Company apologizes for job posting seeking 'preferably Caucasian' candidate

A Virginia-based staffing and recruiting company has apologized after posting a job listing seeking “preferably Caucasian” applicants.

The listing for an account manager position at an unidentified pharma company was posted on Linkedin and other sites by Cynet Systems, which describes itself as “a top talent supplier for companies across North America.”

The job description sought someone “preferably Caucasian who has good technical background including knowledge of RPA,” among other qualifications. Social media users spotted the since-deleted post over the weekend and shared screenshots.

“We understand why some may have been upset seeing this listing, because we were too,” Cynet Systems Co-CEO Ashwani Mayur said in a statement. “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.”

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Mayur said the company is reviewing all current and upcoming ads “to ensure no similar issues exist.”

“Further, Cynet Systems itself is proud to be an immensely diverse company,” he said. “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 and Development Council.”

Screenshots posted online show the company had also posted an ad for an account manager in Herndon, Virginia, with a notation including “female candidate only.” The listing appears to have been deleted or modified.

Employment discrimination based on "race, color, religion, sex and national origin," is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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