Silicon Valley subcontracting makes income inequality worse, report finds

*It’s not that there aren’t Latinos doing fantastic work in tech, it’s that Silicon Valley, try as it may to change, is still blind to communities of color. So the biggest growth in Silicon Valley jobs is in gardeners, drivers and the like, with low wages and no healthcare.  VL

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By Julia Carrie Wong, The Guardian (3 minute read)

Subcontracted jobs have grown at three times the rate of all private sector jobs in Silicon Valley over the past 24 years, exacerbating the region’s gaping income inequality, according to a new report from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The tech firms whose campuses dominate Silicon Valley are known to employ armies of subcontracted employees as janitors, cafeteria workers, gardeners, security guards and shuttle drivers. Researchers found that growth in subcontracted industries has outpaced overall job growth since 1990 – 54% compared with 18%.

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That rise is “contributing” to income inequality, the report says, because subcontractors earn less money, have less access to healthcare, and are more likely to be black or Latino . . . READ MORE

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[Photo by Clay Larsen/Flickr]

Suggested reading

“If you don’t do anything, nothing will happen.” Nancy De Los Santos Reza learned this important lesson early in life. College wasn’t an option, so she got a job as a secretary. A colleague, an older woman who had taken a liking to her, encouraged Nancy to ask her supervisor about attending a professional conference in California. “What’s the worst that could happen?” the woman asked. “They say ‘no’ and you don’t go? You’re already not going.” As a result, Nancy found herself in San Francisco on a life-changing trip. She would go on to earn two college degrees and become the producer of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s movie review program, At the Movies.

De Los Santos Reza’s is one of eight inspiring personal essays by Latinas included in this collection. Each contributor overcame obstacles to happiness and success, and here they share their life lessons in the hopes of motivating others. Whether overcoming fear, guilt or low self-esteem, these women seek to encourage others to discover their personal power.

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