by R. Asmerom

Diversity in Silicon Valley continues to be a touchy subject. The dire lack of women and African-Americans, in particular, is one issue that is interpreted from two very different perspectives. Is the lack of diversity due to the dearth of support for African-Americans to enter tech careers or is it due to blatant discrimination by venture capitalists?

One of Silicon Valley’s “most controversial critics” Vivek Wadhwa is certainly not buying the fact that Silicon Valley is a meritocracy. In an interview with Andre Keen on TechCrunch TV, Wadwha said that the few racist and sexist VCs in Silicon Valley were partially responsible for keeping the doors closed to women and Blacks. “What happens is that there is always one arrogant partner, there’s always one sexist, racist,” he said.

In addition, Wadhwa also places blame on the African-American community for not investing in mentorship. He recalled how he told a group of African-American techies that “the problem with you is that you don’t help each other. That caused everyone to gasp, but the reality is that those groups haven’t been helping each other.”

Wadhwa cites how the Indian community advanced in the tech field by creating mentorship programs early on, resulting in their strong presence in the tech field. “1 out of 7 every companies in Silicon Valley had an Indian CTO or CEO between 1995-2007,” he noted.

Watch his full interview at TechCrunch

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