By Jared Council
Protests around the country in the wake of the killing of George
Floyd while in police custody are reigniting discussion of black
representation in the technology sector.
Despite yearslong efforts by companies to diversify their tech
workforces, black people accounted for 7.8% of people in core
information-technology occupations in the U.S., according to
CompTIA, an IT trade group.
Several black tech executives said they hope the current
attention on racial disparities will bring change, and in turn,
expand the participation of blacks in technology in ways they
haven't seen before.
"The awakening is happening because people are willing to have
those conversations and go a few layers deeper," said Claude
Johnson, a former executive who has held management and executive
positions with companies including International Business Machines
Corp., American Express Co. and NBA Properties Inc.
Increasing corporate diversity helps, but that isn't the
complete answer, he said. "Below the surface, is a 400-year-old
problem, a disease, a disease white people have. It is not a black
problem. Address it with more diversity, yes, but why is it there
in the first place?" said Mr. Johnson, who is now the founder and
executive director of The Black Fives Foundation, which preserves
the history of pre-NBA era African-American basketball.
He likened what is happening now to the arrival of a new
technology that some people don't like.
"We see it in tech. There is always resistance in tech to the
next thing, but it is inevitable. It doesn't matter if you object,
it is here. It is the same thing here."
Tony West, senior vice president and chief legal officer at Uber
Technologies Inc., said the tech industry "has to get this right."
That is because technology plays such a powerful role in society
and has the potential to address issues including police
accountability.
"I think it also forced many of us to look in the mirror and
ask, you know, what am I doing to advance racial equality?...Is
what I'm doing to support black lives enough?" said Mr. West, who
is also black.
Mr. West said one way companies can do so is to revamp hiring,
promotion and even vendor procurement practices -- and tie
diversity-and-inclusion outcomes to executive compensation. "This
way, we're not only sure that we're improving our own D & I
goals, we're also pushing others to reflect the values that we find
important."
Sherri Smith, editor in chief of Laptop Mag, says her career
covering the technology sector was buoyed by mentorships from other
African-American journalists: "The jobs I got were because people
reached out to me," she said, "and I want to pay it forward for
people who look like me."
It goes beyond hiring for diversity, to increasing the ranks of
African-Americans at all levels of tech, including the C-suite and
the boardroom and in venture capital, said Will Griffin, chief
ethics officer of artificial-intelligence company Hypergiant
Industries.
Also, he said blacks need to be given equity stakes in tech
companies they join, which can lead to wealth creation to help them
start their own companies. "Too often, on the African-American
side, the company is sold, we didn't have equity, so then we go get
another job."
Mr. Griffin said his family has roots in the Third Ward of
Houston, which is where George Floyd was from. "It hit home when he
was killed and then when you see the videos of him talking, you
hear it, like, that sounds like a homeboy."
Many companies are now sponsoring inclusivity-oriented sessions
or policies, said Daryl Plummer, vice president and chief of
research at Gartner Inc. He also is chairman of the company's black
analyst caucus. "However, when that happens," he said, "everyone
realizes how few black faces are among the people deciding which
policies or sessions to create."
Adam Stanley, global chief information officer of
real-estate-services company Cushman & Wakefield, said
companies often say they are unable to find qualified black
candidates.
"If your profits aren't high, you work your tail off to find
more. For some reason in the diversity space we for years talk
about it but never really move the needle much."
--Kim S. Nash, Angus Loten and Steven Rosenbush contributed to
this article.
Write to Jared Council at jared.council@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 06, 2020 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.