Big Tech’s Big Diversity Problem

Big Tech has given rise to some of the wealthiest people on the planet. We’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk – just to name a few. In the past decade, the national tech ecosystem grew 60% faster than the economy as a whole. Tech represents about 12 million total jobs and pumps about $2 trillion into the U.S. economy. In such a lucrative industry, who are the people benefiting from the wealth? If you take a look at Big Tech and its leaders, very few of them have been Black – now or ever. The numbers don't get much better when you look at these companies as a whole, with most having less than 10% of their workforce represented by the Black community. In 2020, Big Tech claimed to take a stand against racism and to push for diversity within its ranks. But what has really changed since then? Diversity and inclusion specialist Y-Vonne Hutchinson examines how tech can create more equity within its ranks. Author and network engineer LeRon Barton tells us the perils of what it’s like being Black in tech, and why so many Black Americans who join these companies often do not stay.