Google Diversity Data Pressures Silicon Valley to Change

Google’s decision to lay bare its lack of diversity ramps up the pressure on other Silicon Valley companies to increase the number of women and minorities among technology workers.

Google’s disclosure follows increasing calls from investors and activists for companies in the technology hub -- which prides itself on being liberal and culturally inclusive -- to embrace diversity. “Silicon Valley has been confused on the idea of meritocracy.” Said Mitch Kapor, the former chief executive officer of Lotus. He’s organizing a conference on diversity with Google later this year. “Aspirationally, it’s a meritocracy, but in practice it really isn’t.” The lack of diversity among Google’s 50,000 employees isn’t unusual. In 2013, 74 percent of U.S. workers in computer and mathematical occupations were men, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In software development, a fifth of the jobs were held by women.