Lawmakers in the Congressional Black Caucus are headed back to Silicon Valley this week to check in on the progress that tech companies have made since Tech2020 was created in 2015.
Tech2020 was launched in order to “bring together the best minds in the tech, non-profit, education and public sectors to chart a path forward to increase African American inclusion at all levels of the technology industry.”
Unfortunately, major companies like Google have seen little to no growth in the number of black employees in the past few years. Apple has seen a rise to 9 percent black employees — but it’s clear to see these movements are small and slow-growing. With their upcoming visit to Silicon Valley, the Congressional Black Caucus aims to ensure progress is being made and that black people in tech are able to grow and build their way to success.
They plan to meet with companies including Apple, Paypal and Square — companies that identify at least 6 percent of their employees as black — in order to see what’s working for them and how some of the peer companies can learn from their approaches.
In an email to Recode, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., added that on this trip the Caucus will also be addressing how tech companies are impacting communities that have been priced out of the neighborhoods they live in the Bay Area (which is in her district).
