Dick Costolo, the CEO of Twitter, and Singularity University's Vivek Wadhwa faced off over the weekend after the social network came under fire for failing to have any women on its board of directors.
The debate ignited on Twitter after a New York Times article titled "Curtain Is Rising on Tech Premiere With (As Usual) a Mostly Male Cast" was circulated quoting Wadhwa taking issue with the lack of women on the microblogging website's board of directors.
In the Times piece, Wadhwa says, "This is the elite arrogance of the Silicon Valley mafia, the Twitter mafia. It's the same male chauvinistic thinking. The fact that they went to the I.P.O. without a single woman on the board, how dare they?"
In response, Costolo wrote on Twitter:
@rich1 Vivek Wadhwa is the Carrot Top of academic sources.
This led to an online debate about hiring women and checking diversity boxes. Wadhwa weighed in on a conversation between Costolo and Anil Dash by writing:
"No Dick, it isn't about checking a box and you didn't do enough. You have a social responsibility. You have to lead -- not make excuses."
Costolo responded in kind: "@wadhwa you're not seeing my point. you give people an easy out by just checking a box. The issues are much bigger than checking any 1 box."
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The two continued to go back and forth writing:
@wadhwa ah, I think you do a disservice to the broader issues with the hyperbole. It's easy applause, sure, but gives everyone an easy out.
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