Dive Brief:

• Facebook launched TechPrep, a resource hub designed to get kids and minorities invested in computer science.
• The site includes games, books, in-person opportunities, and community events to help teachers and parents guide kids to computer science and programming.
• The initiative is the result of a study that found a majority of parents say they do not know how to help their child pursue computer science.

Dive Insight:

The report also revealed that lower awareness of computer science among minorities is driven by lesser access to people and programs.

"By exposing people to computer science and programming and guiding them to the resources they need to get started, we hope to reduce some of the barriers that block potential from meeting opportunity," said Maxine Williams, Facebook's global director of diversity.

Several other tech giants, including Google, Intel and Apple, have been working to increase the number of women and minorities in tech.  Last year, GigaOm released a study that found 91% of the staff at Google and Facebook were either Asian or white. HP had the most Caucasians on staff, with 71.5%. In mid-December 2014, Microsoft released its EEO-1 form, which revealed that the company is 60.6% white and 71% male.