And we can all thank a former Google-er for bringing this issue to the forefront.
This Hashtag Is Calling Out the Tech Industry for Its Lack of Diversity
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Last year, Google shared their diversity record, and let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. A whopping 83% of their tech employees were men and 60% were white. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that 2015 is fairing much better. So Erica Baker, a woman of color, a former Google employee and now an engineer at Slack, took matters into her own hands by starting #RealDiversityNumbers, a hashtag to address companies directly about the issues regarding diversity in the industry.
#RealDiversityNumbers What % of employees of color feel like they can succeed in your co? How frequently are women promoted compared to men?
— EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) July 21, 2015
The hashtag has quickly caught on with others in the industry who’ve faced similar discrimination and has also become a platform for professionals to ask technology companies the tough questions:
How many startups use better hiring criteria than "Is this someone you'd want to grab a beer with?" #RealDiversityNumbers
— Isaac Elias (@BrainScraps) July 21, 2015
#RealDiversityNumbers How many of your employees have ever been on food stamps? How many were born into families w/ <$100k income?
— Fiona Tay (@MsFionaTay) July 21, 2015
Do gay and bi people in your office discuss their partners openly the way straight staff do? #RealDiversityNumbers
— Aria Ehren (@litui) July 21, 2015
The companies being called out have not yet addressed the questions, but we sincerely hope they’re listening. And since we’re not shy about our complete adoration of women in tech (hey, a lot of us fit into that category!) and trending hashtags, we want to applaud everyone involved in spreading the word.
Are you part of the tech industry? Tell us below in the comments which tweets resonate most with you.
(h/t Refinery29; feature photo via Mireya Acierto/Getty)
