Cultural Issues
Learn what causes cultural issues in an organization and how you can cope with them.
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People of color, women, and other under-represented groups in computing
Women constitute 24.4% of the computer science workforce and get paid a median 66% when compared to men. Legislation in the United Kingdom for companies to publicly report these gender pay-gap figures has reinforced this statistic for many companies. For example, the U.K. branches of Civica, Huawei, and Siemens paid women around 40% less than men in 2018 to 2019.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that for the same roles and experience women are being paid less than men, although this does happen and is shameful. Typically, what this means is that while males still dramatically outnumber non-white males at the most senior and well-paid positions. Note that if a company recruited tens of female graduates the following year as a response to the gender pay gap issue, then the gap would likely widen, as those new recruits would be at the lower end of the pay band. This can be represented diagrammatically.
Our industry has a lot of work to do to attract and retain a diverse range of candidates. However, the reality is, unfortunately, worse than that. For example, a survey of thirty-two leading technology companies found that out of $500 million in total philanthropic giving, only $26 million went to programs for outreach to women and girls, and just $335,000 specifically toward women and girls of color.
Many technology companies have also done a poor job of creating the kinds of inclusive environments that foster diversity. A case has been argued that outward focus on diversity initiatives has been a Band-Aid over larger internal inclusion issues such as sexual harassment, discrimination, racism, and misogyny. In ...