Is setting diversity goals in hiring fair? This is an important question to explore, especially in…

Is setting diversity goals in hiring fair?
This is an important question to explore, especially in industries dominated by a particular race, gender, or ethnic group. This activity is important because it shows how challenging managing diversity can be, especially in industries like technology. The goal of this activity is to examine what it means to “manage diversity,” and to explore which programs might actually decrease, rather than increase (or at the very least balance) workplace diversity. Read the case about the typical diversity profile of technology companies. Then, using the three-step problem-solving approach, answer the questions that follow.
Managing diversity is a hot topic among technology companies, some of which have started to display transparency by publishing their diversity profiles. Google’s diversity report reveals its workforce is 69.1 percent male and 30.9 percent female. Ethnicity data for Google’s U.S. workforce indicates 53.1 percent white, 36.3 percent Asian, 4.2 percent of two or more races, 3.6 percent Latinx, and 2.5 percent black.1 This pattern is similar to Apple (32 percent female and 54 percent white, and U.S. ethnicity data showing 21 percent Asian, 13 percent Hispanic, 9 percent black, 3 percent of two or more races, and 1 percent other)2 and Facebook (36 percent female, and U.S. ethnicity data of 46.6 percent white, 41.4 percent Asian, 4.9 percent Hispanic, and 3.5 percent black).3
Executives within the technology industry have started to implement a variety of programs and policies to change the demographic profiles of their companies. For example, Pinterest established a 2018 goal to have 25 percent of new hires in engineering roles be female and 8 percent from underrepresented ethnic groups.4 Intel established a hiring goal of full representation of underrepresented minorities and women in its U.S. workforce by 2020.5
While companies that set them note the hiring goals are not meant to be quotas, some managers may perceive them that way. This would likely create feelings of reverse discrimination, fueling resistance to hiring diverse employees.