Apple Improves Minority Hiring Practices, But Is It Enough?

Silicon Valley, the tech capital of the U.S., is the hub for corporate headquarters such as Apple, Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, and many others. For years, individuals who were associated with technology-related jobs were whites and Asians. Those two races, of majority men, were the college graduates receiving degrees in engineering, computer science, etc.  Although, Human Resource departments have seen a rise in tech applicants in the last 10-15 years, agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission has not seen a major change in the actual hiring of blacks, Hispanics, women and other minority groups.

Recently, the current CEO of Apple Inc., Tim Cook, released a partial breakdown of the company’s workforce. Out of 98,000 employees worldwide, 80% are male, 54% are white, and 23% are Asian. Cook, who is said to champion diversity, understands that Apple must recruit more minorities and close that employment gap.

Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH coalition has urged the EEOC to crackdown on tech companies. Jackson feels that tech companies such as Apple has gained tremendously from consumers. Consumers have spent billions on gadgets and are heavily emerged in the digital age. Therefore, it is inevitable that companies create more jobs in order to sustain the markets high demand.

And Cook agrees.

“Let me say up front: As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page,” Cook wrote. “They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them.”

While Apple continues to work diligently to add more minorities to their workforce, Jackson hopes that the other tech giants (i.e. Yahoo, Facebook, etc) follow suit.

One thing that has (and still can) hinder the growth of minority employment is a person’s career choice. Historically, “computer geek” has not been the most appealing job title for blacks. Women has strayed away from those jobs as well, preferring instead to enter into accounting, medicine, and administrative careers. So, the issue of self-interest can be partially the blame.

Apple Inc is worth $575 billion. Most of its programming and engineering positions pay over $100,000 a year.   Diversity in the tech industry can definitely have a favorable domino effect on minority communities. Whether a financial or educational impact, an increase in minorities in the technology field will persuade others to look to Silicon Valley for that next job.

Source: AP