Zuckerberg’s swerve: how diversity went from being a Meta priority to getting cancelled

Meta once invested millions and attracted top talent as tech's leader in corporate diversity. After those aspirations peaked in 2019, the company scuttled them altogether

In 2019, Facebook set a goal for itself: ensure half of its workforce was from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds by 2024.

The lofty ambition made the company stand out among its Silicon Valley peers. Maxine Williams, a longtime employee and chief diversity officer at the time, wrote in a 2021 blogpost that Facebook was up to the challenge.