Google hires former Intel exec as its new VP of diversity
Because its latest diversity report shows the company still has a lot of work to do.
Google has been investing big money and launching various projects to diversify its workforce, but its latest diversity report shows that it still has a long way to go. While female personnel now compose 31 percent of its employee population, they only make up 20 percent of the company's tech workforce. In addition, only one percent of its tech roles are filled by Black Googlers, who make up a mere five percent of the company's full employee count. Sure, the number of women in tech and the number of Hispanic Googlers grew one percent from last year's, but it's clear that the company is still overwhelmingly white and male.
Mountain View at least knows it has a lot more work to do, and that may be the reason it hired Danielle Brown as its new VP of Diversity. Brown used to be Intel's VP and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and will manage Google's diversity and inclusion strategy. Intel isn't exactly more diverse than the big G -- according to its 2016 report, women only make up 25.8 percent of its population and Black employees are very few (3.73 percent of population). However, Brown will provide fresh eyes, which might be what Google needs to achieve bigger results.
To highlight why diversity is necessary, Eileen Naughton, Google's VP of operations, told the story of how Pixel's creative lead was inspired by Mexico City to design the "Really Blue" edition:
"For all of our communities of color, we're working to make sure our culture is rewarding and welcoming through events, town halls, employee resource groups, and ensuring fairness in the promotion process. We know this is critical to making it safe for everyone to bring their best and most innovative ideas to the table. For example, the idea for our Really Blue Pixel came from Alberto Villarreal, the phone's creative lead and industrial design manager, who derived the color from the Mexico City of his youth. The phone was released in October and sold out within minutes. Alberto is part of a vibrant community of Hispanic Googlers, whose contributions are essential to our ability to reflect the world around us, especially here at our California HQ."
