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View Full Version : Jesse Jackson: Get rid of tech worker visas to help educated blacks




RandallFan
12-31-2014, 07:11 PM
http://fortune.com/2014/12/20/jesse-jackson-talks-diversity-in-silicon-valley/

Why Silicon Valley needs to open its doors to make its workforce more diverse. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, 73, has done everything from run for president to negotiating with Saddam Hussein for the release of American hostages. His latest challenge is tackling diversity at notoriously homogenous Silicon Valley companies. Earlier this year Jackson and his organization, Rainbow Push Coalition, pressured tech giants such as Google (http://fortune.com/2014/05/29/google-owns-up-to-lack-of-diversity/), (http://fortune.com/2014/05/29/why-google-voluntarily-released-dismal-diversity-numbers/) Facebook (http://fortune.com/2014/06/25/facebook-diversity/), Twitter (http://fortune.com/2014/07/23/twitter-diversity-statistics/) and eBay to publish reports detailing their employee demographics (http://fortune.com/2014/08/29/how-tech-companies-compare-in-employee-diversity/). The results were predictably dismal: Lots of white and Asian males, and relatively few women, blacks and Hispanics.
Jackson chatted with Fortune about his efforts.
What do you make of the state of diversity in Silicon Valley?
Boards don’t reflect the talent available. Employment numbers for people of color are very low, and investment in their startups isn’t that great. Even in non-tech jobs like law and marketing there isn’t much diversity at tech companies.
We found that when you leave out people of color you leave out a market that leads to growth. We have been challenging companies to give out their diversity data. We took our case to shareholder meetings. Intel was the first, then Google, then the others began to share the data. Everyone shares the same guilt, the same low numbers.


The government has equal opportunity standards. We need to make Silicon Valley accountable. There’s no job here that a woman or a person of color could not handle. It’s in the interests of the valley to expand.


Why the focus on Silicon Valley as opposed to a different sector?



It’s the heart of capital growth. In the South, when the walls came down – the country grew. The same applies to Silicon Valley. The one percent recycle wealth. It goes to the same people – the people they know. We challenge them to open up and include people of color. Creativity isn’t about locking people out. Whenever the ground is even and the rules are transparent there is opportunity. But the playing field isn’t even here.


What can companies do to increase diversity?



The most important thing is to want to create inclusion and diversity to invent new verticals and horizontals for employees to join. The lack of diversity isn’t because people don’t have the genetics, it’s because of old social patterns that don’t let new people in.


We need to get rid of H1B workers. There are Americans who can do that work, and H1B workers are cheaper and undercut wages. We need more computer science scholarships. When I was a kid, I remember being mortified by Sputnik, but in a few months everything was STEM [science, technology engineering and math]. You took STEM classes and you got a scholarship. We trained people, we gave them jobs, we became the best in the world.

DamianTV
12-31-2014, 07:35 PM
Not just those who get "Educations", but those with Trade Skills as well...

End result without change is still the same, the new class of people:

The Educated Poor

specsaregood
12-31-2014, 07:35 PM
From my experience, qualified black applicants have no problems getting hired in the tech field. In fact a lot of tech companies hope for such applicants.

Danke
12-31-2014, 07:46 PM
The is no diversity between different whites nor Asians.

kcchiefs6465
12-31-2014, 08:06 PM
Not just those who get "Educations", but those with Trade Skills as well...

End result without change is still the same, the new class of people:

The Educated Poor
They aren't too educated if they still promote that same lines of protectionist bullshit rather than opting for real change.

For instance, the 'educated' could diagnose an elementary grade school child with what is wrong with their personality, perhaps offer them what drugs might correct it, but is that being educated?

Or they could tell me about the various art epochs.

thoughtomator
12-31-2014, 08:09 PM
From my experience, qualified black applicants have no problems getting hired in the tech field. In fact a lot of tech companies hope for such applicants.

I ride my unicorn side-saddle.

In well over two decades in the IT field I have not encountered a single black IT worker who was hired for anything other than race-quote/affirmative-action/legal defense purposes. Not one. I've not even heard of one, actually.

specsaregood
12-31-2014, 08:15 PM
I ride my unicorn side-saddle.

In well over two decades in the IT field I have not encountered a single black IT worker who was hired for anything other than race-quote/affirmative-action/legal defense purposes. Not one. I've not even heard of one, actually.

While I do believe you just backed up my claim; I have actually worked with 3. 2 great programmers and 1 great DBA. Worth noting is both programmers were not born/raised in America. 1 of them is the guy that first told me about Ron Paul.

Danke
12-31-2014, 08:20 PM
I ride my unicorn side-saddle.

In well over two decades in the IT field I have not encountered a single black IT worker who was hired for anything other than race-quote/affirmative-action/legal defense purposes. Not one. I've not even heard of one, actually.

I work in a field that it is even worse. Safety is compromised for " diversity". But that is usually manifested on the gender side of the equation.

TheTexan
12-31-2014, 08:31 PM
I ride my unicorn side-saddle.

In well over two decades in the IT field I have not encountered a single black IT worker who was hired for anything other than race-quote/affirmative-action/legal defense purposes. Not one. I've not even heard of one, actually.

I met one last year. Smart guy.

One.

thoughtomator
12-31-2014, 08:37 PM
While I do believe you just backed up my claim; I have actually worked with 3. 2 great programmers and 1 great DBA. Worth noting is both programmers were not born/raised in America. 1 of them is the guy that first told me about Ron Paul.

I guess so... it's all theoretical to me. I would imagine that rather than be saddled with your typical discrimination-defense hire, any company would love to have an actually talented/skilled black IT worker. Much cheaper than putting up with an AA retard - who will often sue for discrimination anyway after he/she gets fired for incompetence or workplace disruption.