Tesla released their diversity numbers and, well, what did you expect?

For the first time in the company’s 17 year history, Tesla has publicly released statistics on the gender and racial makeup of its almost 50,000 employees. 

As reported by CNBC, Tesla’s leadership is comprised of 59 percent white people and 83 percent males. 

Further statistics show that women of all races make up 20 percent of the non-leadership workforce. Black people are 10 percent of that workforce, Asian employees comprise 21 percent, and Hispanic or Latinos are 22 percent. 

A further 7 percent of the workforce was counted as “Additional groups,” which include Pacific Islanders and Native Americans. The CNBC summary also noted that the company “did not include figures on nonbinary and gender nonconforming employees.” 

The homogeneity of Tesla’s workforce isn’t terribly surprising. A leaked handbook for Tesla employees that surfaced earlier in 2020 was big on encouraging people to invest in the company’s success regardless of their actual job role, but did little to lay out how major workplace concerns like sexual harassment, racism, diversity, and inclusivity are handled.

Tesla’s report on its diversity numbers included a statement which detailed future plans to recruit new talent at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and also promised to invest in bias training for all hiring staff. It’s a start.