{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-butterfield-lee-unveil-new-report-on-diversity-in-the-tech", "Scott, Butterfield, Lee Unveil New Report on Diversity in the Tech", "2017-11-30", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Robert Scott", "S000185", "bobbyscott.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As originally released by the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Democrats\nWASHINGTON D.C.\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0TODAY, Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce was joined by Reps. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Barbara Lee (CA-09) to release a Government Accountability Office report entitled, \u201cDiversity in the Technology Sector: Federal Agencies Could Improve Oversight of Equal Employment Opportunity Requirements.\u201d The report found that the environment and access to these opportunities have not improved in more than a decade, for women, Black and Hispanic workers, and that there remains a persistent lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the technology workforce.\n\u201cI was compelled to request this report from the GAO in 2015 after reviewing the startling lack of racial and gender diversity and the many documented reports of the hostile racial and gender environment in the tech sector,\u201d said Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03). \u201cThe fact is there is bias in the recruitment, hiring and retention of Black, Hispanic and women workers in the tech sector. Decades of research show diversity is good for innovation and for the economic bottom line. Diversity and inclusion must not be treated as an aspiration; it is the law.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nThis report confirms that the glass ceiling for women and people of color has yet to be cracked within the leading technology companies. This is also true for Asian, Hispanic, and Black workers, who hold low levels of representation at senior positions relative to roles serving as the pipeline for those positions. Moreover, in the past decade, within the leading technology companies, Black workers have actually lost ground across the spectrum of jobs from senior management to mid-level management to professionals to technicians.\n\u201cThis GAO report is disappointing but not surprising,\u201d said Congressman Butterfield (NC-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force.\u00a0 \u201cThe findings reinforce what we have known for some time- that when it comes to diversity and inclusion of African Americans, the tech industry has gone from making some progress toward losing ground.\u00a0 The Congressional Black Caucus is determined to move the needle toward full parity in the tech sector, and expect less talk from the industry and better results.\u201d\nTechnology firms have explained away their poor workforce diversity performance by claiming it is simply a pipeline problem; however, the evidence does not support this claim. Hispanic workers earned ten percent, and Black workers seven percent, of Bachelors and Masters in technology degrees, yet they represent a total of five percent or less of the professionals and mid-level managers in the leading technology companies.\n\u201cBy 2020 1.4 million new jobs will be available in the tech industry. If current trends persist, communities of color will continue to be locked out of these opportunities. That simply must change. I am pleased that Ranking Member Bobby Scott pressed for this vital report to hold the federal government accountable for its role in bringing diversity and inclusion to the tech sector,\u201d said Congresswoman Barbara Lee ( CA-09), Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force. \u201cLast month I visited the nation\u2019s foremost tech companies in Silicon Valley and witnessed the stunning reversal they have made concerning diversity and inclusion. As we continue to press for racial parity within the tech industry, this new report will be an important tool to drive tech companies to be more transparent with their employee data, fully disaggregate their diversity data and establish robust goals to advance equity in tech.\u201d\nTo help reverse this disturbing trend, the Members of Congress support the GAO\u2019s recommendation for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to require federal contractors to disaggregate the racial and ethnic data. This would help companies to detect and address underrepresentation of particular minority groups. OFCCP must also assess the diversity among tech sector subcontractors, given the widespread use of subcontracts in that sector.\nFACT SHEET: GAO Diversity in Tech Diversity Report\nREPORT: Diversity in the Technology Sector: Federal Agencies Could Improve Oversight of Equal Employment Opportunity Requirements\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-butterfield-lee-unveil-new-report-on-diversity-in-the-tech"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0374279227107763, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}