EEOC Research Finds Unequal Opportunity in the High Tech Sector and Workforce

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released a report, “High Tech, Low Inclusion: Diversity in the High Tech Workforce and Sector from 2014 - 2022” which highlights demographic disparities for workers in 56 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations and the industries employing them.

The report assesses the current state of diversity in the high tech workforce and those employed in the high tech sector. It also discusses the most common discrimination charges filed by high tech sector workers with the EEOC, building on previous reports from 2016 and 2017 by the EEOC and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), respectively.

The EEOC report released today acknowledges that employers have made limited progress toward including qualified workers of all backgrounds in the high tech sector and high tech workforce but concludes that significant barriers still remain to equal employment opportunity in high tech. The magnitude of the underrepresentation for some demographic groups, particularly for women and Black workers, combined with research and the EEOC’s experience enforcing anti-discrimination laws, suggest that discrimination likely contributes to the relatively low employment of women, Black workers, Hispanic workers, and older workers in high tech.

“Sixty years after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there is a high degree of underrepresentation and a disturbing lack of career advancement for female, Black, and Hispanic workers in the high tech workforce, despite the recent period of growth in high tech occupations. America’s high tech sector, which leads the world in crafting technologies of the future, should not have a workforce that looks like the past,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “These data raise serious questions that deserve serious answers.”

Burrows said, “At the Commission, we will work to identify instances in which discrimination has contributed to these disparities. It is important for high tech employers to self-assess and address any discriminatory barriers limiting employment opportunities and to implement proactive policies to increase inclusion. Everyone deserves access to these high tech opportunities, which often provide competitive pay, benefits, job security, and stability.”

Findings from the report include:

• Female, Black, and Hispanic workers remained substantially underrepresented in the high tech workforce and sector. Between 2005 and 2022 there was very little change in the representation of Black workers and virtually no change in the representation of female workers occurred in the high tech workforce. (see Section III)
• Black, Hispanic and Asian workers were underrepresented in managerial positions compared to their participation in the high tech workforce overall. (see Section V)
• While women are nearly half of the total U.S. workforce, they were just 22.6% of the high tech workforce in all industries, and only 19.4% of the high tech workforce in the high tech sector. (see Section V, Tables 11 and 12)
• The high tech workforce is generally younger than the total U.S. workforce; 40.8% of the high tech workforce are ages 25 to 39, but only 33.1% of the overall workforce. Workers over age 40 in the high tech workforce lost ground between 2014 and 2022, declining from 55.9% to 52.1%. (see Section V, Table 9)
• Charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC in the tech sector were more likely to involve discrimination based on age, pay, and/or genetic information than those filed in other sectors. (see Section VII)

Given its findings, the report recommends that high tech companies proactively examine barriers limiting employment for women, older workers, Black workers, and Hispanic workers. 

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.