News, July 5, 2016)

Black lawmakers want Labor to push tech on diversity (The Hill, May 25, 2016)

Congressional Black Caucus letter to Labor Secretary Perez (US House, May 25, 2016)