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Twitter bolsters diversity and inclusion credentials amid pandemic

Twitter bolsters diversity and inclusion credentials amid pandemic

 

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While organisations around the world continue to grapple with the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, it remains incumbent upon them to remain committed to the sometimes overlooked aspects of the HR remit – such as supporting diversity and inclusion.

Social media giant Twitter is setting a strong example with its D&I strategy, with the company’s VP of people experience and head of inclusion and diversity, Dalana Brand explained in a recent blog post that by 2025, Twitter hopes to have women make up half of its workforce and ‘under-represented minorities’ to comprise 25% of its US workforce.

It’s a strong message of unity as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to gather momentum across the US – and indeed across the globe – following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the US state of Minnesota.

Twitter also gained attention earlier this month by censoring tweets from US President Donald Trump, over concerns they were at risk of inciting violence during the Black Lives Matter protests.

“Since our last update, we transitioned more than 5000 ‘Tweeps’ (Twitter employees) to a fully virtual workforce, introduced new programmes and benefits, and doubled down on inclusion in the age of COVID-19. We’ve accomplished a lot – and learned some important lessons along the way,” said Brand on the blog post.

Twitter also recently told its employees that they can work from home ‘forever' if that was their preference. The made the decision after its working-from-home arrangements were successful – something that many companies have reported experiencing.

Also read: Twitter employees can now work from home forever

Amid these challenging times, Brand also emphasized the importance of frequent, open communication between employers and their staff. She explained that Twitter as also created Slack channels “specifically to answer questions related to COVID-19”, it was reported on the HR Grapevine website.

Brand added: “We created Slack channels specifically to answer questions related to COVID-19, launched a COVID-19 focused global survey to take the pulse of our Tweeps, hosted more global all hands meetings to check in on everyone, and increased opportunities to connect virtually across teams – especially our business resource groups.”

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