Technology companies are failing to hire the increasing number of minorities graduating with computer science and computer engineering degrees, according to recent research by USA Today.

The research shows that approximately 2 percent of workers across seven Silicon Valley companies are African-American and approximately 3 percent are Hispanic. More than 4 percent of those receiving bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and computer science in 2013 were African-American, and over 6 percent were Hispanic, according to the Computing Research Association.

Half of African-American and Hispanic graduates with computer science degrees from leading universities are being hired by major technology companies, according to the USA Today article. The research was based on the Computing Research Association’s annual Taulbee Survey, which includes 179 United States and Canadian universities that offer doctorates in computer science and computer engineering.

Syracuse University professors and students alike are concerned with this trend. Chilukuri Mohan, chair of the department of electrical engineering and computer science in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, said in an email that the situation results from “a national lack of understanding of what engineers and computer scientists do and how their work impacts the world.”

He said one possible cause is that students often don’t receive career advice that leads them to study topics like engineering or computer science.

Some have pointed out that there are other potential causes besides these statistics.

Moutaz Maharem, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said there could be a flaw in defining what a minority is in the study. While Caucasians make up a significant proportion of those in the industry, Asians lead both blacks and Hispanics and only trail whites, according to according to a July 24 Washington Post article.

“I think it’s the opposite,” Maharem said. “I think they (minorities) actually do get hired.”

Others have suggested looking at colleges and universities themselves regarding how many engineering and computer science graduates they produce and the quality of its curriculums.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics showed that African-Americans and Hispanics made up 9 percent of all computer science graduates in 2012, and as statistics from 2013 prove, that number is increasing, yet tech industries still lag far behind. Tech industries claim that the education system is to blame for not producing enough viable, worthy candidates to merit hiring, but the numbers do not support that assertion, according to the USA Today article.

Arthur Paris, a professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been interested in this subject for quite some time.

“The progress has been rather slow,” he said, referring to the integration of minorities into the technology industry. “The interest in STEM is much more recent.”

Paris said that he believes societal and economic success depends on diversifying and employing SU’s best and brightest, no matter their race.

He said that as the composition of jobs shifts to more in the tech industry, it’s a matter of human capital.However, Mohan said he’s confident SU students will contribute to the solution rather than the problem.

Said Mohan: “I believe that our students will lead the way in addressing the shortage of minority employees in the tech industry.”

Published on October 22, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Danny: dmantoot@syr.edu