The social media website Facebook has recruited another 2,897 employees this year, but its staff remain largely white and Asian men. These are the main findings of its new demographic report – and, in response, Facebook has admitted that “we still aren’t where we want to be”.
The report reveals that, though the company now has 10,082 workers, a considerable 40% increase in the number a year ago, the percentage of women has grown by just 1%. Meanwhile, Facebook hasn’t even quantified any progress it has made in upping the proportion of non-Asian ethnic minorities.
Facebook’s Global Director of Diversity, Maxine Williams, acknowledged: “Cognitive diversity, or diversity of thought, matters because we are building a platform that currently serves 1.4 billion people around the world.” She described having a varied workforce as “not only the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do for our business.”
Initiatives that the company has launched to tackle its diversity problem include a training scheme intended to reduce biases against minorities and an expansion of Facebook University, through which college freshman with big potential but from underrepresented groups can obtain internships.
