Airbnb launches new diversity initiative at HQ

SAN FRANCISCO — As controversy swirls around Airbnb over racial discrimination allegations on its home-sharing platform, the company looks to address workplace diversity.

On Monday the company announced Airbnb Connect, a program to open careers in engineering and data science to minorities, women, veterans and other groups underrepresented in technology. Airbnb will select 11 candidates to participate in the six month program that combines education and paid work at the company’s San Francisco headquarters, with the goal of ultimately offering participants full-time jobs.

“We will build better products if our team is as diverse as the community we serve,” Mike Curtis, Airbnb’s vice president of engineering, wrote in a news release. “We are determined to attract and retain people from diverse backgrounds at Airbnb, and we hope that Airbnb Connect opens up new opportunities for people.”

The diversity initiative comes days after Airbnb kicked a landlord in North Carolina off the platform for reportedly sending racist messages to a traveler who wanted to stay in his home. Cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky tweeted it was “disturbing and unacceptable.”

Meanwhile there have been widespread accusations that Airbnb landlords discriminate against African-American travelers.

Airbnb faces another problem with race within its workforce. According to the most recent data from Airbnb, 63 percent of its employees are white and 22 percent are Asian, but only 7 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent African-American.

The company said the initiative is intended to develop a “lasting, positive culture.”

Laura Frey, cofounder of Change Catalyst, said the Airbnb program is a start, but it needs to go deeper.

“It’s not only finding the talent,” she said. “But it’s also about creating a culture within the company so you will retain that talent and promote that talent.”