Diversity has a new name, and it is called Pinterest. The popular social media company is reconfirming its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Pinterest’s latest annual report underscores that commitment, highlighting ways that the company is recruiting, retaining, and promoting talent across various backgrounds.

The report illustrates ways in which Pinterest is not only meeting, but also exceeding, target goals. For example, the company aimed to increase the percentage of historically underrepresented minority engineers to eight percent; it exceeded that goal, reaching a figure of nine percent. It also managed to steer hiring rates for minority employees up to 14 percent. The area in which Pinterest made the most significant progress is in the recruitment of women. Overall, it brought the rate at which it hires women for full-time engineering positions to 27 percent.

While the annual report paints a great picture of Pinterest’s considerable effort, the company acknowledges that more remains to be done. Overall, Caucasians make up the majority of the total company employees (45 percent), with Asians closely following (44 percent). The figures representing other racial groups remain paltry, with Hispanic or Latinx individuals constituting six percent, followed by Blacks at four percent. Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders, as well as employees of two or more races, represent one percent of employees.

As for the racial composition of Pinterest’s tech employees, the pattern remains similar; 63 percent are Asian, followed by 29 percent of Caucasians. Hispanics constitute four percent of tech employees, followed by Blacks at three percent. Just as before, Alaska Natives, Pacific Islanders, and those of mixed race represent a negligible one percent.

The Pinterest statistics for minority and tech employees, compared to their Caucasian and Asian counterparts, are not unique to this company alone. A comprehensive five-year study by Statista reveals that across all major tech companies in the U.S., the numbers for minorities are comparable. The one exception is Apple, where the number of Black and Hispanic employees have reached double digits, and figures representing multiracial employees have reached five percent.

While Pinterest admits that the numbers still require improvement, it also points to other means of precipitating greater diversity. It is exploring a culture shift, incorporating the feedback of employees of all backgrounds on its products, encouraging openness, and creating supportive material for workers undergoing gender transition. Moreover, it is doubling down on diversifying its leadership, which, perhaps, may be the strongest signal of welcome it can send to potential employees.

Hopefully, Pinterest’s insightful report will shed light on diversity issues across the industry, leading others to follow its unique example.

underrepresentation of minorities in tech

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