The Trump administration spent its first two weeks in office dismantling a raft of policies and agencies, including DEI programs from government and federal jobs, as well as removing data and reports on DEI topics from government websites. And companies in the tech industry have followed suit, most notably Meta, which cut its entire DEI team, abruptly ended all equity and inclusion programs and representation goals, and moved to cease diversifying its talent pipeline.
It comes after a recent string of companies in the tech sector backed off DEI promises, rolled back diversity initiatives, and shifted away from a focus on historically poor representation in tech. Google downsized it’s DEI teams in 2023, Amazon pulled back it’s DEI programs, and Zoom announced layoffs to its DEI team in 2024. Other non-tech organizations such as Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Target, McDonalds, Ford, Jack Daniel’s, Lowes, Molson Coors, and Walmart also made changes to or ended DEI programs and initiatives. Actions have been taken at these companies to exclude inclusive language from corporate websites, eliminating DEI positions, shuttering ERGs, and drawing a line against any further progress creating a more diverse industry.
However, some companies have come out to double down on DEI efforts, most notably Apple and Microsoft, which have both publicly committed to maintaining DEI initiatives and policies in their companies. And it’s a smart move, when you consider that in the tech industry, that encompasses POC, women, LGBTQ+, and disabled workers. Tech organizations alienating everyone who falls under the umbrella of DEI are shrinking their talent pools even smaller than they already were, which, rather unflatteringly, was a large part of the reason why the industry had to commit to embracing DEI in the past decade in the first place.
Exceptions aside, this is a major setback for DEI in the tech industry, but it’s not the only challenge Black IT professionals, in particular, are up against when building a career in tech. Here are six statistics about what Black IT pros face that prove DEI is critical to fostering a stronger tech industry, and why it’s vital to build the future of tech.
A lack of opportunity
Black tech professionals face an “information disadvantage” when it comes to getting ahead in their IT careers. According to the Russell Reynolds Associates and Valence report, Black IT pros aren’t often afforded the same level of insight into how the game is played, who they need to know, and how to plan their paths for success. When asked, 78% of non-Black tech professionals said they understood the importance of networking in the industry, while 56% of Black tech talent said the same. And 57% of non-Black talent said they typically find out about open roles through their network, while only 39% of Black talent said the same.
There’s also a severe lack of sponsorship for Black tech talent in the industry. Sponsorship is different from mentorship because it’s directly tied to your ability to move up in the company. Having someone higher up in the organization who can vouch for you and champion your successes when it comes time for promotions is a huge factor in corporate success. Black tech workers often struggle to find sponsorship in the organization because leaders tend to sponsor workers who are more like them — typically white and male. Ensuring Black IT pros have the same opportunities for sponsorship as their non-Black peers can go a long way in ensuring they’re afforded the same career growth opportunities as everyone else.
Evaluate your sponsorship programs to make sure they work for everyone. Connect Black talent in the organization with the resources and network to grow their careers, giving them the tools to understand how the game is played. Build performance reviews to have more structure and transparency, and make sure everyone in the company understands the expectations going into performance reviews, rather than just assuming they’re all on the same page or working with the same information.
Unfair and hostile work environments
A study from The Kapor Center for Social Impact and The Ford Foundation found unfair treatment to be the top driver of employee turnover, in particular for employees from underrepresented groups. Within the past year, more than one in three Black participants in the survey said they left an employer due to unfairness. Of those surveyed, 25% of underrepresented men and women of color reported experiencing stereotyping at twice the rate of White and Asian men and women, and nearly 30% of women of color say they were passed over for a promotion. Unsurprisingly, the more toxicity experienced, the shorter the amount of time an employee will stay in their job. In a 2022 report, State of Tech Diversity: The Black Tech Ecosystem, the Kapor Center found that nearly half of all Black technologists reported experiencing racial inequity in hiring, promotion, leadership opportunities, salaries, and benefits.
While most people adjust behaviors or appearance at work, Black tech talent more frequently code-switch in aspects deeply related to their identity, which elicits questions about the way authentic ‘Blackness’ is received in the industry, according to the report from Russell Reynolds Associates and Valence. Code-switching is the act of changing your behavior to better fit into an environment and avoid drawing negative attention. The research shows that Black professionals are more than three times as likely than their non-Black peers to avoid sharing personal details about themselves, keep work and personal friend groups separate, change their hairstyles, bring food to work that’s considered more mainstream, and use a nickname or abbreviated name to feel more accepted at work.
Retaining hires from underrepresented groups requires re-examining your work environment to ensure it’s welcoming for a diverse range of employees. If new hires quickly find your internal culture allows for microaggressions, hostility, a pressure to code-switch, and an inability to bring one’s authentic self to work, you can’t expect them to stay.
Companies need to evaluate their workplace culture for bias, discrimination, and inequities to make sure everyone can feel safe and supported. If you’re experiencing a high turnover rate with people of color in your organization, that’s a red flag that significant changes need to be made.
A lack of representation in leadership
Turnover not only costs companies billions in profits, it also negatively impacts leadership diversity, a crucial factor in creating a more dynamic and welcoming working environment since it’s difficult for employees to imagine career growth at a company if they don’t see anyone that looks like them at the top.
A report from McKinsey estimates that, at current tech hiring and promotion rates, it’ll take 95 years for Black employees to reach talent parity (12% representation) in the private sector. This is a disheartening statistic, compounded by the fact that between 2014 and 2021, the tech industry only increased black representation by 1%, according to the Kapor Center. Black workers are also paid 4% less than their peers and often hired into lower-level roles than what they’re qualified for, resulting in Black tech talent representing only 4.4% of board roles, 3.7% of technical roles, and 4% of executive leadership. So not much will change unless considerably more work is done at the top.
Both Black and non-Black professionals agree in the McKinsey data that their leaders regularly exhibit inclusive leadership behaviors in some way, but only 25% of both groups say their leaders always lead with fairness, objectivity, and transparency. Companies shouldn’t take that information lightly — if employees in your organization don’t feel supported by leadership, they’ll leave. Organizations need to take honest stock of the state of DEI in the organization and create goals to change any inequities or implicit biases baked into the culture.
It’s also important that everyone is represented at the top; when decisions are being made, everyone’s voice needs to be heard. Diversifying leadership isn’t just about hitting DEI goals, it’s about creating an environment that takes everyone into consideration equally when developing organizational goals. Leadership needs to be honest about representation in the organization, transparent about the company’s failings, and clear about setting targets to improve and to hold leadership accountable to DEI goals.
Higher standards, lower ceilings
Once Black tech professionals hit mid-career, they’re more likely to express dissatisfaction with the performance evaluation process. Only 29% of Black tech professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience are satisfied with the equality of their level of recognition and of the equality of their pay, whereas 47% of non-Black professionals said the same, according to the McKinsey findings. This group of mid-career professionals report being promoted nearly half as often as their non-Black counterparts, even with the same amount of experience. Black tech professionals with up to 20 years of experience report three promotions on average for their careers, while their non-Black coworkers report having received five or more promotions on average.
Another report from Russell Reynolds Associates, Divides and Dividends: Leadership Actions for a More Sustainable Future, found that 63% of C-suite leaders agree that leaders in their company show favoritism for employees who are like themselves, especially when it comes to promotions, and 62% agree it’s easier for individuals of certain ethnicities or backgrounds to get promoted than others, regardless of their capability and performance. And this is exacerbated when companies focus too heavily on hiring for a culture fit, especially if the culture is one that’s not inclusive to all its workers.
Leaders need to take a hard look at their hiring and promotion practices, and address processes that allow for bias and discrimination to play a part in who gets to advance in the company.
Outdated mindsets, moving goalposts
Senior Black tech talent and executives with 21 or more years of experience say the bar moves subjectively, no matter what, according to the Russell Reynolds report. Regardless of what they accomplish or contribute, this cohort of Black IT pros explain they’re often eliminated or overlooked for opportunities based on what they haven’t accomplished, an outdated and problematic mindset about who’s qualified to lead. For many Black technology leaders, they believe that no matter how much they achieve, it’ll never be enough, and only 29% say they’re satisfied with the career opportunities they’ve had to date, compared to 52% of non-Black tech professionals with the same level of experience.
Many Black executives and senior Black tech professionals say one of the biggest roadblocks they’ve encountered has been a lack of access to critical development experiences, compared to non-Black counterparts. Nearly 90% of non-Black tech pros with more than 20 years of experience have led major company initiatives, whereas only 61% of Black tech professionals with the same amount of experience can say the same. And nearly 25% of Black tech professionals with extensive experience in the industry don’t feel they’ll have the chance to lead a major company initiative, whereas only 7% of their non-Black counterparts said the same.
Investing in leadership development is crucial, and it’s equally important to ensure your Black tech staff receives the same development opportunities as their non-Black peers. Ensure your leadership is trained on DEI and inclusive leadership skills. Try interviewing leaders to get a sense of how they’d handle different scenarios related to diversity, and recognize implicit and internal bias. You can’t change inequities in your company culture overnight, but you can make concerted efforts and take steps in weeding out homogeneity in tech to build a more diverse and equitable industry.
The mentorship gap
Mentorship is vital to growing a career, especially on the leadership path. Mentors help you navigate the company, identify opportunities for growth, and advocate for you when it comes time for promotion. However, mentorship programs often fail due to poor mentor pairing, lack of consistency, or simply not having strong processes in place around mentorship.
Furthermore from McKinsey, many companies have implemented mentorship programs to improve retention of Black tech professionals. But the data shows only 20% of Black entry-level employees and 14% of Black management-level employees feel that mentors are effective at creating opportunities for them.
And while mentorship is a strong asset for any organization, when it comes to improving DEI in tech, the real key is sponsorship. Organizations should ensure that Black tech employees have mentors and guidance to navigate their careers, but it’s even more important that those employees are also being championed behind closed doors. Senior leaders need to be tasked with creating networking opportunities, and advocating for Black colleagues when it comes time for promotions and raises.
This article was originally published February 18, 2022, and has been updated to reflect new reporting and research.