‘Preferably Caucasian’: Virginia company faces backlash for racist job listing

An employment post plainly asked for a white applicant, but the company that posted it says it acted on the error

Apr 30, 2019

Job recruiting company Cynet Systems is facing public outrage after a job listing it posted went viral for being blatantly racist in its requirements for employment.

According to local CBS affiliate WUSA, in the posting shared on LinkedIn, the Virginia company outlined it was seeking a “mid-senior level business development” person, and under the position’s top qualification they listed “preferably caucasian.”

While it’s unknown if Cynet Systems made the post to recruit for their own team or one of a client, until this incident they were considered one of the state’s most popular companies. However, in light of the post they are now being questioned about any other less public practices of racial discrimination that may have taken place.

“Uh, hey Cynet Jobs — What’s with this?” tweeted one upset job seeker. “Your job listing for a mid-senior level business development postions top qualification is ‘Preferably Caucasian.’ How could you POSSIBLY think that’s okay?”

Uh, hey @cynetjobs – what's with this?

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

— Helena (@misshelenasue) April 27, 2019

The disturbing listing was posted across multiple employment search sites and even after the backlash it still took the company 44 hours to respond.

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

Monday afternoon, company CEO Ashwani Mayur also issued a apology stating, “It is a long-standing policy for our company to refuse any request to list jobs only seeking candidates of any specific ethnicity, gender, or other inappropriate restrictions, and we will turn clients down if they demand requirements of this type be included. Further, Cynet Systems itself is proud to be 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. ”