Stacy Jo Dixon
Research expert covering social media usage worldwide
Workforce demographics of social media companies - statistics & facts
Social media is much more than the user-based experience of a platform – behind these services are huge workforces, owned by some of the largest tech companies in the world. Companies such Snap Inc, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter have thousands of employees with Meta Platforms reaching close to 90 thousand in 2022. Social media companies are making slow progress when it comes to diversity in the workplace, but after recent layoffs, are these tech firms on target to reach their diversity goals?
In the most recently reported year, 47 percent of LinkedIn employees were women, not too far behind Pinterest’s overall corporate demography. Meta Platforms, Snap Inc, and X/Twitter also remain male dominated workforces.
The majority of Meta Platforms employees in technical roles were Asian in 2022, accounting for 55.8 percent of this department. The highest share of Black employees was working in non-technical positions, accounting for 11.7 percent of workers in this department. Moreover, 57.6 percent of leadership roles were carried out by white employees.
Whilst Pinterest is making positive changes from a gender perspective, there is still a disproportionate share of white employees in leadership at the company. Though 36 percent of all U.S. Pinterest employees were white, this group of employees made up almost half of all leadership roles in 2022.
Social media and tech companies still have a long way to go to achieve more fair and diverse workplaces. In making social media company workforces more diverse, a different approach to handling controversial problems could possibly be adopted, as women and minorities are repeatedly the most likely targets of online abuse and harassment.
Pinterest aims for gender equality
Most mainstream social media companies have a higher share of male workers; however, Pinterest has more women working at the company than men, with 53 percent of employees identifying as women in 2022, and one percent identifying as non-binary. Overall, 2021 was the first year in which the company had more female employees than male employees. Although most workers were women, 60 percent of leadership positions at Pinterest were filled by men, as well as 68 percent of engineering jobs.In the most recently reported year, 47 percent of LinkedIn employees were women, not too far behind Pinterest’s overall corporate demography. Meta Platforms, Snap Inc, and X/Twitter also remain male dominated workforces.
Diversity by department
Snap Inc, owner of photo app Snapchat, has been making slow yet steady progress in making its leadership positions more diverse. In 2022, Snap Inc’s leadership roles were made up of almost 60 percent white employees, down from 67.7 percent in 2020. Additionally, in 2022, there were minor increases in the share of Asian and Black employees in leadership roles when compared to 2020.The majority of Meta Platforms employees in technical roles were Asian in 2022, accounting for 55.8 percent of this department. The highest share of Black employees was working in non-technical positions, accounting for 11.7 percent of workers in this department. Moreover, 57.6 percent of leadership roles were carried out by white employees.
Whilst Pinterest is making positive changes from a gender perspective, there is still a disproportionate share of white employees in leadership at the company. Though 36 percent of all U.S. Pinterest employees were white, this group of employees made up almost half of all leadership roles in 2022.
Social media and tech companies still have a long way to go to achieve more fair and diverse workplaces. In making social media company workforces more diverse, a different approach to handling controversial problems could possibly be adopted, as women and minorities are repeatedly the most likely targets of online abuse and harassment.
