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There's some current dialogue about some big tech companies (google, twitter, facebook) displaying some bias in their actions. Whether that's true or not, it certainly seems that the composition of those companies' workforce leans heavily left.

There are other industries or companies that also seem to slant heavily left or right; for example, journalists lean heavily to the left while industries from the farming, fossil fuel and construction sectors lean right, according to donations to parties in USA (see this link for more details - the IT sector leans somewhat left). Are there any good studies that explain why this happens? It seems odd that certain jobs would appeal to people based on their political preferences, but perhaps that happens. Perhaps one's profession influences one's political beliefs? Or perhaps there's a founder effect, and that as industries grow, people join (and remain with) companies that have a compatible belief structure?

To sum up: I'm asking if there's any good research pointing to why so many organizations' workforces tend toward one extreme or the other, instead of representing a statistical mean of the population. I'm especially interested in organizations that aren't innately political in and of themselves, but where the shift happens more organically.

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    Welcome to Politics, if you want to limit your question to the US, please add the United-States tag. It would also help if you could add a source supporting that some industries seem to lean left or right as this seems to be a premise in your question. – JJJ♦ Aug 30 '18 at 0:08
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    This question is full of assumptions and misconceptions. The big one is the assumption that companies "political voices" are based on the political makeup of their employees. That's sometimes true. But more often than not, not true at all. But the big misconception is that workforces lean to one extreme or the other. That's rarely the case (aside from perhaps a few small businesses focused on very niche products and services). – user1530 Aug 30 '18 at 0:20
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    What makes you think Finance is right-leaning? In 2008, they supported the Democrats over the Republicans. Except in 2012, they have generally been rather balanced. The sectors with the most support for Republicans tend to be traditional Energy (as opposed to Green Energy), Transportation, and Agribusiness in recent presidential elections. For Democrats, Labor, Lawyers & Lobbyists, and Communications/Electronics. – Brythan Aug 30 '18 at 0:37
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    I found these two articles about the political tendencies of every profession: businessinsider.com/… and verdantlabs.com/politics_of_professions Both state that IT workers lean left, but finance leans only slightly to the right. They could help you to justify your premises. – Brian Hellekin Aug 30 '18 at 0:42
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    Not a complete answer so not posting as such, but the rural/urban divide jumps out as the biggest factor. Large news organizations and tech companies are generally found in cities, which are generally more blue, while mines and farms are found in rural areas, generally more red. Not the only factor by any means, but given the political makeup of people by region it follows that the businesses in a given region would be populated by people who reflect that region. – Gramatik Aug 30 '18 at 18:05

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