Editing Silicon Valley (section)

=== Race ===
A 2017 study showed that [[White Americans|white]] males made up the majority of higher positions, with 58.7% holding executive positions and 46.5% being managers. The second highest position holders were [[Asian Americans|Asian]] men, with 16.3% having executive positions and 17.9% being managers. [[African Americans|African/Black]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic/Latino]] people had the lowest percentages in all categories.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rangarajan |first=Sinduja |date=June 25, 2018 |title=Bay Area tech diversity: White men dominate Silicon Valley |url=http://revealnews.org/article/heres-the-clearest-picture-of-silicon-valleys-diversity-yet/ |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=Reveal |language=en-US}}</ref>

''[[Harvard Business Review]]'' published an article in 2018 discussing diversity and inclusion and gave statistics on black employees along with advice to future black technicians. LeRon L. Barton, a black man who spent over two decades in Tech, gave an insight on his work experiences. He said he saw no one who looked like him in his profession and said he received many comments that he believed disregarded his skill such as being called the diversity hire. He described being isolated from his team, and constantly having to prove he could do the job he was hired for.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barton |first=LeRon L. |date=March 4, 2021 |title=What It's Like to Be a Black Man in Tech |work=Harvard Business Review |url=https://hbr.org/2021/03/what-its-like-to-be-a-black-man-in-tech |access-date=December 6, 2023 |issn=0017-8012}}</ref>

Some of the most successful Black people in Silicon Valley include Roy Clay, the founder of Hewlett Packard's computing division who is considered the "Godfather of Silicon Valley";<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guynn |first=Jessica |title=Roy Clay Sr., a Silicon Valley pioneer who knocked down racial barriers, dies at 95 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/09/25/roy-clay-sr-dies/75366211007/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> Ken Coleman, the first Black recruiter at Hewlett and later an executive at Activision and Silicon Graphics;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Horowitz |first=Ben |date=2013-04-11 |title=Ken Coleman |url=https://a16z.com/ken-coleman/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Andreessen Horowitz |language=en}}</ref> John W. Thompson, the first Black CEO of a major tech company, the enterprise security software provider Symantec, and the chairman of computing giant Microsoft replacing the founder Bill Gates; Robert F. Smith, former Goldman Sachs technology M&A banker and founder of software private equity firm Vista Equity Partners; Charles Phillips, President of Oracle and CEO of Infor who coined the term "enterprise software" during his time as a technology banker at Morgan Stanley with Frank Quattrone and Mary Meeker;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gelles |first=David |date=2019-05-19 |title=Who Is Robert F. Smith, the Man Paying Off Morehouse Graduates’ Loans? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/business/robert-f-smith-morehouse-vista-equity.html |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fuhrmans |first=Vanessa |date=2017-11-08 |title=Meet the CEO Trying to Make Business Software...Beautiful? |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-ceo-trying-to-make-business-software-beautiful-1510153201 |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> and Stacy Brown-Philpot, the first Black female tech CEO at online marketplace TaskRabbit. <ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaukab |first=Farva |date=2016-05-26 |title=Profile: Stacy Brown-Philpot, TaskRabbit |url=https://www.ft.com/content/282a3896-1e6a-11e6-a7bc-ee846770ec15#axzz4AYUsz0cU |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

Late 2024 and early 2025 marked a shift in the discourse around DEI or diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in Silicon Valley. As many tech companies faced economic headwinds and pressure to reduce costs in the midst of falling valuations and rising interest rates, leading to widespread layoffs and budget scrutiny by investors, DEI programs were often the first thing out the door. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Amazon Wipes Language on Trans People, DEI Goals from Corporate Site |url=https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/amazon-wipes-language-on-trans-people-dei-goals-from-corporate-site |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=The Information |language=en}}</ref>