South Florida has more technology degree graduates from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds than any other U.S. metro.
At the same time, the tri-county area is one of the least diverse markets for women tech graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher, according to CBRE'S 2021 Scoring Tech Talent report.
Sixty-eight percent of South Florida's 2,770 tech degree graduates in 2020 were from a minority background, the report said. Nearly half of those graduates were Hispanic, while 15.1% were Black, and 3.1% were in the "other" category. (CBRE does not include graduates from Asian backgrounds among groups underrepresented in North America.)
Most of those tech graduates, however, were men.
According to CBRE, only 20.3% of South Florida's 2020 tech degree graduates were women, making it the fourth-least diverse market in the U.S. when analyzed by gender. Orlando was the second-least diverse market for women (16.3% of its 2020 tech graduates were women), following only Salt Lake City (13.2%).
Still, even in the most diverse markets for women, only about one-third of all tech graduates identified as female. Pittsburgh (30.9%), Seattle (30.5%), and the New York City area (30.3%) graduated the most women in 2020.
While its numbers of female graduates trail other metros, CBRE reports South Florida's tech market will benefit from its growing number of Black and Hispanic graduates as the industry – largely male and white – seeks to diversify its workforce.
“In [this] market, we are witnessing a tipping point as the growing technology sector matures into a true global tech hub. This makes a vibrant ecosystem in which accessing talent is such a critical component," said Josh Bank, a managing director at CBRE's Miami office.
Other takeaways from the report:
- It's not just graduates. South Florida has the nation's second-least diverse tech workforce when analyzed by gender. CBRE reports less than a quarter (23%) of the region's tech workforce consists of women.
- While South Florida leads the nation for diverse tech degree graduates by ethnic background, that has not extended to its workforce. The tri-county area did not rank among the country's most diverse labor markets for tech. Instead, Pittsburgh; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee have the highest share of tech talent from underrepresented backgrounds.
- South Florida isn't adding enough tech jobs to keep up with its number of graduates. The region graduated 12,677 students with tech degrees (bachelor's or higher) between 2015-2019. But it only added 10,280 new tech jobs during nearly the same period (2016-2020). Tech graduates who can't find work in their own market are likely move to another area with more jobs, resulting in "brain drain," CBRE reports.
- South Florida has the 23rd-largest tech talent labor pool in the U.S., with 67,500 workers.
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