Survey finds discrimination alive and well at tech companies
By DANIEL DEMAY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 9:40 am, Thursday, February 23, 2017
Even in the progressive-minded, forward-looking tech world, discrimination is alive and well.
That's the finding of a survey conducted by Indeed, arguably the world's largest job search engine, that found almost a quarter of respondents -- 24 percent -- said they felt they had been personally discriminated against.
The findings came as a surprise to Raj Mukherjee, senior vice president of product with Indeed.
"And for many people who are in the tech sector, it might be very surprising," Mukherjee said. "This puts in the forefront how deep-rooted the problem is, and how much we need to take a step back and really think through what we can do together to solve this problem."
Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM
A crowd gathers during Amazon's lunch hour to urge the tech giant to give all workers a fair and consistent prayer policy, at Amazon in Seattle on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Click through to see how Seattle ranks for foreign job seekers on Indeed's search engine. lessA crowd gathers during Amazon's lunch hour to urge the tech giant to give all workers a fair and consistent prayer policy, at Amazon in Seattle on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Click through to see how Seattle ranks ... more
Job search engine Indeed pulled data on the number of highly skilled foreign workers (coming on H-1B visas, so call them H-1B workers) looking for jobs in metro areas across the U.S. The numbers show the density of job seekers who looked for jobs searching "H1B" in Indeed's search engine from August 2016 through January 2017. We ranked the top 20 here, starting with the lowest.
20. Atlanta
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 223.02
lessJob search engine Indeed pulled data on the number of highly skilled foreign workers (coming on H-1B visas, so call them H-1B workers) looking for jobs in metro areas across the U.S. The numbers show the
... more
19. Philadelphia
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 225.51
19. Philadelphia
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 225.51
Photo: Jose Fuste Raga, Getty Images
18. Hartford, Connecticut
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 232.46
18. Hartford, Connecticut
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 232.46
Photo: Buyenlarge, Getty Images
17. Buffalo, New York
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 235.15
17. Buffalo, New York
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 235.15
Photo: UniversalImagesGroup/UIG Via Getty Images
16. Columbus, Ohio
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 236.74
16. Columbus, Ohio
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 236.74
Photo: Ian Spanier/Getty Images/Image Source
15. Minneapolis
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 239.08
15. Minneapolis
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 239.08
Photo: Ryan/Beyer, Getty Images
14. Austin, Texas
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 249.3
14. Austin, Texas
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 249.3
Photo: Gavin Hellier/Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery
13. Detroit
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 263.45
13. Detroit
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 263.45
Photo: Steve Swartz, Getty Images
12. Miami, Florida
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 287.57
12. Miami, Florida
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 287.57
Photo: Lost Horizon Images, Getty Images
11. Houston
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 288.25
11. Houston
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 288.25
Photo: Richard Carson/Houston Chronicle
10. San Diego
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 290.84
10. San Diego
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 290.84
Photo: George Rose, Getty Images
9. Chicago
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 343.15
9. Chicago
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 343.15
Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images
8. Dallas
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 357.28
8. Dallas
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 357.28
Photo: G.A. Rossi, CTR
7. Boston
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 375.7
7. Boston
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 375.7
Photo: Tomasz Szulczewski/Getty Images
6. Seattle
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 383.16
6. Seattle
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 383.16
Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM
5. Los Angeles
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 393.97
5. Los Angeles
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 393.97
Photo: Al Seib/LA Times Via Getty Images
4. Washington D.C.
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 431.41
4. Washington D.C.
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 431.41
Photo: Ron Edmonds, ASSOCIATED PRESS
3. New York
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 580.6
3. New York
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 580.6
Photo: Julio Cortez
2. San Jose, California
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 685.92
2. San Jose, California
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 685.92
Photo: MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ, AP
1. San Francisco
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 732.75
1. San Francisco
Number of foreign H-1B job seekers per million job seekers: 732.75
Photo: PAUL SAKUMA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Survey finds discrimination alive and well at tech companies
The survey, conducted in December, included responses from 1,002 people employed in the tech sector across the U.S.
Forty-five percent of women who responded said they had witnessed exclusionary behavior in their workplace, and 34 percent of them said they had "been made personally uncomfortable," according to the survey.
The survey also found that 64 percent of non-white respondents had felt personally uncomfortable, while just 24 percent of white respondents said the same.
Mukherjee stressed the importance of not just accepting diversity in the workplace, but celebrating it as the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1 million or more new computer science jobs will be created by 2020.
And it's necessary not just for social-justice reasons, he added.
"A lot of people think of diversity as, 'Oh, it's a noble thing to do and it's important.' I agree with that, but I think it's good business," Mukherjee said. "The goal for all the world's tech companies is to solve the world's problems. You couldn't do that if you don't have a diverse workforce, that potpourri of ideas."
People surveyed seemed to agree.
Seventy-nine percent said a diverse workforce would help them build better products.
Mukherjee said companies need to have support and mentorship structures in place as well as a foundational culture that welcomes new hires, wherever they come from.
"Once you hire someone, you have to integrate any of those people, from whatever background they are coming from, into the workforce in ways that, quite frankly, we haven't done," he said.
"These results should be seen as a wake-up call to the industry that simply striving to hire diverse talent is not enough -- culture and attitude need to be addressed," he wrote in a release accompanying the survey results.
Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.
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