Senators Reverend Warnock, Padilla Advocate for Increased Diversity in Semiconductor Industry Through Investments in Domestic Manufacturing

Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) sent a letter urging Senate leadership to support provisions in the final version of the United States Innovation and Competition Act that would require semiconductor companies receiving federal assistance for research, design, and manufacturing to invest in a more diverse workforce and improve procurement from minority-, veteran-, and women-owned businesses.

The provisions sought by the Senators were included in the House version of this legislation, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act. These provisions would build on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires recipients of federal semiconductor production incentives to invest in worker and community development. This includes training, education, and programs to expand employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged Americans.

"We have an opportunity to bolster diversity and inclusion in the semiconductor industry through the proposed investments in domestic manufacturing, research and development, and supply chain security…by creating an Office of Opportunity and Inclusion within the Department of Commerce to develop standards to ensure that companies receiving semiconductor assistance carry out commitments to expand employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals and provide workforce training, including programming for training and job placement of economically disadvantaged individuals. This Office would also develop standards for increasing participation of and outreach to economically disadvantaged individuals and minority-, veteran-, and women-owned businesses," the senators wrote.

The semiconductor industry lags behind other industries in hiring Black and Hispanic employees. According to a 2021 Semiconductor Industry Association study, just 4 percent of the semiconductor workforce is Black and 13 percent is Hispanic, compared to 10 percent and 17 percent in all manufacturing fields, respectively. A 2019 Global Semiconductor Alliance/Accenture survey found less than 25 percent of semiconductor employees are female and fewer than 1 percent of leadership roles at most companies are held by women.

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