Politics and Society
Twitter lacks diversity and inclusion: Former employee says
Despite its commitment to diversity, Twitter has been accused by its former employee, Engineering Manager Leslie Miley, who says the company has deep underlying diversity and inclusion issues
Online social networking site, Twitter has come under intense scrutiny over damning comments by its former Engineering Manager Leslie Miley that the company has deep underlying diversity and inclusion issues.
Miley was the only black engineer in a leadership position at Twitter, and he “passed on the severance package so that he could speak openly about his experience at Twitter,” Techcrunch reports.
Miley criticised the company’s lack of understanding of diversity and the disproportionate race and ethnicity employment figures.
According to Twitter’s latest diversity report, the company’s overall workforce consists of 1 percent Black or African-Americans and 3 percent Hispanics in the U.S. Only 13 percent women worldwide work in the company’s tech field. There are no Black or African-Americans, Hispanics in the company’s leadership. Whites make up 72 percent of leadership and Asians account for 28 percent in the U.S.
Tech companies implored to be more transparent about diversity and inclusion Photo: Essence
Miley says Twitter’s issues with growth and engagement are related to the company’s issues with diversity.
“For some at Twitter, diversity is an obstruction to avoid,” “With my departure, Twitter no longer has any managers, directors, or VP’s of color in engineering or product management. From this position, Twitter may find it difficult to make the changes to culture and product,” Miley wrote.
Commenting on diversity and inclusion, a Twitter spokesperson reportedly said, “We’re committed to making substantive progress in making Twitter more diverse and inclusive”.
With the rising growth of its users globally, critics argue that the company needs to stop paying lip service to diversity and inclusion and begin to act on its commitment in a substantial manner.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow/Push Coalition, who according to The Guardian, has long campaigned for tech companies to be more transparent about their lack of minority employees said black people are “becoming intolerant” of tech companies’ lack of progress in making their offices more diverse.
Source: Techcrunch