Atlassian 2018
State of Diversity and Inclusion in U.S. Tech
Despite massive amounts of attention and discussion about diversity and inclusion, most of the tech industry is not making significant progress toward building balanced teams. The question is, why?
For the second year in a row, we commissioned a report to understand the attitudes and behaviors of tech workers in Silicon Valley and the United States. This year's results show that fatigue has set in and progress has stalled. People are tired of talking about diversity and inclusion, frustrated by talk not turning into impactful action, and overwhelmed by the number of issues. While respondents continue to say that diversity and inclusion are important, action declined across the board.
See the full report
Key findings...
80%
of respondents agree D&I is important
HOWEVER...
Up to
50%
decrease in individual participation year over year
More than
40%
believe their company's inclusion of people from underrepresented groups needs no improvement
Less than
30%
of underrepresented groups have representation, retention, and sense of belonging
And
Adoption of company-wide initiatives remains flat
CHALLENGES
Three primary reasons why individuals are opting out
People say that D&I is important, yet their actions do not match their words. Why are people failing to take responsibility to create positive change?
Diversity fatigue
It takes a lot of energy and resources to solve these complex problems, and it's difficult to stay committed when progress is slow or non-existent.
The wrong conversation
Most D&I programs focus on increasing the representation numbers of a narrowly-defined category of "diverse" candidates, instead of focusing on belonging and inclusion throughout the company.
Breadth of issues
Many individuals feel they can't make a significant difference in such a complex web of problems, and they become too overwhelmed to take action.
SOLUTIONS
Where we go from here
How do we re-energize the commitment to D&I?
Focus on team-level progress
Most of the current D&I conversations focus on company-level metrics. But if underrepresented people are found only in select departments or at the lower levels of the company, you're not gaining the complete value of having a balanced team. It's also looking at a unit too big for folks to effect: if they can influence their team, they've done something important.
Foster belonging and inclusion
Equip individuals with the skills to make an impact within their sphere of influence, and raise our collective standards about how people engage in the workplace. Begin by listening to and believing marginalized people who tell their stories, and listen to them about the solutions—their expertise is valuable. Companies must create a place where teammates can have open, respectful dialogue – by understanding others' experiences, we can learn to help them belong.
Update processes and policies
Tactical programs can address representation and retention issues. A diverse-slate approach to hiring, implementing a values-aligned vs. a culture-fit interview, and providing opportunities specifically for people from underrepresented groups to grow and develop are proven to be effective.
Re-commit to increasing balance, belonging, and inclusion on your team.
At Atlassian, our mission is to unleash the potential in every team. Diversity and inclusion are non-negotiable components of our ability to fulfill that mission, and we plan to use these results to refine our programs and initiatives.
But we can't do it alone. We challenge you to step up. Live up to the reputation as the most innovative problem-solvers in the world. Re-commit to increasing balance, belonging, and inclusion on your team.
DATA
2018 U.S. Tech D&I Findings
Companies and individuals say they care about diversity and inclusion
Companies and individuals continue to believe that diversity and inclusion are important. Roughly 80% of respondents agree that diversity and inclusion are important, which is a slight uptick from 2017.
Silicon Valley: Respondents agree that D&I is important
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Respondents agree that D&I is important
Number of respondents (%)

Talk to us
Tell us how you are pushing for change, and share your best diversity and inclusion tips using #teamup.
Discrepancy between belief and action
Though companies are running programs to improve D&I, the rate of implementation ground to a halt. Silicon Valley has fewer formal D&I programs than last year, and the tech industry as a whole just caught up to Silicon Valley.
This year, we’ve seen companies do the following:
Silicon Valley: Company action
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Company action
Number of respondents (%)

Individual participation has fallen
While 80% of individuals say D&I is important, individual participation has fallen across the board. Only participation in diversity working groups grew significantly year over year.
Silicon Valley: Individual action
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Individual action
Number of respondents (%)

Individuals are the key to progress
Respondents continue to believe individuals are the key to improving diversity and inclusion. However, the belief that companies will affect these issues dropped in Silicon Valley and the U.S., while the belief that national government, local government, and the judicial system would have an impact grew. This indicates respondents have less confidence that their companies will do the right thing on their own, and feel legislative action will be needed to improve diversity and inclusion.
Silicon Valley: Who has the most impact on improving D&I?
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Who has the most impact on improving D&I?
Number of respondents (%)


Learn more from the Kapor Center
Read about the effects of comprehensive D&I programs: Tech-Leavers Study by the Kapor Center
Maintaining the status quo
Though participation in D&I initiatives fell in Silicon Valley, it appears that respondents are more aware of the issues at an industry and company level. And while respondents from the U.S. are more optimistic about the progress they've made year over year, their ratings are in line with last year's responses from Silicon Valley. In summary, we know we're failing, but we're not willing to do the hard work to change.
Silicon Valley: Respondents who give an “A” grade
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Respondents who give an “A” grade
Number of respondents (%)

Low representation, retention, and belonging
Despite implementing initiatives and participating in the conversation, we lack representation, retention, and a sense of belonging among underrepresented groups in tech. Silicon Valley percentages fell in all three categories. We've seen an increase in the sense of belonging and representation in the broader U.S. respondents, and retention remained flat. Unfortunately, the improvements in the tech industry at large merely bring them in line with the ratings from Silicon Valley last year.
Silicon Valley: Rating representation, retention, and belonging
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: Rating representation, retention, and belonging
Number of respondents (%)

No improvement needed
And yet, respondents feel that their company needs no improvement in the following areas:
Silicon Valley: No improvement needed
Number of respondents (%)

U.S.: No improvement needed
Number of respondents (%)


Learn more from the Ascend Foundation
Think tech needs no improvement? Think again. Ascend Foundation found that representation of Black and Hispanic women has fallen.
See the full report
Where do we go from here?
There’s no question that solving tech’s representation challenges to achieve true diversity is hard. But no matter where your company or team currently sits on the diversity continuum, there is a way forward. Armed with a better sense of where the most common gaps in understanding are, we can interrupt bias and help our industry become the meritocracy it should be.
This requires investment at every level: companies must correctly analyze the diversity of their organizations, functions and teams; they must equip their employees with actionable strategies to help them create the kinds of inclusive environments that attract and sustain diversity; and individuals must understand the true state of diversity in tech, and contribute to practices that change their teams, companies and the industry culture for the better.
Share your experiences and tips: #teamup
Click here to download a full summary of survey statistics.

Resources
The survey was conducted on behalf of Atlassian by Market Cube in January 2018 among 1,500 tech workers in the United States, and 400 tech workers in Silicon Valley. Respondents were drawn from a diverse range of geographies and job roles at companies of 20 employees or more.