Google’s just revealed its workplace demographics. The breakdown for tech workers: 60% white, 34% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 1% black.
Pass the popcorn.
Addendum, 5/29:
I neglected to add above that the breakdown by sex is: women 17%, men 83%.
Nobody should be surprised by any of this. To get through the multilevel Google tech interview, you need to have:
1) Exceptional talent for the kind of abstract visualization that software engineering requires, and a love for doing that kind of work, often for long hours and under severe pressure;
2) Deep theoretical understanding, particularly as regards algorithms, design patterns, and data structures;
3) Unusually high IQ – probably at least in the 130-140 range.
I’m probably ruining any chances I may ever have had for high public office by saying this in public, but I think the most parsimonious explanation here is that the composition of the staff simply reflects the statistical distribution of these qualifications among the various groups. I’m know that Google would like nothing more than to have lots of women and NAMs on their technical staff — but what has made them so successful and consistently innovative is their insistence on the qualities listed above. You simply can’t fake engineering.
This collision of reality with ideology is going to put Google in a bit of a cleft stick, I think. Hence the popcorn.
6 Comments
I suppose the other 3% are liberals.
Not to throw fuel on the fire, but I wonder how many are women:-)
LB, according to the link, it’s 30 / 70, women / men. But they don’t break it down by race.
I wonder what the demographics of the surrounding area is like.
LB, the 30 / 70 split is overall, for tech workers its 17 / 83, and for non-tech workers it’s almost even, 48 / 52 (female percentages mentioned first in all cases).
Thanks for the update Dom and Malcolm. The breakdown doesn’t surprise me. Howls of widespread oppression of women and minorities or “white privilege” are sure to follow.
Light on the salt and butter on my popcorn, please.
LB,
The howlers should check their Liberal Privilege.