Airnbnb Finally Establishes New Operations Policies

Airnbnb Finally Establishes New Operations Policies

We reported earlier this summer that Airbnb was hit with yet ANOTHER discrimination accusation after a transgender guest was rejected by a female host who calimed her son would feel uncomfortable with her around. The home-sharing site has been plagued with racial discrimination allegations for months.

Now according to The Root:

On Thursday the company is releasing a report detailing its findings and how it plans to remedy the issues that the victims of discrimination have faced. In doing so, Airbnb acknowledges its own lack of workforce diversity, saying that it plans to create a “new comprehensive plan to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.” According to the report, some 9.64 percent of all its U.S.-based employees come from underrepresented communities. The company hopes to increase that number to 11 percent by the end of 2017.

Part of that plan includes implementing the “Diversity Rule,” which mandates that all vacant senior positions at the company include candidates from underrepresented backgrounds before any hiring is permitted to go forward.

The company also plans to increase efforts to recruit from HBCUs and from schools with large Latino and female populations, as well as expand its effort to bring economic opportunities to minority contractors. The report notes that only 1 percent of Airbnb’s total procurement goes to minority-owned businesses, and the company hopes to increase that to 10 percent by 2019.

Looking outside the office, the company hopes to train and encourage more minority-group members to host on Airbnb, citing the economic opportunities that hosting can bring, such as stimulating the economy in those communities.

Check out some of the new changes the home-sharing site is bringing to the masses:

establishing a full-time team of engineers, data scientists, researchers and designers whose sole purpose is to root out discrimination and build inclusion on the platform;

de-emphasizing guest profiles—which can be used to discriminate based on race and/or appearance—and putting more emphasis on other aspects of the person’s profile that could be used;

launching anti-bias training for all hosts, with the incentive of highlighting hosts who have completed the training;

making it easier to report allegations of discrimination and get assistance if you feel discriminated against;

requiring all users to explicitly state that they share in the community commitment, which dictates that they treat everyone—regardless of race, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation—without judgment or bias.

Do you think Airbnb will enforce the right changes and policies to change the hostile homes?!