In its latest diversity report, Facebook has announced plans to have 50% of its STEM workforce consist of under-represented groups by 2024.

The company is specifically looking to recruit talented people who are: Black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islanders, have two or more ethnicities, live with disabilities, and/or are veterans.

To meet its goal Facebook will have to double its female, Black and Hispanic U.S. workforce in five years’ time.

The company says it has seen a 25X increase in Black female employees and a 10X increase in Black male employees since 2014, the year Facebook started publishing diversity reports.

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While there has also been a push to promote underrepresented groups to leadership positions, 2018 data suggests white men remain the most common demographic in executive or senior roles, followed by white women, and then Asian men.

Currently, about 2.2% of Facebook’s workforce is a veteran and 8% of its U.S. workforce identifies as LGBTQ.

“We’re proud to have earned 100% on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality,” reads a report excerpt.

While the target is ambitious, Facebook has made strides to welcome minority groups by investing in partnerships and collaborations.

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The company says the initiative doesn’t just make senes from a moral standpoint: Having a diversified workforce will also help the bottom line.

“If we don’t have that cognitive diversity, if we don’t mimic what our actual user base looks like, they don’t have a voice, they don’t see themselves there,” diversity manager Donnie S. says in a video promoting the program.

“And then they’re not going to spend time on a platform that they don’t believe speaks to them.”

Read the full report here.

Image courtesy: Canva.