Nation's capital has lessons for tech industry diversity

Silicon Valley may be the technology center of the high-tech world, but 3,000 miles to the east, the nation's capital has something that Silicon Valley can aspire to: a more diverse tech workforce.

Blacks hold about 17% and women hold 31% of tech-related jobs in the DMV, a metropolitan area that covers the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Those are among the highest percentages of tech diversity in the nation, according to Census data, and could serve as a model for Silicon Valley as it strives to improve the diversity of its workforce, which is overwhelmingly white, Asian and male. From Apple to Google, Silicon Valley companies are looking to include more women and minorities as they compete in a global marketplace. The DMV's edge: a more diverse population. Blacks and African Americans make up half of the population in the nation's capital and 25% in the metro region. And women are in the majority here, too, where they account for more than half of Washington's residents and 51% in the region.