Survey Says: Google Is Mostly White, Male

Google says its workers are 71 percent male, and 61 percent white.

A full 71 percent of Google employees are men, according to numbers released by the tech giant, with 61 percent of Google employees worldwide listing their ethnicities as white.

Asians make up 30 percent of Google employees, with Latinos and blacks at 3 and 2 percent respectively, the Mercury News reported -- and that's after expanding its ranks of black workers by 30 percent.

This means Google is in fact more inclusive than some of the companies it's seeking to buy out: "men hold 83 percent of tech jobs around the world," the newspaper reported, a "sobering" revelation as the tech industry struggles to be seen as more diverse.

Google is so far alone among big tech firms in offering up demographic data, the newspaper reported.

The numbers have people asking how to get more diversity in the tech workforce. By releasing its diversity numbers, Google started a conversation, but also confirmed what tech watchers -- along with political leaders like Jesse Jackson -- have been talking about for a long time.

"I think the tech industry is aware there are few women in the tech industry,” said Caterina Fake, a Silicon Valley CEO who has started several companies. She says, if you're looking to diversify your company, start at the top.

"I am a woman, I hire a lot of women,” Fake said. “If you want women, change the structure and gender distribution of your social network."

And, if you want ethnic diversity, you might want to recruit locally.

"We are the No. 1 supplier of professionals to Silicon Valley,” said San Jose State University’s Daniel Newell.

They're also trying to steer more women and minorities into fields like computer science and business, because that's where the jobs are.

"They're definitely here, but tech in general, there's not enough supply to meet the demand, especially in Silicon Valley,” Newell said.

In a statement to NBC Bay Area, Google said it's not where it wants to be when it comes to diversity, but it will work to get there in the future.

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