Memphis Delivers a Diverse Tech Talent Pipeline

By: Chad Matheson

The economic business case for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is stronger than ever. Noted within a February 2021 report from McKinsey and Company, nearly 60% of America’s black workforce is concentrated in the South. Additionally, ¹black workers are not heavily located in the places where current job opportunities are and where job growth will likely rise the fastest through 2030. Compounding this dynamic, almost half of Black workers in the United States are in three industries with a large frontline presence frontline-service presence: healthcare, retail and accommodation, and food service.

Conversely, Black workers hold a lower presence in industries such as information technology, professional services, and financial services, sectors which typically offer have relatively higher wages and job growth.

Considering these realities, the economic opportunity of untapped potential in race and gender disparities are significant for regional, state, and national economies. Published in an April 2021 working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, ²race and gender gaps cost $2.6 trillion of foregone gross domestic product (GDP) nationally in 2019. For Tennessee, if racial and gender gaps were closed, the state’s GDP would have increased by $37 billion annually from 2005 to 2019.

An untapped concentration of Black and Female tech talent exists in Greater Memphis. A few highlights from the report include:

• Technology-related jobs are one of the faster growing occupational groups in the Greater Memphis region, expanding 7% from 2015 to 2020.
• Strengthening our market’s inclusion outlook for higher wage opportunities, ³Memphis ranks #1 out of the 53 largest metropolitan areas in the presence of Black and Female talent in computer occupations.
• This growth is driven by our region’s #1 rank in job growth for software developer occupations, expanding 75% from 2015 to 2020.

Interested in learning more?

Sources:

¹McKinsey & Company | Race in the workplace: The Black experience in the US private sector, February 21, 2021

²Buckman, Shelby R., Laura Y. Choi, Mary C. Daly, Lily M. Seitelman. 2021 “The Economic Gains from Equity,” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper 2021-11. https://doi.org/10.24148/wp2021-11 

³ Emsi Burning Glass, Q3 2021. Comparative rank of demographic share of computer occupations (SOC 15-200) as a percent of total within the 53 largest metropolitan areas with populations greater than or equal to 1 million.