Oct. 28--Three blacks and one Hispanic hold board seats at 20 of the biggest technology companies that include Chicago-based Groupon.
Those are the findings of a newly published report by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based civil rights group founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Of 189 total director slots in top technology companies, 1.6 percent are filled by blacks and 0.5 percent by a Hispanic, Rainbow PUSH said.
Eleven of the companies, including Groupon, have no one of color -- including Asians or Indians -- on their boards, the group said.
The companies with blacks or Hispanics as board members are Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce, Rainbow PUSH said.
Groupon, an e-commerce site best known for its daily deals, has eight directors, of which one, CDW Chief Financial Officer Ann Ziegler, is a woman.
Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, a black woman, had been on Groupon's board since 2011 but left it earlier this year.
A call and an email to Groupon early Monday afternoon wasn't returned by late Monday afternoon.
Blacks and Hispanics are better represented on the boards of Fortune 500 companies as a whole, according to the Alliance for Board Diversity.
In 2012, black men and black women held 5.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, of board seats on the Fortune 500, according to the alliance.
Hispanic men and Hispanic women held 2.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, according to the alliance.
The Rainbow PUSH study found that women overall had 36 seats, accounting for 19 percent, on the technology companies' boards.
On Fortune 500 board seats, white women occupy 13.4 percent, the alliance said.
byerak@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @beckyyerak
