Twitter is to implement a raft of measures aimed at improving diversity among its workforce after it came under fire from an employee about its approach to diversity.

These measures will include inclusion training for all staff from January as opposed to being provided by request – the situation currently.

In a blog last week, Twitter engineering manager Leslie Miley revealed he was asked to build a tool that would classify candidates' ethnicity by analysing their last name. But Miley argued the tool would prove ineffective in identifying Jewish or African American candidates, for example, by name.

Responding to Miley’s post Alex Roetter, senior vice president of engineering at Twitter, revealed a number of actions the company is taking to boost diversity among its workforce.

As well as the roll out of inclusion training, other commitments include:

• building a clearer view of the representation of underrepresented minorities at every stage of both the hiring and promotion processes, and examining employment practices generally

• developing specific actions related to diversity that all managers at all levels of the engineering team will be expected to implement, not just top-level representation goals

• reaching out to new graduates and experienced candidates, to recruit the best talent from Hispanic-serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities 

• support for professional gatherings that serve underrepresented groups, like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Recruiter contacted Twitter for further details about specific actions managers will be required to implement but had not heard back by deadline.

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