Beyond the IT Artifact - Studying the Underrepresentation of Black Men and Women in IT

In the Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) communities, much of the workforce development research focuses on the IT artifact’s role. However, another crucial lens for addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion focuses on the people who make the IT artifact. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in the overall private industry in 2014, the high-tech sector recruited a considerable number of Whites (68.5% in tech vs. 63.5% in the private sector) but it recruited a smaller number of Blacks (7.4% in tech vs. 14.4% in the private sector) (EEOC, 2014). The high-tech sector has become a significant resource of financial growth, fueling the US economy and other top economies worldwide. This industry has impacted how we interact with and access information, disperse products or services and address critical societal problems. Because this market is the resource of a rising variety of tasks, the EEOC and its stakeholders must understand the emerging trends in this sector. Ensuring an adequate supply of workers with the proper skills and credentials and attending to the absence of diversity amongst high-tech employees has become a public policy concern (EEOC, 2014). Jobs in computer science and engineering fields are expanding at two times the nationwide average (Richards & Terkanian, 2013). These jobs often provide greater pay and have been more resilient to financial recessions than various other economic sector industries over the past decade. Also, jobs in the advanced sector have a solid potential for growth. This work is necessary to firms in all industries that require workers with innovation abilities. Employment trends in the high-tech industry are, as a result, essential to the national economy and work expectations. These industries and what classifies as “high-tech” are swiftly developing. There is no solitary high-tech industry; rather; new technology has transformed sectors beyond IT and telecoms to products and features of numerous occupations.