Fixing the pipeline

[Bloomberg] [Fully Charged]( From [Bloomberg](   [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]([Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  Hey, it’s Mark. In the three years since Silicon Valley woke up to the importance of racial and gender diversity, the industry’s most convenient excuse for its shortcomings somehow persists. The “pipeline problem,” which places the blame for a homogenous talent pool on the education system, is a common scapegoat for tech executives. Now the Trump administration may inadvertently help bolster this flawed argument. The U.S. Justice Department is looking to investigate a complaint alleging [discrimination]( of Asian-American college students. Multiple [reports]( suggest the broader target will be the use of affirmative action to the detriment of white students, with a pending lawsuit against Harvard University serving as a vehicle. Despite being situated on opposite coasts, Harvard and the Valley have a lot in common. Two of the world’s three wealthiest men in tech —Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg— were Harvard dropouts. The racial demographics of the incoming class look a bit like a large tech company. Whites account for about half, followed by Asian-Americans, at 22 percent. Blacks and Latinos are further behind. “Affirmative action” is a far more controversial term than “diversity.” Critics say affirmative action favors ethnicity over smarts or hard work. But diversity in U.S. schools has improved as a result, and affirmative action in higher education seemed secure before this week. A Supreme Court opinion last year was [unambiguous](. But now with the fate of affirmative action less certain, the result can’t be good for the pipeline. So it’s curious that tech’s thought leaders have been silent on this issue so far. Political punditry has become a favorite sport for executives, who weigh in on everything from [immigration]( and [privacy]( to [partisanship](. They’ve even preached about a different pipeline —the [Keystone XL](. Perhaps the industry has unanimously decided to give up on its unhealthy obsession with the talent pipeline. I won’t dwell on [how]([Â](dubious the theory is. It doesn’t explain why the proportion of black and Latino Americans with computer science degrees is [significantly higher]( than their representation in the tech workforce. Companies that have made progress on diversity are the ones that have done something about it. Facebook’s black and Latino workers each [inched up]( a percentage point in the most recent report, published this week. The company made mistakes along the way, including its reliance on an [executive hiring committee]( that failed to prioritize diversity, and the meager improvements it has made don’t represent the kind of wins tech companies like to boast about. No one writes a press release for gains of a percentage point. But this is how progress happens: one small, deliberate gesture at a time. Some responses from the corporate world actually look a lot like [affirmative action]( —just don’t call it that. The onus will likely fall on businesses, not the government or colleges, to provide minorities with the opportunities to pursue a career in technology. If it were up to President Trump, we may all be working for the [local milk people](. —[Mark Milian](mailto:mmilian@bloomberg.net)  And here’s what you need to know in global technology news Facebook is trying to automate its game of fake-news Whack-a-Mole. The social networking giant said it created software to [flag suspicious content]( and refer it to fact checkers.  GrubHub keeps gobbling up the food delivery market. The publicly traded company [bought Yelp’s Eat24]( for $288 million.  WeWork is serious about dorms. The co-working startup is developing a 36-floor building in Seattle that will serve as a [WeLive](. It’s for tenants who want a flexible lease in a pre-furnished apartment in a building that hosts events for residents and offers shared common spaces and amenities such as laundry rooms, lounge areas, workout studios and large kitchens.  Investors are watching Toyota. The automaker is [recruiting like crazy]( with aggressive hiring pitches targeting information technology specialists and software engineers along a train line where there’s a lot of tech companies. It’s also sitting on a [huge cash pile](.  SoftBank is still going. The Japanese investment firm put [$250 million]( into online lender Kabbage.    You received this message because you are subscribed to the Bloomberg Technology newsletter Fully Charged. You can tell your friends to [sign up here](.  [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022