Google Inc said 21 percent of tech hires last year were women, boosting overall number of women in technical roles by 1 percent, as part of efforts to increase diversity.

The company recently began disclosing the makeup of its workforce after admitting that it was "wrong, and that it's time to be candid about the issues."

The technology industry has long been plagued not just by allegations of a gender gap but also by a broad lack of inclusiveness that affects minorities too.

Google said Monday that the increase in Black and Hispanic employees outpaced the company's overall hiring growth, but made up for only 2 percent and 3 percent of total workforce, respectively.

"Though we still have a long way to go, we're seeing some early progress," the company said in a Google Plus post. (bit.ly/1SRsDuN).

As of Dec. 31, Google had 53,600 full-time employees.