Diversity in Tech

Google revealed a 7:3 male-to-female ratio, as well as a 61% white composition. There is no doubt that the demographic makeup at top tech firms is not representative of the American population. Traditional gender roles and lack of resources for minorities have compounded to comprise the workforce at these companies. As the US is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, it is common for immigrants to come to America in search of greater prosperity, a better life. In this process, they enter at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. This prevents many families from obtaining proper education to fill highly sought jobs, which is especially problematic if these immigrants do not come from an english-speaking background. Prominent in our nation’s history is a pattern of whites having greater means and accesses to educational resources. Perpetrating slavery and reappropriating natives’ land, whites have long held a position of authority and empowerment; these are facts. Contributing to modern gender disparity are historical gender roles that aligned men with industry and women with domesticity. Change is imminent and soon-to-be ubiquitous from what I can tell; however, America’s past has left a mark on its present in the form of demographic uniformity in the workplace.

I believe that plurality of perspectives and backgrounds is very important to the prosperity of society, industry, and democracy. This especially struck me in Montreal and London when I witnessed some of the greatest cultural diversity in my life. I really gained an appreciation for the myriad cultures and their harmonious interactions. What I appreciated so much, I realized, was that each person was empowered and you could not tell someone’s economic class by the color of their skin or even the language that they spoke. I find that in the United States, this is not always the case. In an ideal American society, there would be tremendous equality of diversity in the workplace, but that is not currently so, because often the most qualified candidates are those who have received the greatest resources and have had the ability to act on these resources; consequently, white males are frequently (but not always) in the most advantageous position to achieve such highly regarded positions in tech firms.

I do not know that the lack of diversity in the workplace is a problem; I’d call it a potential inefficiency, however. As with anything, there are often ways to do things better. This could be the case with Google. With a more diverse demographic makeup, they could achieve more and ultimately reach a stronger bottom line. I do not think that Google should diverge from hiring the most qualified applicants simply in favor of leveling the bars on a graph of ethnic diversity. I think they may be better off, though, were there more qualified candidates of different backgrounds. The keys here are to empower those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds and to eradicate any traces of racism or gender-bias. Once these conditions are satisfied, I think we are likely to see a more uniform demographic composition at companies like Google.

In every case, I think it is wrong to hold someone’s demographic identity against them. I would argue that it is important to be especially attentive that a work environment is sensitive to its lack of diversity, if applicable, to ensure that no employee feels ostracized.