A woman uses a computer keyboard in this photo illustration taken in Sydney June 23, 2011. (Photo : REUTERS/TIM WIMBORNE)
United States President Barrack Obama challenged tech companies, including giants Amazon and Microsoft, to hire women and take advantage of their feminine talents in advancing the tech industry in the country.
During the first-ever White House Demo day, Obama announced that America houses the most number of IT companies in the world. To keep the momentum, the country needs to showcase and nurture half of its talent, women and African-Americans, CNET reported.
Women make up 59 percent of the total U.S. workforce and 51 percent of the population. Surprising, they only compose 30 percent of the tech industry work force, according to US Census Bureau data.
"Hiring women isn't just the right thing for companies to do. It's more profitable," said Megan Smith, the US Chief Technology Officer of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Smith pointed to a McKinsey and Co. study that shows companies that are more gender and ethnically diverse perform better financially.
"We've got to make sure that everybody is getting a fair shot," Obama said. "The next Steve Jobs might be named Stephanie or Esteban. They might never set foot in Silicon Valley. We've got to unleash the full potential of every American"
Facebook, Google, and IBM responded to the call of the head of state and outlined their plans on increasing diversity in the scope.
Facebook will launch a new Supplier Diversity program meant to increase the number of women and minority-owned businesses on Facebook's supply chain. Google is set to host its first-ever Women's Demo Day. IBM will expand its relationship with Girls Who Code. 21 percent of the tech hires in Google in 2014 were female. The achievement is the beginning of the company's game plan to employ more women, Town Hall reported.
