09-11-2023 California on the Cusp of Landmark Legislation for VC Funding and Diversity

California bill SB-54, a proposed law requiring venture capital firms to report diversity data on the firms they fund, passed the state senate by a vote of 32 to 8. SB-54 is now heading to Governor Gavin Newsome’s desk where pundits believe he will sign and enact the legislation.

TechCrunch reports venture capital firms devoted just 3% of their funds to women- and/or Black-owned businesses. California Senator Nancy Skinner told TechCrunch the firms may not know their funding numbers are so low and that, “… this transparency, hopefully, will nudge them to do better.”(TechCrunch)

News Briefs

Leaked Salary Data Reveals Google’s Ugly Truth Around Wage Discrimination

According to a leaked document in which Google staffers self-report their salary and race, Black workers at Google make, on average, $20,000 less than their white counterparts.

A Google spokesperson countered with this statement, “We compensate Googlers based on what they do, not who they are. We run a rigorous pay equity analysis every year to make sure salaries, bonuses and equity awards are fair. This spreadsheet has old, self-reported data that has not been verified and is not an accurate representation of compensation across our workforce.”

Yet Google is one of the many tech firms refusing to disclose disaggregated pay data, as we detailed in this expose. Currently, Microsoft is the only firm, out of the six Big Tech firms, that released its raw pay equity data. (People of Color in Tech)

Related Coverage

Apple Faces $200B Loss After China Bans Use of iPhones for Gov Officials

The Chinese government banned its officials from using iPhones, effective immediately, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. This is in line with China’s many efforts to reduce its reliance on foreign technology. As yet iPhones were the only mobile devices government officials identified as off limits. In the last five days Apple’s market capitalization has dropped $200 billion dollars. (The Wall Street Journal)

Arizona Chip Plant Still Leaves US Exposed to Supply Chain Issues

In other Apple news, after all of the fanfare around the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) Arizona manufacturing plant, it appears the edifice will get the U.S. no closer to its goal of tech autonomy. The Information reports the chips will be made in the U.S. but will still have to be assembled in Taiwan. The U.S. doesn’t have the workers with the unique set of skills necessary to dependably produce the complex semiconductor chips firms like Apple depend on. (The Information)

Editor’s Note: Why Subscriber-Funded Investigative Journalism Matters

As DINT fights for funding, I’m conscious of the requirements that come with financing. That financial backing may come slowly but it will come without strings and unspoken rules to cover up things that must be exposed.

Media Org Vice Posts, Then Deletes Video Critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabian firm MBC Group signed a partnership with Vice Media Group said to be worth $50 million in January.

In June, Vice published its investigative report on Mohammed bin Salman. Minutes later, it removed the video from YouTube. (You can still see it here, though)

The Intercept, a subscriber-supported media group, details Vice’s entanglements with the Saudi government, and it also lays out how others in music and sports have cashed in on the Saudi goldrush; which seems to be designed to divert attention from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights abuses.(The Intercept)

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