Hey, Twitter, Add Some Women to Your Board

Nicholas Kristof: US has a lot of work to do on gender issues
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2013 12:34 PM CDT
Hey, Twitter, Add Some Women to Your Board
In this Feb. 2, 2013, file photo, a smartphone display shows the Twitter logo in Berlin, Germany.   (AP Photo/dpa, Soeren Stache, File)

Twitter is a beacon of all that is new and innovative ... except when it comes to the company's board, which is made up of seven white guys. "Twitter users are reportedly more likely to be female, so it's bizarre to have no women on the board," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. He'd like to see that change (and at more places than just Twitter), but not just in the pursuit of "equity." He writes, "this shouldn’t be seen as a favor to women but as a step that would be good for all of us."

Research has found that companies who put women in senior positions and on their boards enjoy better financial results. In politics, it was a group of women who took one of the first stabs at a shutdown deal. In economics, a study found that testosterone was linked to risky trades. And yet the US actually slipped to No. 23 on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report this year. Just 18% of Fortune 500 board members are women. Kristof would like to see Twitter do its part to turn the tide, but adding one female board member won't cut it. Research indicates "a critical mass of about 30% women" is key. His suggestion: Add three. Click for Kristof's full column. (More Twitter stories.)

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