Women and Minorities Under-Represented In Technology Industry

The Information Technology Association of America says in a newly released study that the percentage of women working in technology fields has dropped almost 20% since 1996. This statistic is true even though the percentage of women in the overall workforce remained relatively unchanged during that time period. The reason for the drop is mainly the fact that administrative jobs in the tech industry are decreasing, and about a third of the women in the IT workforce serve in administrative positions. Women are also less likely than men to return to the IT workforce if they leave for childbirth or other reasons. At best, the statistics imply that the prevalence of women in all areas of the IT industry is dropping substantially; at worst, these statistics suggest that women are failing to advance in professional and managerial and professional areas and the IT industry is failing to draw on a critical talent base.

The ITAA analyzes information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Population Surveys to evaluate trends in the American workforce and compiles reports breaking down the data into percentages to determine the progression and regression of diversity. Previous ITAA diversity studies were conducted in 1998 and 2003. The reports also include a discussion of possible barriers to underrepresented groups and solutions for overcoming them. But the barriers for women and minorities have not changed substantially since the last ITAA report in 2003.

Their study also showed that Hispanics are the most under-represented racial group in IT jobs, comprising only 13% of the labor pool but only about 6.5% of IT workers. However, Hispanics represented less than 5.5% in 1996, so their numbers are slowly but steadily growing, even though the Hispanic population in the U.S. is the fastest-growing, and they constitute almost 13% of the overall workforce. Black people are under-represented by 22%, with their numbers actually dropping 1% since 1996, from 9% in 1996 to 8% in 2004. The percentage of African Americans in the overall workforce in 2004 is the same as it was in 1996, 10.7%. Interestingly, there are 6.6% fewer whites in the IT workforce than in the overall workforce. Asians continue to be significantly overrepresented in the IT workforce, by almost 200%.

One other interesting finding noted by the report is that the U.S. workforce is getting older. The median age of the overall workforce rose 1.1 years from 2000 to 2004. The average age of the IT workforce is approaching that of the overall workforce, rising by over 2 years during the same time frame. The reason for this may be that healthy retirees with 10 to 30 years of remaining life expectancy are rejoining the workforce.

The executive summary of the ITAA’s report, "Untapped Talent: Diversity, Competition, and America’s High Tech Future," is available online at the ITAA’s website.