Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Technology
Technology

Twitter Aims to Improve Diversity by Following in Pinterest’s Footsteps

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Janet Van Huysse, Twitter's VP of Diversity and Inclusion

Janet Van Huysse, Twitter’s VP of Diversity and Inclusion

Pinterest was one of the first companies to come out publicly and address its lack of diversity. The social media company has obtained the help of Paradigm, a company that specializes in diversity training.

Since the beginning of the year, Pinterest and Paradigm have hosted a variety of workshops and networking events that should actively and quickly diversify the company. Now Twitter wants to address its lack of diversity in a similar fashion.

Currently, Twitter’s demographics are extremely white and male dominated. As of 2014, the company was 70 percent male and 58 percent white. The numbers for the company’s leadership positions were no better—78 percent male and 72 percent white. Additionally, Black workers only composed 2 percent of Twitter’s workforce in 2014.

According to a blog post by Janet Van Huysse, vice president of diversity and inclusion, the company has set 2016 goals that will:

  • Increase women overall to 35 percent
  • Increase women in tech roles to 16 percent
  • Increase women in leadership roles to 25 percent
  • Increase underrepresented minorities overall to 11 percent
  • Increase underrepresented minorities in tech roles to 9 percent
  • Increase underrepresented minorities in leadership roles to 6 percent

One of the main strategies Twitter will employ involves active recruiting practices that target historically Black colleges and universities. Twitter will head to several HBCU campuses to search for talented individuals to fill open positions. The company also plans to partner with student groups on campuses to help network and address its diversity goals.

 

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top