Reading 04: Diversity in the Work Place

It’s no mystery that there is a lack of diversity in the tech industry, both with regards to gender and race. A majority of people in the industry are white males. I believe that this lack of diversity in the industry is a real problem, but a problem that has its roots outside the tech industry. In addition, while there is some discrimination towards women in the tech industry, the gender gap is somewhat overblown as there are factors besides discrimination at play.

A common theme from the readings is many people noting a distinct lack of minorities at large tech firms. Some people feel that this is indicative of a hostility towards minorities and a bias towards whites. While this is likely true to some extent, I think there is more at play than just overt, or even subconscious racial discrimination. Rather, it seems that part of the problem is that a big factor in getting top jobs at tech companies is privilege, and a majority of people from privilege seem to be white men. Whether the privilege comes from going to an ivy league school, or from having rich or powerful parents, this seems to be an important issue. Companies are steeped both in politics, and so may hire the CEO’s friends’ son, and a desire to get the best, and so may only consider candidates from a select few universities, which are mostly white. A good example of companies only looking to well- known schools for hiring is the story Professor Bui told about the recruiter from NVIDIA, if memory serves correctly. Professor Bui told him that his students at Eua Claire were great candidates for his company. The recruiter refused to visit the school or consider the students on the grounds that he believed the school inferior. The real issue facing minorities, then, is a disparity in opportunity, not a direct discrimination by tech companies. Many universities, Notre Dame included, can and should do a better job of diversifying their student body.

I don’t deny that discrimination does exist towards women in the tech industry. Studies show that they get paid, on average, less than men, for the same jobs. However, it does not seem to me that the gender gap can be associated to discrimination alone. As the article Why Prejudice Alone Doesn't Explain the Gender Gap in Science argues, there are some innate differences between men and women which could also be factors in the disparity. There are some sciences where women are the majority, and some where men are the majority. For example, at Notre Dame, the ratio between men and women for undergraduate is about even. However, in computer science and engineering, a vast majority are male. This is not due to anything blocking female students from choosing computer science and engineering, but rather just a lack of females choosing these majors. As with race, the gender gap does not appear to be the result of just discrimination by the industry, but also other external factors. However, the tech companies still have a role to play in improving the diversity in the work place. A good place to start is by eliminating the wage imbalance between men and women, and looking at more diverse schools for recruiting.