Apple and Google have joined a number of other tech companies and groups of researchers to form the “Catalyze Tech” coalition to improve the representation of minority groups in Silicon Valley.
The Action to Catalyze Tech Report has been published after more than a year of research surrounding minority representation in big tech by the Aspen Institute and other researchers. Following the release of the report, a large number of big tech firms have signed on to the coalition.
CEOs and executives from leading technology organizations, including Apple, Dropbox, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Salesforce, Spotify, Uber, and others have committed to being founding signatories of the ACT Report. The firms are pledging to hold themselves and their companies accountable.
“The tech industry remains dominated by white men,” said Vivian Schiller, Executive Director of Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute. “Justice for underrepresented communities requires sustained commitment, transparency, and accountability from leadership, and that’s what we strive toward with Catalyze Tech. We are glad that so many tech companies are committing to implement recommendations made in this report, and eager to support the sector on the path to true equity.”
While Hispanics make up 18% of the US population, they only represent 8% of employees in big tech. African-Americans represent 13% of the population, while only holding 5% of big tech jobs.
The full list of companies that have signed on to commit to the report’s recommendations at launch are Airbnb; Apple; Ariel Investments; Cisco; DoorDash; Dropbox; Etsy; Google; Headspace Health; Justworks; LinkedIn; Maven; Netflix; Nextdoor; PwC; Ro; Salesforce; Snap; Spotify; Twitter; Uber; Vimeo; Warby Parker; and Wipro; along with PledgeLA and the companies that form the Alliance for Global Inclusion: Applied Materials, Dell, Intel, Micron Technology, Nasdaq, and NTT Data.
The working group that developed the report included experts and academics from AnitaB.org; Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute; Bennington College; Brookings Institution; Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, University of Texas at El Paso; Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Coqual; CSforAll; Expanding Diversity and Gender Equity in Tech Initiative at the University of California; Google; Harvard Business School; IncluSTEM; Kapor Center; LA-Tech.org; Management Leadership for Tomorrow; National Center for Women & Information Technology; Powered By Decisions, LLC; PwC; QSIDE Institute; Reboot Representation; Scholastic Education Solutions; Snap Inc.; University of Massachusetts Amherst; and the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
