Tech companies may think they’re more diverse than they actually are, according to a new survey.
Only about 2 percent of employees in the U.S. tech workforce are black, and just 3 percent are of Latin descent; yet 83 percent of tech workers feel their company is diverse, according to data from global enterprise software company Atlassian. Seventy-nine percent think the average team at their company has a diverse set of members.
Ninety-four percent of respondents gave the tech industry, their organization and their team a passing grade for diversity, due to a number of factors.
Sixty percent said their company was making an effort to encourage diversity, although they gave no indication of concrete action; 19 percent of tech workers say their company has a culture that’s welcoming to everyone.
Companies wondering how to improve diversity in the workplace may want to focus on certain diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Last year, employers made the most progress on diversity efforts related to gender, age and ethnicity.
Employees, however, hope those efforts will be expanded. Thirty percent of tech workers want their company to start issuing a report on diversity. Twenty-eight percent would like their employer to create safe spaces for majority groups to talk about diversity in the workplace; 26 percent want their company to implement diversity hiring initiatives.
Find out what other moves employees hope the industry will make to create a more diverse workforce — including what other diversity and inclusion initiatives they hope their company will instigate — in Atlassian’s report.