EBay Leads Silicon Valley In Diversity

Some big name companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn have faced criticism recently over their largely white, Asian and male workforces, but eBay's diversity figures slightly better reflect America's gender and racial richness than its Silicon Valley peers.

In its first published diversity report, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) said Thursday that while its U.S. workforce is also largely white, Asian and male, 42 percent of its staff are female, seven percent are black, and five percent are Hispanic. By comparison, diversity reports earlier this year from such companies as Facebook, Google, and Twitter disclosed that women make up about 30 percent of staff and blacks 2 percent. LinkedIn's staff is 39 percent female, while Yahoo's is 37 percent. Google was the first to report diversity figures about two months ago.

Here's a closer look at eBay's diversity, by the numbers:

“EBay has taken a step in the right direction,” Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow Push Coalition, said in a statement. “Like other tech companies, eBay said it has much work to do and pledged to do better.”

The San Jose, California, online auction company attributed its diversity to establishing initiatives that promote technology career opportunities for women and people of color. EBay said its Women’s Initiative Network aims to attract more women to careers in technology.

While its diversity numbers are only slightly better than its peers, eBay admits it still has a lot of work to do. For one thing, although eBay employees a higher number of women than other Silicon Valley companies, most of them aren't tech or leadership positions. Blacks and Hispanics at eBay face a similar challenge.

EBay said it recruits from sites such as BlackPlanet, Black Women Connect, African-American Careers and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. In addition to racial and gender diversity, eBay said it seeks to provide career opportunities for veterans and the disabled.

“We believe sustained commitment can make a demonstrable difference,” the company said in a blog post. “And we are far from satisfied. We will continue to strive for progress, and a stronger, better, more diverse eBay.”