Cynet Systems is under fire for posting a racist job listing–which stated that the technology company was looking for a job candidate who is “Preferably Caucasian.”
Uh, hey @cynetjobs – what's with this?
— Helena (@misshelenasue) April 27, 2019
Your job listing for a mid-senior level business development position's top qualification is "Preferably Caucasian"
How could you POSSIBLY think that's okay? pic.twitter.com/DPWzpgXqqE
The listing, for a senior level account manager, was posted in April via Linkedin, GlassDoor, ZipRecruiter, and Dice. The listings, with that specific requirement, are no longer available on any site.
Cynet Systems issued an apology for the post on Sunday. And, Cynet System’s CEO Ashwani Mayur released a statement regarding the matter on Twitter Monday.
Cynet apologizes for the anger & frustration caused by the offensive job post. It does not reflect our core values of inclusivity & equality. The individuals involved have been terminated. We will take this as a learning experience & will continue to serve our diverse community.
— Cynet Systems (@cynetsystems) April 29, 2019
In the Twitter statement, Mayur blamed the posting on employees who were “terminated immediately” and called the “preferably caucasian” portion of the listing an “inappropriate requirement.”
“We understand why some may have been upset seeing this listing, because we were too,” Mayur wrote in the statement.
— Cynet Systems (@cynetsystems) April 29, 2019
Helena McCabe first exposed the job listing in a Twitter post–which has since then racked up thousands of retweets.
Linkedin Help responded in a separate one of McCabe’s threads about the matter to say that the tweet brought the issue to its attention and it is looking into the matter.
“Our team is looking into this job posting to help get this issue resolved,” Linkedin Help wrote on Twitter. “In the future if you run across any inappropriate job postings, please report them to our team.”
When another user asked if there were any penalties for accounts that behaved in this way, Linkedin Help replied that it cannot discuss actions taken on specific accounts.
“Discrimination of any kind is against our policies and we have no tolerance for it on our platform. We have dedicated teams and technical measures in place to identify content that violates our policies, they took quick action to remove the job posting,” LinkedIn Director of Communications Suzi Owens wrote the Daily Dot in a statement.
Glassdoor said it will also remove discriminatory job listings from its site in the future.
“Glassdoor is committed to providing access to jobs for everyone. We will remove job listings that do not support inclusive hiring practices and/or that violate our Terms of Use,” a Glassdoor spokesperson wrote the Daily Dot in a statement.
The Daily Dot has reached out to ZipRecruiter and Dice.
We would not be able to discuss any actions taken on another member's account, I'm sorry. I can assure you that we take this very seriously though, and our teams will take the appropriate actions. -EB
— LinkedIn Help (@LinkedInHelp) April 28, 2019
Mayur defended Cynet Systems by writing that it is an “immensely diverse company.”
“Both of our owners are Indian-Americans, our workforce is over 60% minority, and we are certified as a diversity supplier by the National Minority Supplier Development Council,” Mayur wrote.
Cynet Systems sent the Daily Dot the same statement it issued on Twitter. The company would not respond to comment regarding questions about the posting’s oversight, the number of employees involved, and why the employees thought that was an OK job requirement.
“[W]e have already begun a review of all currently existing and upcoming ads to ensure no similar issues exist,” Mayur wrote. “We are also looking at measures that could help us catch offensive or outside-of-policy ads before they ever go live to ensure this can’t happen again.”
This post has been updated.
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