Tech execs acknowledge diversity gap. So, what's next?

The USA TODAY/Stanford Diversity in Tech summit meeting with Jesse Jackson and executives from Google and Facebook was nothing less than a breakthrough on an issue that has vexed the nation since slavery was abolished: minority access to employment and capital.

"Bringing people together to talk about these issues is historic," said Carol Lynn McKibben, a Stanford lecturer who is writing a biography of Rev Jackson. "These things are usually discussed behind closed doors. This was a really important moment to talk about these things in a public forum." Tristan Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, says tech companies are waking up to the growing consumer power of blacks and Hispanics in this country and to the realities of operating in a global marketplace. Studies show that companies with gender and ethnic diversity are more creative and more profitable, he points out.


Tech execs acknowledge diversity gap. So, what's next?