Facebook racism row as staff accuse firm of ‘belittling’ black workers in open letter to Mark Zuckerberg

FACEBOOK is still inhospitable to its minority employees despite its efforts to confront racism within its ranks, it’s claimed. 

Conditions at the social media giant have grown more hostile since a former employee exposed the company’s “black people problem,” staffers have alleged. 

Writing to boss Mark Zuckerberg said: “There may be a few more posters on the wall. 

“There may be an effort to recruit diverse talent. 

“But not much has changed to ensure that people are recognised, empowered, and overall treated equitably by their managers and peers.”

The note was published the same week as Facebook’s annual “Black@” conference, where top executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg addressed hundreds of their African American employees.

The memo includes a dozen anonymous anecdotes of black employees being belittled, dismissed and denied opportunities for advancement. 

The staffers say they did not use their names because Facebook’s culture makes employees of color afraid to report bad behavior.

The post says the dozen anecdotes are also “reflective of” mistreatment of Latino and female Asian employees.

One program manager said two white employees once “asked me to clean up after their mess.” 

When the person told their boss about the incident, the advice they got was to “dress more professionally.”

Another black staffer was “accused of being a liar and stealing others’ ideas” without any concrete evidence, the post says.

Employees wrote: “Racism, discrimination, bias, and aggression do not come from the big moments.

“It’s in the small actions that mount up over time and build into a culture where we are only meant to be seen as quotas, but never heard, never acknowledged, never recognised, and never accepted.”

A Facebook official apologised for mistreatment the black staffers experienced.

Bertie Thomson, the vice president of corporate communications, said: 

“No one at Facebook, or anywhere, should have to put up with this behaviour. We are sorry.”