Microsoft Corp. is facing increased difficulties in retaining its female, Black, and Latinx employees, despite ongoing efforts to promote a diverse workforce.
According to the company’s latest diversity and inclusion report, which measures both voluntary and involuntary departures, these groups have been leaving at an accelerated rate, posing challenges for the tech giant’s diversity initiatives.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, women accounted for 32.7% of departures, up from 31% the previous year.
Black workers represented 10% of US exits, compared to 8.7% in 2023, while Latinx departures climbed to 9.8% from 8%.
In contrast, the report noted that fewer male and Asian employees left the company during the same period.
Poaching and business shifts cited as causes
Microsoft has attributed this rising trend in departures to a combination of factors, including increased poaching by rival companies and a strategic shift away from its physical and online retail businesses, which have historically employed a more diverse workforce.
Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Microsoft’s Chief Diversity Officer, acknowledged the challenge in an interview. “Once that talent arrives at Microsoft, we know that we’ve got to do more,” she said, as per a report by Bloomberg.
“That includes providing mentors and career options that give them an ongoing reason to invest and stay at Microsoft.”
McIntyre also highlighted the growing number of jobs in cloud-computing data centers, which are distributed across various geographic locations.
These roles, she noted, offer opportunities to improve diversity in hiring but also require enhanced efforts to retain these employees long-term.
Diversity crucial development of AI products
The stakes for Microsoft’s diversity efforts are high, especially as the company works to ensure its emerging artificial intelligence products are free from racial, gender, and other biases.
“It’s going to take lots of perspectives to birth a trusted AI that everybody wants to engage with,” McIntyre said.
Microsoft is not alone in grappling with this issue. Few companies disclose employee retention data broken down by racial and gender categories.
However, last year, BlackRock Inc. released an audit showing that high departure rates among Black and Latinx leaders nearly offset the firm’s progress in diversifying its leadership ranks.
As Microsoft faces these retention challenges, its ability to address them will be crucial to its future workforce diversity and the inclusivity of its AI products.
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