'We Still Have Much Work to Do': PledgeLA Releases a Snapshot of Diversity in LA Tech
Tami Abdollah from dot.LA reports on a July 15, 2020 survey of the Los Angeles venture capital and tech community that found white employees to have a leg up on jobs through their personal networks and female tech employees continue to earn less than the national average, at 71 cents to their male counterparts' $1, among other findings.
PledgeLA, an initiative created by the Annenberg Foundation and the mayor of Los Angeles to promote civic engagement and diversity within the tech community, provided the results as part of their second annual survey.
PledgeLA has 222 signatories from L.A.'s venture capital and tech community, including Beyond Meat, Honey, Fernish, FabFitFun, Snap, Soylent and Sweetgreen, who have pledged to "increase our community engagement by supporting organizations that are making a difference throughout Los Angeles," "actively and continuously improve equity, diversity, and inclusion at all levels of our organizations and in our investment decisions," and "hold ourselves accountable by measuring and transparently reporting on our progress and impact on these outcomes."
On the diversity front, "PledgeLA VCs fail to reflect the diversity of Los Angeles both within firms and in their investments," the report found, noting that Latinx, Black and women founders were among the most underrepresented groups.
"We still have much work to do, but know that our driven coalition of leaders from tech, venture capital, city government, and philanthropy are committed to helping bring ever more Angelenos into high-paying jobs and most importantly, to the decision-making table," said Cinny Kennard, executive director of the Annenberg Foundation.
Key findings from participating firms include:
White employees overwhelmingly get their jobs through referrals and personal networks while people of color typically apply through LinkedIn or a company website.
PledgeLA participating companies are more racially diverse than Silicon Valley, with a larger share of under-represented minorities at employee and manager levels
PledgeLA participating companies are twice as likely to back female founders, but women still make up only 18% of their investments.
There is virtual gender parity among employees and managers, especially compared to the more male-dominated Silicon Valley, even as pay lags. Women from under-represented minority groups only make up 5% of the workforce.
While 74% of L.A. County is nonwhite, 44% of participating VC firms are nonwhite. That's roughly similar to the 45% from last year's survey.
Firms are still more white and male among their senior leaders and executives, with men making up 58% of all leadership and white VCs making up 52%.
Most VCs, especially non-white VCs, are "unsure" of how fair raises and promotions are.
Women VCs earn about $18,000 less than their male peers, or roughly 82 cents per a man's $1.
8% of VCs reported experiencing misconduct, including sexual harassment, at the job or a work-related event.
Read the full article here.
