Does Silicon Valley have a diversity problem? Data says yes

Apple is the latest Silicon Valley tech leviathan to release data on the diversity of its employees.

New figures from the company show that just 11 per cent of its employees are of Hispanic descent and seven per cent are black.

That lags behind the percentages of black and hispanic people living in the US - 16.3 per cent and 12.6 per cent respectively.

Although Apple's figures are slightly better than some of their Silicon Valley counterparts, it still shows the industry is struggling to create a diverse workplace environment.

The gender split in tech companies doesn't look great either:

Apple CEO Tim Cook was the first to admit that the heavy predominance of employees who are white and/or male is something the company, and tech sector in general, must strive to change.

As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page. They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them.

We are making progress, and we’re committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products.

• Tim Cook

You can see diversity reports for Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter on these links.

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