• Home
  • News
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Microsoft

Microsoft’s gender gap narrows (but just a little)

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 3, 2014, 7:39 PM ET
Photo by Bloomberg—Getty Images

Microsoft is making progress in closing the gender gap among its workers. But it still has a long way to go.

Those are some of the findings in the tech giant’s latest diversity report, which breaks down the demographics of its employees.

Women make up 29% of Microsoft’s global workforce, up from 24% a year ago, Microsoft said on Friday.

The results show a company that is still largely staffed by white and Asian males. The make-up largely dovetails that other tech companies like Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) that have also recently published their employee demographics amid criticism that they are failing to do enough to create a more diverse workplace.

Lisa Brummel, Microsoft’s executive vice president of human resources, called diversity and inclusion a “business imperative” for her company. While Brummel admitted it made progress, she says more work remains for the future.

“Diversity needs to be a source of strength and competitive advantage for us,” she said. “We can all agree that much work remains to be done to increase the diversity of our company and the tech industry.”

Microsoft’s demographic breakdown, published on a new website broke down, show that the company is overwhelmingly white and Asian. Employees of other races are few and far between.

Whites accounted for 60.6% of employees while Asians made up 28.9%. Meanwhile, 5.1% of workers were Hispanics, 3.5% were black and 1.2% were multi-racial.

The company also said that the percentage of senior executive women and minorities bumped up to 27% from 24% in 2013. In addition, the percentage of women and minorities sitting on the Microsoft board of directors rose to 40%, from 33% in 2013.

The news comes as the percentage of women nominated for boards at large U.S. Companies doubled since 2008, according to Coins2Day, citing a report from proxy advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services.

Coins2Day also recently ranked tech companies on employee diversity, with Pandora claiming the top spot for overall gender diversity with 51% of its workers male and 49% female.

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Benjamin Snyder is Coins2Day's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Coins2Day, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Coins2Day in 2014.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Global 500
  • Coins2Day 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Coins2Day Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Coins2Day Brand Studio
  • Coins2Day Analytics
  • Coins2Day Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Coins2Day
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Coins2Day Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Coins2Day Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.