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These 6 tech giants still haven’t released their diversity data

Michal Lev-Ram
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Michal Lev-Ram
Michal Lev-Ram
Special Correspondent
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January 27, 2015, 6:51 AM ET
Inside IBM Corp.'s Watson Headquarters Prior To Opening
Dario Gil, director of symbiotic cognitive systems at IBM Research, holds a remote control wand while giving a demonstration of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) Watson immersion room during an event at the company's headquarters in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. To help commercialize the technology famous for beating humans on the "Jeopardy!" game show, new languages such as Portuguese and Japanese are being added to the Watson service this year, said Stephen Gold, vice president of the Watson Group business. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Michael Nagle — Bloomberg via Getty Images

The tech industry’s lack of diversity—race, gender and ethnicity — has been a hot topic in recent months. It started earlier last year when civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, among others, pressured tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter to publicly disclose the demographic breakdown of their staffs. Since then, other companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, have followed suit. (Some, like Cisco and Intel, have published so-called “diversity reports” for years.)

But despite the push for full transparency, a significant handful of technology companies both in and out of Silicon Valley have yet to make their numbers available.

Below are six tech giants — IBM(IBM), Oracle(OCLCF), EMC(EMC), Broadcom(BRCM), SanDisk(SNDK) and Qualcomm(QCM) — that have yet to release their data. A spokesperson for Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle says the company has no plans to do so. A few other tech companies Fortune spoke to were more thoughtful in their responses, asserting that while they have yet to disclose their diversity numbers, they are engaged in active, internal conversations to determine when and how they should go about doing so.

Even among those technology firms that have released diversity data, some companies are more transparent than others. For example, not all tech firms have published the entire contents of their annual EEO-1 reports, a government form requiring many employers to provide a count of their employees by job category, ethnicity, race and gender.

And, of course, there is the issue of what happens after a company releases such data—after all, transparency alone isn’t enough to move the needle on diversity and inclusion. But the flow of disclosures has led to some real action in the Valley, including a recent move by Intel to invest $300 million in STEM education in underserved regions and startups founded by women and minorities.

The real question for the companies that haven’t made their numbers available—in particular those that don’t intend to do so—is why? Yes, it is only a starting point. But judging by the tsunami of conversations the disclosures have led to, it’s an important one.

IBM

HANOVER, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 28: A woman walks past the IBM logo at the CeBIT technology trade fair the day before the fair's official opening on February 28, 2011 in Hanover, Germany. CeBIT 2011 will be open to the public from March 1-5. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Despite the fact that Big Blue is led by a woman CEO, Ginni Rometty, it has yet to disclose its diversity numbers. A spokesperson notes that the company has been committed to an "equal opportunity" workplace for decades.  “The company has a long history of leadership in workforce diversity around access to opportunity and eliminating discrimination wherever it existed in society—a legacy we continue to recalibrate and advance,” an IBM spokesperson wrote in an email to Fortune. Which makes it all the more puzzling why IBM wouldn't opt for full transparency when it comes to the demographic breakdown of its humongous employee base.

 

Oracle

Attendees walk down branded steps at the 29th Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco October 2, 2011.

The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based enterprise giant, currently led by co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, is another tech heavyweight that has yet to release its diversity numbers. A spokesperson says the company has no plans to do so at the moment.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm may be a little late to the party, but a spokesperson for the San Diego, Calif.-based chipmaker told Fortune it will release a diversity report soon. According to the company: "Qualcomm believes that a diverse, inclusive workforce is a powerful contributor to innovation and strong business performance. As part of our ongoing diversity initiatives, we will be releasing our demographic data within the next couple of months."

EMC

The data storage provider has yet to disclose its demographic breakdown, but says it is "closely looking" at its numbers.

Broadcom

An employee sits under Broadcom Corp. signage inside the lobby of the company's headquarters in Irvine, California, U.S., on Friday, April 12, 2013. Broadcom Corp. designs, develops, and supplies integrated circuits for cable set-top boxes, cable modems, high-speed networking, direct satellite and digital broadcast, and digital subscriber line.

The Irvine, Calif.-based semiconductor company has yet to disclose the demographic breakdown of its workforce. It didn't respond to a request for comment.

SanDisk

Sandisk's new solid state drive is displayed at the Sandisk booth during the 2014 Computex exhibition at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei June 3, 2014. Computex, the world's second largest computer show, runs from June 3 to 7. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) - RTR3RYL8

Flash memory maker SanDisk is another longstanding Silicon Valley company that hasn't disclosed its diversity numbers. It didn't respond to a request for comment.

About the Author
Michal Lev-Ram
By Michal Lev-RamSpecial Correspondent
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Michal Lev-Ram is a special correspondent covering the technology and entertainment sectors for Fortune, writing analysis and longform reporting.

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