Google Says 21 percent of Tech Hires in 2014 Were Women, Resulting from Efforts to Bridge Gender and Minority Gaps in the IT Industry

Google said 21 percent of tech hires in 2014 were women. This is a big leap as a result of its conscious efforts to increase diversity in the IT industry, which is plagued by allegations of gender and minority gaps.

Reuters reports that Google's 2014 tech hires increases by 1 percent the number of women in technical roles. The giant tech company admitted that it is wrong to not divulge these figures and said that it is time to be candid about the make up of its workforce.

The increasing number of women in the tech workforce is part of the efforts to bridge the gender and minority gap that plagues the industry. Last Monday, Google also revealed that the growth of its Black and Hispanic hires is faster than their overall hiring growth. These minorities make up 5 percent of Google's entire workforce. According to the company, this is progress, though they have a long way to go in bridging the gaps.

TheElkhartTrurh reveals Google is still struggling to diversify their workforce beyond whites and Asians. Google and most other tech companies are facing the same challenges. Google vice president of people operations, Nancy Lee, said, "Early indications show promise, but we know that with an organization our size, year-on-year growth and meaningful change is going to take time.

According to NDTVGadgets, Google tech hires has about 53.600 employees as of December 31, 2014. Google's post in Google+ said that the increase in number of women hires resulted from their long-standing investments. Only 14 percent of its workforce are women in 2010. It invested $3 million in Anita Borg Scholarship to have more women study computer science. This resulted to more women hires for its campus outreach program. Google is also doubling its efforts to hire more Blacks and Hispanics.

Google says 21 percent of tech hire in 2014 being women is a early indication of progress, but it admits there is still a long way to go to bridge the gaps of inequality among gender and minorities in the workforce.