A year after first disclosing its demographic makeup, tech giant Google has released an updated report that shows it still has a long way to go to achieve a diverse workforce.
The data highlighted a big gender gap and a shortage of African Americans and Hispanic employees, with much of Google’s workforce being largely male and largely white. Entering 2015, just 18% of the company’s technology jobs were held by women, which is up one percentage point from last year. When it came to race, whites hold 59% of Google’s tech jobs in the U.S., while Asians hold 35% of the positions. Overall, Google employed 53,600 people at the end of 2014, with just 2% of its U.S. workers being black and 3% Hispanic.
[Related: The State of Diversity in Silicon Valley]
Google’s latest demographic snapshot spotlights not only their struggle to create a diverse workplace but reflects the lack of diversity that exists within the entire tech industry. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has been at the forefront of Silicon Valley diversity conversations and applauded Google for stepping up to the plate and releasing its workforce data in an effort to pressure the industry to change its demographic landscape.
“Tech companies must move from the aspiration of doing better to concrete, actionable hiring [in order to] move the needle,” Jackson said in a statement. “We aim to change the flow of the river.”
To show their commitment to improving their diversity numbers, Google’s Vice President of People’s Organizations, Nancy Lee, announced earlier this year that the tech giant would invest $150 million in 2015 to programs that provide a greater pathway for women and minorities to enter the company.