Women of Color in Tech

CHAPTER 1The Current State of Women of Color in Tech

It is probably no surprise to you that there is a lack of women in technical careers within the United States. If you performed a general web search on “women in technology,” you will find numerous articles, studies, podcasts, and more that point out this deficiency. In a 2019 study from the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), the number of women in computing professions has remained relatively stagnant at 25 percent since 2007. While tech companies have made great strides in increasing the number of women in technical roles, it's disappointing considering that women make up nearly 60 percent of the total US workforce. What does not get reported, or at least not very often, is the lack of women of color in technical roles.

The Realities

In the NCWIT study, it denoted that the percentage of African American/Black women in computing professions has increased to 12.9 percent in 2017. This is wonderful in many ways, as the numbers were considerably lower for many years, but there has been a negative migration of women in general occurring at some top tech companies. That means that more women are leaving tech companies and careers than staying in them. The Figure 1.1 details the fluctuations of women in the computing professions from 2003–2017.

Figure 1.1: Percentage of computing occupations held by ...