Posted on 03/27/2014 10:01:29 AM PDT by null and void
Edited on 03/27/2014 12:25:29 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson led a delegation to the Hewlett-Packard annual shareholders meeting on March 19, 2014, to bring attention to Silicon Valley's poor record of including blacks and Latinos in hiring, board appointments and startup funding. Jackson's strategy borrows from the traditional civil rights era playbook of shaming companies to prod them into transformation. Now, he is bringing it to the age of social media and a booming tech industry known for its disruptive innovation.
"We're talking about a sector that responds to future trends," says Ronald C. Parker, president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a group of current and former African-American Fortune 500 executives who work to increase diversity at the top levels of American business. "He's speaking at one organization. I'm sure the people at Hewlett-Packard have and will continue to put some focus on it. Whether it will accelerate is to be seen. But it's a start."
Earl "Butch" Graves Jr., president and CEO of Black Enterprise magazine, says Jackson is shining a light on the fact that technology companies don't come close to hiring or spending what is commensurate with the demographics of their customers.
"Hopefully, what Rev. Jackson is doing will bring attention to the 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about. It's high time that gets addressed," Graves says.
It's widely recognized that the tech industry lacks diversity: About one in 14 tech workers is black or Latino both in Silicon Valley and nationally. Blacks and Hispanics make up 13.1 and 16.9 percent of the U.S. population, respectively, according to the most recent census data.
"Technology is supposed to be about inclusion, but sadly, patterns of exclusion remains the order of the day," Jackson wrote in a letter released March 17 to Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Google and others.
Jackson said March 18 that he isn't singling HP out, he's just using the company's annual meeting to highlight the broader issue.
"This is not exclusive to Hewlett-Packard," he said.
As recently as 2011, Allstate, in alliance with Jackson's RainbowPUSH organization, recognized HP for its commitment to diversity.
"While we certainly agree that diversity is an important issue in corporate America, we're puzzled by Rev. Jackson's sudden interest in HP," said HP executive vice president Henry Gomez in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. "Today, HP is the largest company in the world with both a female CEO and CFO and nearly half of our leadership team and Board of Directors are women and minorities. Additionally, nearly 50 years ago, HP established the first Minority Business Program in the United States."
Gomez also points out that in 2013, HP spent nearly $1 billion with almost 500 minority business enterprises in the U.S. and an additional $500 million with businesses owned by women.
"We look forward to seeing Rev. Jackson at our shareholder meeting," Gomez says.
Apple and Google declined to comment on Jackson's grievances. Facebook and Twitter didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Of course, the technology industry isn't without a handful of high-profile black executives. Microsoft named John Thompson, an African-American, as chairman of its board last month after he led a search that culminated in the appointment of Satya Nadella as the software maker's new CEO. Thompson, the former CEO of security software maker Symantec, joined Microsoft's board in 2012.
Excerpt, read more at scientificcomputing.com
‘Zackly!
“That’s just the fear factor coming from when they see him,” Graves says, “because they know he’s not going to go away.”
Well not until the rent a mob money runs out then presto JJ is gone onto the next paying protest scam.
Jesse is complaining that just "1 in 14" (= 7%) are black or Hispanic.
Out of 51,161 computer science grad students in 2009, 2,088 (4%) were black, and 1,371 (2.7%) were Hispanic, or a little under 7% total.
Dittoes.
I wonder. If those people can’t even read or write cursive; what make Jackson think they’re good to go with Java or C++?
Hmm???
Earth to Jesse, one of the best IT people I have ever known just happens to be black. His secret: he stayed in school, studied hard, and works hard - he didn’t depend on poverty and race pimps to get him into college or to get him a job.
I think the example might work for others as well, but I don’t hear you saying anything about that approach.
I neglected to tie my thoughts together and suggest that it's all part of a coordinating scheme to create a demand to waste more tax dollars on yet another contrived "equality" issue.
“What lack of diversity? Silicon Valley is loaded with Asians and Indians. JJ only wants his minorities.”
Put bluntly, Jackson demands HP to hire unqualified workers instead of qualified ones. I am sure they would jump at the chance to hire a “qualified minority” if they could find one.
Race Pimp Jesse Jackson Identifies Tech Industry As Next Extortion Target
In my field, race doesn’t matter. See lots who get the (good paying) jobs if they are willing to get educated and show they are capable of doing the job. Have seen quite a few of all races come through with the “you owe me!” attitude, and needless to say they are nicely told “we’ll get back to you”...
Maybe some of these firms unfairly require a picture ID card to be able to work there.
This is unfair to minorities for some inexplicable reason.
His next stint should be going after the NBA. After all, they do not reflect the composition of their audiences do they?
“Jessie Jackass runs headlong into the Bell-curve”
I don't know who he is, but his face rings a bell...
Heck, I'd go to work for them, and I ain't even black!
Speaking of which, do you know anyone who is hiring semiconductor process engineers? ANYONE?
Void came up with that one..didnhe?
It’s time for Jesse to run some sting operations. Get some articulate blacks engineering or computer science graduates with decent grades from good schools to apply for jobs at these companies, and then expose the racists who don’t hire them.
Of course, every company will eagerly work to outbid the others, and pay what it takes to improve their diversity.
I know most f think it happened decades ago, but maybe everyone else might agree that Jess has finally jumped the shark?
If don’t care for JJ, but this is probably a good battle to fight. These companies are the primary ones lobbying for increases in H1-B labor, and refuse to hire Americans who are past 40 or retrain people. Someone needs to fight for Americans, and at least JJ is fighting for some of them.
*hangs head* *scrabbles toe in dirt* *mumbles* yes, sir...
No kidding?
I'm 61.
I was replaced on my last "real" job by THREE H-1Bs...
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