Diversity at Intel Is a Work in Progress

By Georgia Wells 

Intel Corp. on Wednesday said the percentage of blacks and Hispanics in the chip giant's workforce has changed little in the 18 months since the company pledged to increase diversity, highlighting a challenge for large tech companies.

Intel said the share of Hispanics among its U.S. workers fell to 8% in June from 8.3% in December 2014; blacks accounted for 3.7% of the U.S. workforce, up from 3.4% in December 2014. Overall, the share of what Intel calls underrepresented minorities, which includes Native Americans, remained flat at 12.3% from December 2014.

However, the share of U.S. managers who are black, Hispanic or Native American rose to 6.9%, from 4.8% in December 2014.

"We have a way to go on our journey to making Intel a truly inclusive place," Intel said in a statement signed by Chief Executive Brian Krzanich, Vice President Aicha Evans, and Danielle Brown, chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Intel attributed its lack of progress on diversity goals, in part, to a workforce restructuring that started earlier this year. In April, Intel said it planned to lay off 12,000 of its 107,000 employees by the end of next year.

The company said 13.1% of the employees it hired in the U.S. in the first six months of this year are black, Hispanic or Native American. But the overall share of those employees didn't change, suggesting more also left the company.

Other tech companies also have reported little change in the share of minorities in their workforce. But Intel's struggle to move the needle is notable because Mr. Krzanich in early 2015 committed $300 million over five years to address the issue

The share of women at Intel has inched higher in that time, to 25.4% of its U.S. workforce, from 23.5% in December 2014. Among managers, 18.7% are now women, up from 15.4% in December 2014.

In its report, Intel also committed to pay equity among its workers. For the first time, Intel evaluated pay data across races and ethnicities, and found black workers make 99% of what their white colleagues with similar jobs and experience are paid, while Hispanic and Native American workers make 98% what their white colleagues make. Intel says it is working to close this gap in 2016.

The share of black and Hispanic employees at Intel is greater than at several other big tech companies. Google parent Alphabet Inc. said recently that 2% of its U.S. employees are black and 3% Hispanic; at Facebook Inc., those shares are 2% black and 4% Hispanic. At Apple Inc., however, 9% of U.S. employees are black and 12% Hispanic. The numbers aren't directly comparable: Many Apple employees work in its retail stores, while many Intel employees work in its chip-making plants.

Write to Georgia Wells at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2016 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)

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