People of color are grossly underrepresented in higher education information technology in comparison to their white peers, a new report from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) found.
According to the report, the information technology in higher education is dominated mostly by white males, leaving behind women, racial and ethnic minorities.
IT professionals in higher education are 81 percent white, and 74 percent of them are male. Only 12 percent of the IT administrators belong to different racial and ethnic minority groups.
IT staff and IT professionals are also mostly white. African Americans represent just 16 percent of the overall workforce, followed by Asians and Hispanics. In both the categories, women represent 23 and 27 percent accordingly.
“Representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities in higher education IT is much lower than among college students, the primary constituent population they serve,” the report said. “When compared to math and computer occupations more broadly, higher education IT has a comparable representation of women, but lower racial/ethnic representation.”
When it comes to the states with better representation of minorities, Southern and Western states ranks top, whereas female IT professionals and administrators are better represented in the Northeast.
The pay equity is also the cause of concern for some minority groups and women, who are underpaid than their colleagues. The report found black and Hispanic women underpaid in comparison to their white male peers. White women are paid equitably, and Asians are generally paid more than white men.
Growth of Faculty Diversity Happening Slowly in U.S. Colleges
