Dive Brief:
- Despite concerted efforts to bring in more women and minorities for software engineer jobs at Facebook, the company's own diversity recruitment program is coming up against an internal veto process by upper management that's defeating the hiring process, Bloomberg reports.
- Upper management at Facebook still tend to hire candidates based on where they went to school, who they know in the industry and what tech companies they have previously worked for — all traits that lead to the hire of more White and Asian men.
- A company spokeswoman advises that Facebook's recruitment team is trained on diversity and management bias. But insiders advise that many candidates are eliminated before they reach the final stages of recruitment interviews. During 2015 to 2016, the proportion of Black and Latino hires remained the same, and there was a 1% increase in the number of women hired.
Dive Insight:
Facebook is a reputable company that has been making strides to hire for diversity. However, management needs to be held accountable for the dismal results of their diversity recruitment program. There may still a problem with upper management hiring the same types of candidates, which defeats the purpose.
This happens in many technology firms. But since they are the largest and most popular social media platform today, having a more diverse workforce can help them to create new and better global solutions. They can set the example for others to follow by breaking down barriers to employment for more women and minority software engineers.
