On the last day of Q3, the Q3 Diversity report from this podcast. Each quarter, we measure the leadership makeups of the teams delivering IT services.
Monitoring 301 companies, this quarter’s report tracks three thousand, four hundred forty-nine humans, slightly up from last quarter. Identified on each organization’s website, they are then classified as white, and then nonwhite, as well as specifically Black. Additionally, they are classified as male or female.
For Q3 2022, 89.19% of those tracked are white, nearly identical to last quarter at 89.20%, which was up from the quarter before at 87.73%. It’s 79.12% male, almost identical to last quarter at 79.51% male, and 79.75% the quarter before. Black leadership is relatively constant, at 1.83%, the same as the September 2020 report two years ago. The Fortune 1000 has seen a slight uptick, from 2.43% last quarter to 2.62% this quarter.
I’m not alone in thinking about this — A survey by Thoughtworks of 500 employees in the UK tech sector found that about 60% believe their companies could do more to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment. Recent research by the BCS found that women accounted for 17% of IT specialists in the UK, while about 8% of IT specialists are of Indian ethnicity, 2% are from a black, African, Caribbean, or black British background, and 2% from a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background.
And according to data from the Karpor Center, Only 5% of the tech workforce, 3% of tech executives, and 1% of tech founders are Black professionals. As of 2021, only 19 Black CEOs have ever helmed a company on the Fortune 500 — an annual list of the largest US companies by revenue — since the series started in 1955.
Additionally, as of 2021, less than 10% of Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft’s workforce is Black, according to the companies’ diversity reports. At these four companies and Amazon, the percentage of white employees decreased by 3.8% or more between 2019 and 2021, but the percentage of Black employees didn’t increase by more than 1.8%.
Research by Nopsec analyzed 654 cybersecurity startups that raised more than $1,000,000 in funding in 2020 and 2021. The goal – is to see how many are led by women. Of the 654 startups analyzed, only 22 — or 3.3% were led by female CEOs.
Why do we care?
Two years ago, there were many promises made about progress. It’s not happening. That’s why we care. I continue to believe that this is worth investing in. Here’s your data that says there’s an opportunity.