The lack of diversity in tech is no secret and it has long been an issue that companies around the world have seemed to sweep under the rug or be afraid to discuss publicly. In 2014 Google did the unthinkable by making their diversity numbers public, and unsurprisingly the company’s nearly 50,000 employees were predominantly male and white or Asian.
When Google revealed that less than 2% of their workforce was Black and less than 3% was Latinx, they vowed to change this and increase their minority representation. Fast forward six years and other tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Amazon have all made similar declarations to make tech more inclusive to women as well as those in the Black and Latinx communities. However, little progress has actually been made.
According to a Los Angeles Times article, little progress has been made where diversity in tech is concerned. In fact, the article states that while Google has nearly doubled its workforce, only 3.7% are Black and5.9% are Latinx. The statistics for women in tech also askew. While more than 50% of the US workforce is female, only 20% of the tech workforce is made up of women.
Smashing Boxes has recently announced a new leadership team, two of whom are women and two of whom are Black. Diversity in our office and in technology is a core pillar for us and one that we are committed to. As of October 2020, 30% of our staff is female, 20% is Black, and 30% is made up of other minorities, all above industry averages. To go a little deeper, 40%of the Smashing Boxes leadership team is female, 40% is Black, and 20% other minorities, and 42.8% of our summer 2020 interns/fellows/apprentices were female and 28.5% were Black.
As we move forward, we will back our words up with actions. It is not enough, especially in today’s world, to only say we’re going to make a difference, we must take actions to truly implement change. In the coming months Smashing Boxes will be creating change and we’re excited to tell you about it as it happens.
Blog post written by: Walter Pinson, President of Smashing Boxes.
Bonus Content: our chairman, Nick Jordan, talks diversity with entrepreneurial expert Doug Speight on his Next Matters Most podcast. Check it out here.
