Facebook Struggles to Recruit, Retain Black Technical Employees

Facebook Inc. hasn’t been able to increase Black representation in technical roles by a single percentage point since starting to report diversity numbers in 2014.

Black employees now comprise 1.7% of the social media company’s technical roles, up from 1.5% in 2019 and 1% in 2014, Facebook said in its latest diversity report. The demographic lags even as the company has made progress in other areas, like gender. Women now make up 24.1% of technical employees, up from 15% in 2014.

It’s not for lack of trying. Maxine Williams, the global chief diversity officer, is one of the tech ...