Report explores ways to break down barriers for women of color

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce provide a range of advantages — a broader talent pool, greater innovation and creativity, and increasing market growth. Although research has raised awareness of these benefits, that hasn’t translated into greater recruitment and retention of women of color in technology and computing jobs. 

Currently, Black women hold 3 percent of tech jobs, Latinx women hold 1 percent, and Native American/Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women hold 0.3 percent. In Silicon Valley, the shortfall is even more severe: Women of color from all of these groups represent less than 3 percent of total tech workers.

“Our nation needs to draw upon all of its talent in tech fields and industry, and clearly we’re not doing that right now,” said Evelynn Hammonds, professor of African and African American studies and Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. “We need to address long-standing inequities and exclusionary practices that keep us from utilizing the talents of women of color who are committed to STEM careers.”

Hammonds co-chaired a recent National Academies study that examined what’s driving that underrepresentation and how companies, universities, and government agencies can help remedy it.

The hurdles that hold back women of color
Women of color encounter multiple barriers on educational and career pathways through tech, the study committee’s report says. Barriers in education include campus and departmental climates experienced as unwelcoming, offensive or discouraging faculty and staff conduct, and a scarcity of on-campus and departmental supports aimed specifically at advancing women of color, research has shown. Costs can add another hurdle, as students of color from underrepresented groups are more likely to come from families with fewer financial resources.

In the tech industry — where the workforce is overwhelmingly male and mostly white — research shows that the lack of gender and racial/ethnic diversity increases the sense of isolation and lack of belonging for women of color. One study found that women of color were much more likely than their peers to be negatively stereotyped, passed over for promotions, and sexually harassed within tech workplaces. Another found that upon making a mistake, women of color were not provided the second chance that others received.

A pervasive research finding is that women of color find their credibility and legitimacy persistently questioned, leading them to feel pressure to continually prove themselves — to provide “more evidence of competence than men in order to be seen as equally competent,” as one researcher put it.

The need for an intersectional approach
So far, most efforts to support and advance women in academic tech disciplines and tech careers have tended to benefit white women, the report says. But because women of color face different and additional barriers compared to white women, the report urges companies and higher ed institutions to take an intersectional approach that recognizes the unique forms of racial and gender discrimination experienced by women of color. Institutions should also account for the fact that women of color — including African American, Hispanic, Latinx, American Indian, Asian American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women — are not a monolithic group, and that members of different racial and ethnic groups may face particular forms of bias and discrimination.

In practice, this means that companies and universities need to pay specific attention to the experiences and trajectories of women of color — for example, identifying where they are leaving educational and career pathways or not advancing — in order to spot problem areas and target interventions.

Key to taking this approach is breaking down employment and education data by both gender and race, something that often doesn’t happen now. Companies and higher ed institutions should share this data publicly, the report says.

“It is critically important to disaggregate data using an intersectional approach to develop effective strategies for increasing the success of women of color in tech and meet these challenges head on,” said committee co-chair Valerie Taylor, director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division and Argonne Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, and CEO and president of CMD-IT. “When policymakers, educators, and corporate leaders study issues related to women in tech, the term ‘women’ must reflect the experiences of all women.”

Action needed by educators, industry, government
In addition to urging employers and institutions to collect data to understand where to target specific strategies, the report recommends that steps be taken across the tech ecosystem to support women of color.

For example, higher education leaders should widen recruitment efforts to identify candidates who are women of color to join their computer science, computer engineering, and other tech departments as students and faculty. They should give strong consideration to those from two-year community colleges and minority-serving institutions, and develop retention strategies focused on supporting these students and faculty as they transition to their institutions.

Tech companies should form a coalition with professional societies and higher education institutions — especially minority-serving institutions — to promote effective strategies for recruiting and retaining women of color. Such a collective approach to problem-solving could aid the development of partnerships to support women of color across the tech ecosystem, the report says.

Tech companies should also expand options that promote work-life balance such as remote work, flexible work hours, parental or other family leave, and career counseling as a strategy to improve recruitment, retention, and advancement of women of color. While such policies benefit both women and men, evidence shows that women — and women of color in particular — are more negatively affected when such policies are absent.

Government has a role too, the report says. For example, in awarding grants, federal agencies should use accountability measures to incentivize institutions to work to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, funding agencies and industry should invest in the expansion of certification and training programs for women of color that are delivered by community-based organizations.

• Register for the March 16 symposium