(The Root) — We know the stats: Black folks overindex on Twitter. Latinos do, too. According to a 2012 Pew study, 26 percent of black Internet users are on Twitter, compared with 19 percent of Latino users and 14 percent of white users. Women generally use social networking sites more than men, and they make up nearly 60 percent of Twitter's users.
And then, of course, there's black Twitter. It's everyone's socio-technological crush, even though none of us can really adequately explain why it's a thing. Surely, senior management at Twitter has heard a little something about it.
So it would make sense for Twitter's board of directors to mirror — even just a little — its motley consumer base. But CEO Dick Costolo came under fire this last weekend when it was revealed that Twitter's board is full of white dudes. No women. No African Americans. No Latinos. Not one.
It would, however, be a little naive of us to expect anything different. Gawker posted a handy chart illustrating how much our favorite online entities suck at this diversity thing. What's most irritating about these instances of all-white everything is how they are often defended. Costolo tweeted this tired response:
That whole "we just want the most qualified people and we don't care what they look like" thing is getting old, no? Either you think women and people of color are qualified for these jobs or you don't. If you don't, well, there are words for that (see: sexism, racism). And if you do, jump off of your cozy perch and make a concerted effort to find them. It's really that simple.
And it would be in Twitter's best business interests to do that. Apparently, appointing female board members is not just about the morality of inclusion and diversity. It has a real, measurable impact on an organization's bottom line.
Buzzfeed put together this list of all the qualified women Costolo can't seem to find, or whatever. We'd add Window Snyder of Apple Inc. What other women and people of color would you suggest? Tweet me!
If you want to see what's hot on black Twitter, check out The Chatterati.Akoto Ofori-Atta is the editor of The Grapevine. Like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.