As the nation’s racial-justice issues were thrust into the spotlight this year, so were the tech industry’s longstanding problems with race.
The external pressure is mounting. California this year passed a law that will require publicly held corporations to add members of underrepresented groups to their board of directors, and Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ, +2.00% has proposed requiring diversity on boards that list on its exchange. An investment group is urging Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, -4.05% to examine how it treats its “human capital.” An institutional shareholder is asking Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -0.88% to perform a racial-equity audit.
All three companies declined to discuss the specific cases or make their diversity managers and executives available for interviews. Pinterest faced a financial consequence: It settled a discrimination lawsuit by Françoise Brougher, its former chief operating officer, for $20 million after she alleged sexist treatment, including unequal pay. The settlement also includes “a commitment of $2.5 million to be used toward advancing women and underrepresented communities in the technology industry,” according to Pinterest’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A Pinterest spokesman said the company does not comment on legal matters. As a result of a five-month investigation into its culture after the three women’s high-profile departures, the company said it intends to make changes based on recommendations by a special committee of its board. Or something could happen to prompt calls of hypocrisy: Just a couple of months after that multimillion-dollar commitment to diversity, Google faced backlash after the departure of Timnit Gebru, a Black woman and renowned artificial-intelligence researcher. She raised concerns related to diversity issues at the company as well as a research paper she and her team were working on that the company wanted her to retract, and said she had asked to discuss those concerns with management.
Google was among the first tech companies to release its workplace demographics numbers in 2014, after years of pressure to diversify workforces from the news media and groups such as Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Now it regularly shares information about its demographics, pay and diversity goals.
Knapp said the groups do some good in that they highlight issues that need attention. “At the same time, [they’re] a form of controlled opposition,” they added.
levisu It all starts with education from Childhood. You can't just create a educated workforce just because of the term diversity.
levisu The tech industry is a sensitive area. Moving people into a highly skilled position is not a apples & oranges. Although diversity is a sensitive social issue, technology advancements is only achieved successfully with minds best suited.