Not very. In fact, Google, Apple, Yahoo, Oracle and Applied Materials all argued that the race and gender of their work force is a trade secret and so cannot be released. After an 18-month Freedom of Information battle, the San Jose Mercury News won. It’s no wonder the companies wanted to keep the data hidden:
The Labor Department data ultimately obtained by the Mercury News shows that while the collective work force of 10 of the valley’s largest companies grew by 16 percent from 1999 to 2005, an already small population of black workers dropped by 16 percent, while the number of Hispanic workers declined by 11 percent. By 2005, only about 2,200 of the 30,000 Silicon Valley-based workers at those 10 companies were black or Hispanic.
In addition, among the roughly 5,900 managers at those companies in 2005, about 300 were either black or Hispanic — a 20 percent dip from five years earlier. Women slipped to 26 percent of managers in 2005, from 28 percent in 2000.
Via Alex Williams at ReadWriteWeb, “The issue about diversity in the tech economy is especially relevant when you look at what communities are suffering the most during this current recession. Joblessness among blacks is twice that of whites.”
NOT REALLY RELATED: Lawmakers in Utah are trying to get a ban on affirmative action into the Utah Constitution — despite little evidence that affirmative action is being used or that it has caused any problems.