In an effort to increase employee diversity, Google says that 21% of its hires last year for technical jobs were women. However, that merely increased the number of women in technical roles by a total of 1%, leaving the company with a long way to go to achieve the kind of diversity in its workforce that it’s apparently striving to achieve.
Many critics have said that Google’s staff, which totaled 53,600 people at the start of the year, is too male dominated and lacks racial diversity, consisting mostly of white and Asian men. Google itself reached a similar conclusion in a self assessment last year, leading the way for the company to make a concerted effort to diversify its employee base.
Google has recently started to disclose the makeup of its staff in an effort to acknowledge its issues, discuss them openly, and show critics that they’re making an effort to change. Currently, the company’s workforce is just 30% women, while African Americans and Hispanic workers comprise a mere 2% and 3%, respectively.
Among leadership positions at Google, 78% are men, and from that group, 72% are white. Meanwhile, 82% of Google’s tech workers are white. These numbers would seem to backup allegations of a gender gap and a lack of minority inclusion against the entire technology industry.
In response to these numbers, the company said on Monday, “Though we still have a long way to go, we’re seeing some early progress.” Google has said they are making an effort, which includes a $150 million plan, to change corporate culture and recruit future employees from a more diverse pool, with the intention of attracting more women and minorities.
The ultimate goal for Google, they say is to, “build a workforce more reflective of the diversity of people we serve.” Of course, judging by the current numbers, there’s a long way to go, even if Google is putting in the effort to make it happen.