The proposal to force Apple to accelerate recruitment of executives and board members from more diverse backgrounds failed at the company's shareholders meeting over the weekend. After CEO Tim Cook and Apple pushed against the measure, the proposal was voted down by investors by a big margin.
One of the problems Silicon Valley points to in explaining of the lack of diversity in the tech industry is the so-called "pipeline": There simply aren't enough Latinos, Blacks, or women graduating with relevant degrees to hire. New research shows this convenient excuse doesn't track with reality.
On Tuesday, the influential and well-connected startup accelerator and seed funder 500 Startups held demo day for "Batch 15," the latest class of up and coming entrepreneurs now being unleashed upon Silicon Valley. And it's one of the most diverse so far, as women lead a third, 15 percent were founded by Blacks, and 10 percent are led by Latinos.
This week HP announced the appointment of former Small Business Administrator chief Aida Alvarez to its board of directors, a decision that has drawn much praise from diversity advocates around the country.
Accenture published a detailed diversity report on Monday, becoming the first major consulting firm to do so. The results are in line with much of Silicon Valley, which means there's certainly room for improvement, but as with tech companies, transparency is the first step.
Intel is one of the cornerstones of Silicon Valley, which famously has a diversity problem. Intel, not surprisingly, is not very diverse. But the company has been pushing for action on diversity, and its latest report -- though showing halting progress within its own workforce -- is setting a standard for the industry with its depth and transparency.
Over the weekend, President Obama announced he was pledging $4 billion in funding to boost computer science education in the nation's schools as part of the Computer Science for All Initiative.
Dropbox finally dropped its diversity report for 2015, and like many other Silicon Valley companies, it shows that the company has slightly improved in some aspects, while declining in others. Here are the details.
Venture capital firm Kapor Capital has decided to boost diversity in the next generation of Silicon Valley companies, by building commitments to it early.
This weekend Apple released the company's latest diversity report, showing progress in its U.S. workforce -- but only by tiny margins. Meanwhile, the company's board of directors has rejected one Latino shareholder's proposal to accelerate change in the upper ranks of Apple, Inc.
The multifaceted problem of diversity in technology has caught the attention of companies, nonprofits, academics, and the federal government. Now Arizona State University has launched a new Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology to address the reasons why so few women and girls of color pursue or persist in technology careers.
Pinterest, one of the original unicorn startups of Silicon Valley, made a move towards improving diversity at its company on Wednesday, by announcing it had hired its own diversity chief.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich took the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday night to deliver the company's keynote speech, which included an impressive update on the company's progress on diversity.
Apple could be forced by its investors to accelerate the recruitment of minority candidates for the company's highest levels of leadership, if a motion proposed by a Latino shareholder is voted on and passed. However, Apple may not allow the vote, as the company is pushing back against the call for more diversity in its top ranks.
After a bad year on Wall Street and a diversity spat with a former senior engineer that went public, Twitter has decided to replace its head of diversity and inclusion.
Silicon Valley has a diversity problem, and despite working for a year to create more diverse workplaces with higher levels of Latinos, blacks and women, progress has been slow. But there are bright minds at work on solutions, which is one reason why Facebook COO and LeanIn.org Founder Sheryl Sandberg discussed diversity during an "ask me anything" style Q&A on Quora this week.
It's not everyday that you see news about something that hasn't happened, but in the case of diversity in Silicon Valley, the fact that Amazon and Dropbox have not issued diversity reports for 2015 is beginning to garner attention.
Silicon Valley has a diversity problem. Mostly white men work in technology, and white men hold the vast majority of leadership positions as well. In the past couple of years though, many influential technology firms have been working to fix the dearth of underrepresented minorities in their workforces. But in the latest diversity report from Microsoft, it appears that part of the company's diversity problem has actually gotten a little worse.
While there is a dearth of diversity in Silicon Valley, high-tech industries in the U.S. are expanding at such a rapid clip that employers are having trouble finding enough talent in the U.S. to meet their needs. One conference over the weekend aimed to encourage young Latinos and Latinas be a part of the solution to both problems, by setting their sights early on 21st century career paths.
