Though Facebook’s workforce has gotten more diverse, USA Today reports that critics still say the company has a long way to go. The social media giant released its diversity report on Wednesday, stating that they are “encouraged” that women now make up 35 percent of the workforce and hold 19 percent of the technical positions.
Last year, women were 33 percent of the workforce and held 17 percent of the technical jobs. Minority recruitment is still low, with African Americans at 3 percent of the workforce and Hispanics at 5 percent; while both figures represent 1 percent gains from last year, many don’t believe that Facebook is doing enough to match non-White to available positions.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime advocate for diversity in Silicon Valley, is disappointed with Facebook’s latest numbers.
“Facebook has one of the greatest platforms in the world,” he tells USA Today. ‘The old argument that ‘we can’t find them’ must be discarded. My expectations of Facebook has been higher than this. They’ve done less than their best, and they must do better to assume the leadership which they are capable of.”
Facebook’s diversity chief, Maxine Williams, has not yet discarded those “old arguments,” claiming that too few minorities have the education or training for technical positions within the company. She denies claims made by Bloomberg earlier this year that the problem is with their hiring practices, as qualified candidates are vetoed by senior engineers who are predominantly white and male.
SOURCE: USA TODAY
Facebook Makes Small Gains In Diversity was originally published on newsone.com
