San Francisco, Jul 13 (IANS): The number of women employees at Facebook has increased five times over five years and there has been a modest growth in the proportion of Asian, Black and Hispanic employees across the company, the social media giant revealed on Friday.

Releasing its fifth annual diversity report, Facebook said people from all backgrounds rely on Facebook to connect with others, and we will better serve their needs with a more diverse workforce.

"The percentage of women globally at Facebook has increased from 31 per cent in 2014 to 36 per cent today. We have also nearly doubled the number of women graduates we hire in software engineering from 16 per cent to 30 per cent," Maxine Williams, Chief Diversity Officer at Facebook, said in a statement.

Women in technical roles have increased from 15 per cent to 22 per cent; women in business and sales roles grew from 47 per cent to 57 per cent; and women in senior leadership expanded from 23 per cent to 30 per cent.

"The number of women at Facebook has increased five times over the last five years. The number of women in technical roles has increased over seven times. This is despite the fact that the number of women undergraduates in the US doing computer science has remained flat at 18 per cent," Williams noted.

Black and Hispanic employees overall increased from two per cent to four per cent, and four per cent to five per cent, respectively.

Facebook said it has seen steady increases in hiring rates for underrepresented people.

"We've worked hard at retention as well by creating an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds can thrive and succeed," the company said.

The report also stated that Facebook today is one of the best places to work for LGBTQ equality.

"We are happy to share that men and women at Facebook get equal pay for equal work," said Williams.