See Also: The 2015 edition of these numbers, adding Amazon to the mix.
With Apple’s report today (finally), major tech companies have all published information about racial and gender diversity. I thought it might be useful to run the numbers and compare them against the demographics of the United States as a whole, for reference. All data is as-reported from each company.
Gender Diversity
Almost all available data in this selection of companies solely reports a male/female split. Yahoo is the only company that has an “other/not disclosed” option.
Update: Apple, Google, and Microsoft all have retail operations which are not made distinct from the corporate side. (Thanks to Krishnan Viswanathan for pointing this out.)
Gender Diversity, USA
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| USA Overall (approx.) | 49% | 51% |
| USA Workforce (PDF) | 53.1% | 46.9% |
Gender Diversity in Tech Positions
Microsoft does not separate tech and non-tech workers, so their data in this table is the same as their data in the next one.
| Company | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 80% | 20% |
| 85% | 15% | |
| 83% | 17% | |
| 83% | 17% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | 76% | 24% |
| 90% | 10% | |
| Yahoo (see note) | 85% | 15% |
Gender Diversity in Non-Tech Positions
Microsoft does not separate tech and non-tech workers, so their data in this table is the same as their data in the next one.
| Company | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 65% | 35% |
| 53% | 47% | |
| 52% | 48% | |
| 53% | 47% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | 76% | 24% |
| 50% | 50% | |
| Yahoo (see note) | 47% | 52% |
Gender Diversity in Leadership/Executive Positions
The “USA” row uses the “management occupations” data from the BLS document above, as a rough and imperfect approximation.
Microsoft’s data is too poor to use for this table, as they lump ethnic minorities and women into the same statistic.
| Company | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| USA (PDF, pgs. 21-23) | 62% | 38% |
| Apple | 72% | 28% |
| 77% | 23% | |
| 79% | 21% | |
| 75% | 25% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | N/A | N/A |
| 79% | 21% | |
| Yahoo (see note) | 77% | 23% |
Ethnic Diversity
The “USA Workforce” row uses data provided by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (PDF). Their demographics information (indicated page 9) is kind of a pain in the ass, though: the unemployed column is a percentage of the labour force, but the employed column is a percentage of the total population. I’ve done the math, though, and the results are what’s shown below. In addition, the BLS does not separate out those of Hispanic descent because “[p]eople whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.” As such, the row will not add to 100%, but the percentage of Hispanics in the workforce has been noted per the table on page 10.
Similarly, the “USA Overall” row uses data from the CIA World Factbook, and they, too, do not note those of Hispanic descent separately. This row will also not add to 100%.
Apple, Google, and Microsoft all have retail operations which are not made distinct from the corporate side.
Ethic Diversity, USA
| Category | White | Asian | Hispanic | Black | Mixed | Other or Undeclared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA Overall | 79.96% | 4.43% | 15.1% | 12.8% | 1.61% | 1.15% |
| USA Workforce (PDF) | 80.5% | 5.4% | 15.3% | 11.1% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
Ethnic Diversity in Tech Positions
Microsoft does not provide a thorough breakdown of their racial diversity data; their data in my table is lumped into the “Other” category. They also do not separate tech and non-tech workers, so their data in this table is the same as their data in the next one.
| Company | White | Asian | Hispanic | Black | Mixed | Other or Undeclared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 54% | 23% | 7% | 6% | 2% | 8% |
| 53% | 41% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 0% | |
| 60% | 34% | 2% | 1% | 3% | <1% | |
| 34% | 60% | 3% | 1% | 1% | <1% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | 61.8% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 38.2% |
| 58% | 34% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 2% | |
| Yahoo | 35% | 57% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
Ethnic Diversity in Non-Tech Positions
Microsoft does not provide a thorough breakdown of their racial diversity data; their data in my table is lumped into the “Other” category. They also do not separate tech and non-tech workers, so their data in this table is the same as their data in the previous one.
| Company | White | Asian | Hispanic | Black | Mixed | Other or Undeclared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 56% | 14% | 9% | 9% | 3% | 9% |
| 63% | 24% | 6% | 2% | 4% | 1% | |
| 65% | 23% | 4% | 3% | 5% | <1% | |
| 63% | 26% | 5% | 3% | 3% | <1% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | 61.8% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 38.2% |
| 60% | 23% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 5% | |
| Yahoo | 63% | 24% | 6% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Ethnic Diversity in Leadership/Executive Positions
The “USA” row uses the “management occupations” data from the BLS document above, as a rough and imperfect approximation of the broad US national trend.
Microsoft’s data is too poor to use for this table, as they lump ethnic minorities and women into the same statistic.
| Company | White | Asian | Hispanic | Black | Mixed | Other or Undeclared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA (PDF, pg. 24) | 85.7% | 5.1% | 8.8% | 6.9% | N/A | N/A |
| Apple | 64% | 21% | 6% | 3% | N/A | 6% |
| 74% | 19% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 0% | |
| 72% | 23% | 1% | 2% | 1.5% | <1% | |
| 65% | 28% | 4% | 1% | 3% | <1% | |
| Microsoft (see note) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 72% | 24% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 2% | |
| Yahoo | 63% | 24% | 6% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Analysis
Let’s get something out of the way: I’m a white twenty-something Canadian who graduated from art college. Analysis of statistics of racial and gender diversity at American tech companies is not exactly my strongest suit. But, hey, you’ve made it this far. I want to be as fair as possible to everyone represented in these stats. If there’s a problem, please let me know.
- As noted above, the data available from all companies only reports a male/female split. While it would be imprudent for an employer to ask for more information, it does misrepresent individuals of other genders.
- It will come as no surprise that all of these companies are boys’ clubs, particularly tech workers and those in leadership roles. This is one of the biggest issues facing the tech industry right now.
- Stereotypes are proving quite strong with the significant over-representation of those of Asian descent at all companies surveyed.
- Black employees are, on the other hand, significantly under-represented. Like the under-representation of women in tech companies, this suggests a much larger and more overreaching issue. I’d argue that this is another of the biggest issues facing the tech industry.
- Only a single data point was typically made available in a given category. Microsoft was an exception, showing how their diversity has changed over the past few years. I think it would be valuable for the surveyed companies to release similar data from past years. I mention this not because I want a feel-good kind of statistic, but because I’d like to see if progress is, indeed, being made, and at what rate.
- Generally, only ethnicity and gender data was provided by the companies surveyed. As several of the reports stated, diversity is so much more than just these two genetic features. It would be inappropriate for employers to ask about sexual orientation, childhood household income, and so forth, but these qualities are part of what shapes internal diversity. Poor families — or even most middle-class families — can’t afford to send their kids to Stanford.