Google Inc. made the headlines today by admitting to negative workplace practices, particularly the lack of workplace diversity. Possibly the largest tech giant in the world, Google admitted that they were aware of this problem and were truly apologetic about it.
However, the company claimed that it was not entirely their fault that they were forced to hire more white men in the workplace since according to them; there were not as much minorities and women in the field of technology as white men.
Statistics indicate that for every 7 males in the Silicon Valley-based technological conglomerate, there are three women working in Google. However, once the work profiles are categorized into tech jobs and non-tech employment opportunities, the numbers skew more heavily more males at 83%.
In terms of race, the highest percentage of minority working in the global company is Asian at a moderate 34% but most of this is concentrated in the tech sector with Asians being almost non-existent in anything else.
Google was extremely candid about its diversity problem and stated that they were actually miles away from where they wish to be in terms of workplace diversity. The company made these announcements in quick succession during their annual shareholders meeting in the presence of Reverend Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH, his diversity coalition.
According to Google, the company is devising ways to deal with this problem but it wants to remain completely transparent regarding the extent of the issue since they believe that it forms an essential aspect of the solution.
Google stated that part of the hiring problem stemmed from the lack of suitable candidates. There were plenty of reasons why they and other technology companies struggled to recruit and retain minorities and women in the workforce.
For example, women were responsible for earning roughly 18 percent of all computer science degrees in the U.S. while blacks and Hispanics comprised less than 10 per cent of U.S. college graduates.