Communications of the ACM
Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg on Tech's Diversity Gap
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg says the technology industry generally, and Facebook specifically, need to become more diverse.
Credit: ClickZ
In an interview, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg says it is crucial for the technology industry to become more diverse. She notes in the case of Facebook, the company needs to do so because it builds products used by people from diverse backgrounds. Data suggests diverse teams make better decisions, Sandberg says.
She believes improving the numbers of those under-represented in technology will depend on changes to the U.S. education system and addressing stereotypes about women and minorities in math and science.
Sandberg also says it is essential to increase the numbers going into the corporate funnel. She estimates females currently represent 18 percent of computer science college majors, making it more difficult for companies such as Facebook to go higher than 18 percent among its coders.
Sandberg also notes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg agrees that all forms of diversity and opportunity are very important. She says Zuckerberg feels the knowledge economy is about people getting the education they need to really contribute, which Sandberg says includes immigrants, women, and people of all backgrounds.
From USA Today
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