Only 3% of the technology industry’s employees in London are black, according to data compiled for the Evening Standard, prompting calls for wider diversity in the sector.
Tottenham MP David Lammy today demanded tech chiefs and the government to do more to help black workers enter the industry as black people make up 13% of the population in London.
He said: “The under-representation of black workers in UK tech is deeply disappointing. Big tech corporations and start-ups must do more to find talent from all backgrounds.
“All levels of government should work to give young people from all ethnicities the skills, opportunities and ambition to get the jobs of the future.”
Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, said the figures, compiled by recruitment agent Hired, “pi**ed him off” and that the problem lies with a “tech bro culture” whereby white males only hire white males.
He added tech bosses use recruitment agents who hire from the same white pool of workers, while venture capital and private equity investors make the same mistake.
Start-ups said that when raising money investors would also want control over their recruitment process.
“It means you don’t end up with a diverse recruitment pool. It’s unacceptable,” Shaw said.
The problem is made worse by the fact many of the companies are based in Shoreditch, Hoxton and Stratford, where traditionally there have been large black populations in London.
Ayodele Alakija, a software developer at Deloitte, believes part of the problem is the lack of role models in the industry for young black people.
He said: “I never did have any black role models in tech. My role model in that situation was and still is Bill Gates.”
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