State of Tech Diversity: The Black Tech Ecosystem

Racial equity in tech is a 21st century imperative with far-reaching implications for our nation's future. For our nation to remain innovative and prosperous, we need educational and workforce opportunities that match our racial diversity. Today, this is not the case.

While Black people comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population, they represent only 7 percent of the computing workforce. Even more unsettling, of the many computational occupations, most of that 7 percent are "computer support specialists," according to the American Community Survey. 

The NAACP believes that diversity in tech is a modern civil rights issue, and we cannot afford to be indifferent to the unsettling statistics presented in this report. But more importantly, the call to action and recommendations in the report provide a compelling case for a comprehensive, cradle-to-career approach to increasing the number and capacity of Black people in tech. 

Together, with the Kapor Center, we can realize a future when Black children consistently receive quality tech education that prepares them for postsecondary success in computational sciences; and the emerging generations will have a racially diverse tech workforce, with Black innovators that fortify our nation and advance the world at the human-technology frontier.