WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Leader Schumer and Chair Cantwell:

As you work to negotiate the differences between the Senate’s “United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) of 2021” and the House’s “America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022,” we write to urge the inclusion of provisions that will support diversity and inclusion in the semiconductor industry in the final conference agreement.

According to a 2021 Semiconductor Industry Association study, just four percent of the semiconductor workforce is Black, compared to ten percent in all manufacturing fields and 12 percent in other industries. This study also found that 13 percent of the semiconductor workforce is Hispanic, compared to 17 percent in all manufacturing fields and 18 percent in other industries. Furthermore, a 2019 survey conducted by Global Semiconductor Alliance and Accenture highlighted that women represent less than 25 percent of the workforce in the semiconductor industry, with women holding less than one percent of leadership roles at most companies.

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. The “America COMPETES Act” would build upon the objectives set forth by the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 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 House bill also expresses that semiconductor assistance should be allocated in a manner that, in consultation with the Minority Business Development Agency, adequately addresses the inclusion of economically disadvantaged individuals and small businesses.

We look forward to working with you to develop a final conference agreement that includes provisions like these to improve the diversity of STEM fields like the semiconductor industry as we make significant investments in our nation’s economic security, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation.

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