ITI welcomes congressional tech diversity plan

Dean Garfield, CEO of the $10 million-revenue Information Technology Industry Council, welcomed a new initiative to boost workforce diversity in technology.

The Congressional Black Caucus announced its CBC TECH 2020 push May 19.

"The tech sector is committed to building a more inclusive 21st century economy, and that includes making our own workforce more inclusive," Garfield said in a statement. "Diverse opinions, experiences and perspectives not only improve our products and services, but also spark the innovative spirit that we are known for worldwide.

"We are reviewing the proposals and initiatives outlined in today's announcement and will work with the Congressional Black Caucus towards our shared goal of increasing the presence of African Americans working in all levels of our sector," Garfield said.

Garfield has advocated for greater diversity in the sector, leading an initiative last year in which major technology companies including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Yahoo disclosed the makeup of their workforces.

ITI released diversity numbers in November for its own employees, revealing a mixed picture. The group's 37-member staff at the time was whiter and more female than the U.S. workforce as a whole. African Americans were strongly represented but Hispanics were underrepresented. Among ITI's eight top staff, including Garfield, three-quarters were male and three-quarters were white.

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