Why there aren’t more Latinos in the tech industry

*From the article: “Latinos made up less than 9% of computer science and engineering college graduates in 2013.” VL

By Maria Teresa Kumar, MSNBC

Last week, Apple was the latest in a string of Silicon Valley titans to release data that continues to prove how white, male, and Asian the tech industry really is. It’s not exactly a shock. Before Google released its own data in May — leading other companies to follow suit — there was already a growing belief that the tech industry needed to diversify. This need has never been more imperative.

Of course, this issue extends beyond Apple and Google. Currently only 6% of all U.S. tech workers areAfrican-American and 7% are Latino. This is contrast to the 16% of tech workers who are Asian Americans and 71% who are white.

At my organization, the national nonprofit Voto Latino, we have leveraged technology to engage and empower Latino Millennials to find solutions to the most pressing issues facing Latino communities. Voto Latino’s experience tells us that the dismal number of Latinos in high-paying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers exists not because of a lack of interest, but a lack of access to tech tools, training, and mentors — and that lack of access starts long before this demographic gets to college.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo by banditobFlickr]

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