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June 19, 2020 12:39 PM PDT
Shavone Charles got her start in the tech industry as an intern at Google in 2011, before moving to full-time media and partnerships jobs at Twitter and, later, Instagram. She has watched those businesses succeed in part because of their popularity with African Americans. But tech companies have few black executives. Charles, who is black, has long grappled with the disconnect. “We are dominating these platforms in a unique way,” she said. “Why can’t we take up space inside?”
On average, just 2.7% of executives in senior roles at 10 major tech companies are black, according to filings with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The precise number varies widely—from 1% or less at Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce to 6% at Airbnb and Slack.
The reasons, say executives, recruiters and academics, include everything from reliance for referrals on existing employees, who are predominantly white, to inequities in education and a tendency for companies to relegate black employees to less prestigious roles with less opportunity for advancement. The bottom line, says Jonathan Mildenhall, a former Airbnb executive, is that tech simply doesn’t make enough effort to recruit and retain black people. “It’s not that there is a dearth of black talent. There is a lot of black talent. It doesn’t feel welcome in the tech industry,” said Mildenhall, who now runs a marketing consultancy for startups called TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. Our chart, above, shows just how stark is the absence of black
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