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For all the talk of meritocracy in Silicon Valley, the numbers have never added up. Black graduates make up 8% of computer science degree holders, yet in the workforce at top tech companies, we barely reach 4%. The industry has spent years performing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts while never achieving parity. And now, the performance is over. DEI is being dismantled, technical hiring has stalled, and what remains is a hiring system that has always favored one thing above all: the status quo.
Every major tech company has either banned DEI outright or quietly stopped hiring technical talent. Amazon, Meta, Google, and Salesforce have each put the brakes on recruitment, claiming economic downturns and efficiency measures as the rationale. But let’s be clear: these companies were never equitable to begin with, and Black employees—who never saw real inclusion—were the first to be cut. Since 2022, over 700,000 layoffs have rocked the industry. And with them, any illusion of progress.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The racial makeup of these companies has remained disproportionately white and Asian for years. Even at their peak, Black employees were only 4% of Meta’s workforce, 4% of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and 4% of Salesforce. The vast majority of technical roles were, and continue to be, held by white and Asian employees, particularly men.
· Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): 46% Asian, 39% white, 4% Black
· Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): 50% white, 39% Asian, 4% Black
· Salesforce: 50.7% white, 37.2% Asian, 4% Black
These numbers aren’t an accident. They reflect a systemic pipeline that rewards the already connected. Black professionals are disproportionately left out, and now, with DEI budgets gutted, even the pretense of change has been abandoned.
The Myth of Meritocracy
We are often told that hiring in tech is about skills, intelligence, and competition. If that were true, why does a demographic that represents 6% of the U.S. population dominate these companies? Are Asian employees inherently better at these jobs, or is something else at play? The reality is that hiring in tech has always been about who you know. Elite institutions, generations-old networks, and family ties have made breaking into the industry nearly impossible without the right connections.
For Black graduates, the odds have always been slim. Even with a degree, even with experience, we are overlooked in hiring and overrepresented in layoffs. We don’t have the built-in networks that funnel our white and Asian peers into Silicon Valley’s most coveted roles. And now, with hiring freezes in place, those without the “homie hookup” are locked out altogether.
A New Era of Gatekeeping
This is what hiring looks like in Trump’s America. A return to closed-door policies where who you know means more than what you can do. As computer science jobs dry up, young graduates—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—are left scrambling. The promise of tech as a pathway to generational wealth has always been tenuous, but now it’s evaporating completely. For years, Black engineers and tech professionals have fought for a seat at the table, only to watch the doors slam shut once again AFTER pouring their early 20s and hundreds of thousands of dollars into a degree they can’t use.
So, what happens next? For Black talent, the lesson is clear: our resourcefulness and knack for real-life problem solving is not valued. We must build our own networks, create our own opportunities, and demand more than performative DEI efforts that disappear the moment the economy tightens. If the big tech firms want to pretend diversity never mattered, it’s up to us to prove them wrong—by innovating, investing in our own communities, and making sure the next generation doesn’t have to beg for a seat at a table that was never built for us in the first place. The barriers to building technology have never been lower; now is the time when we can produce these systems ourselves.
Shawn Filer is an entrepreneur, strategist, and technology innovator from Ferguson, Missouri, dedicated to leveraging AI and data-driven solutions to drive social and economic impact. His work sits at the intersection of technology, business, and community-driven innovation, empowering organizations through cutting-edge digital transformation.
A Stanford University alumnus, Filer holds a Master’s in Policy Organization and Leadership Studies and a Bachelor’s in Management Science and Engineering. His expertise spans critical race theory, big data, AI-driven decision-making, organizational management, and entrepreneurship for social and racial equity.
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