'Culture fit' hiring in focus in complaint against Facebook

San Francisco, March 12 Facebook's allegedly "culture fit" hiring strategy has come into focus after a Black woman in the US complained that this was cited as one of the reasons for denying her an opportunity to work at the social networking giant, The Intercept reported.

The woman, whose name was withheld, was interviewed at Facebook last year, said the report on Thursday.

Commonly used in corporate tech culture, the term "culture fit" refers to having someone in the team with whom others would like to socialise.

This strategy has also faced criticism for its potential to serve as a basis for unfairly rejecting some people.

The woman, who had the relevant doctoral degree, sought a position at Facebook's Global Impact Partnerships team.

She reportedly also had the relevant work experience.

However, one Facebook staffer allegedly told her "There's no doubt you can do the job, but we're really looking for a culture fit."

According to The Intercept report, all the people who interviewed her were White.

A recent diversity report revealed that just 3.9 per cent of Facebook's workforce in the US is Black.

She is among four people who have recently complained to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about Facebook's allegedly discriminatory hiring and promotion practices, The Verge reported.

( With inputs from IANS )