DC ranks as the top city for diversity in STEM

Not only is D.C. the best place to be for women in tech, it ranks #1 for diversity in STEM, too, according to a new study from SmartAsset.

The personal finance company surveyed the demographics of STEM employment in 35 tech hubs across the U.S., and D.C. shows the most racial, ethnic and gender diversity in its tech workforce.

SmartAsset drew data from the Census Bureau’s 2017 1-year American Community Survey to measure the average of the racial diversity index and the gender diversity index in each city.

Even though the District is doing well for diversity, representation of women in STEM does not exceed 45% in any major tech city. White technologists still make up most of the tech workforce, representing more than 54% across all of the 35 cities surveyed. Asian technologists averaged 17% of the workforce, while Hispanic or Latino tech workers only represent 9% of it.

Here are the top 10 cities for diversity in STEM:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Philadelphia
3. Sacramento
4. New York
5. Boston
6. Houston
7. Los Angeles
8. Chicago
9. Dallas
10. San Diego

In D.C. specifically, 43% of the STEM workforce are women, which was the highest representation of women in the study. Fewer than 5% of the tech workforce is Asian in the District, and white technologists make up for 59% of it.

The District comes in at the second highest city for Black technologists specifically, making up 19% of D.C.’s tech workforce. (Atlanta didn’t land in the top 10 for diversity, but it was the only city surveyed that has a tech workforce that is at least 20% Black.)

We can still consider this an accomplishment for the nation’s capital, improving from #10 in this study back in 2017.