In a new interview, Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey admitted that the company's more conservative employees often have trouble speaking out because of their workplace's more liberal environment.
It was while speaking with writer Jay Rosen in a newly published interview on Recode that the tech magnate explained the situation.
"I think it’s more and more important to at least clarify what our own bias leans towards, and just express it. I’d rather know what someone biases to rather than try to interpret through their actions," Dorsey explained. "So, if we can say that, and also have the freedom to evolve and change, then at least people know it, and I think it allows us to remove that a little bit more from the work, but it has to be proven out in our actions as well [...] we have a lot of conservative-leaning folks in the company as well, and to be honest, they don’t feel safe to express their opinions at the company."
"They do feel silenced by just the general swirl of what they perceive to be the broader percentage of leanings within the company, and I don’t think that’s fair or right," he added. "We should make sure that everyone feels safe to express themselves within the company, no matter where they come from and what their background is."
This arrives as the latest in a string of statements and press appearances made by Dorsey and other execs at Twitter following accusations from the Trump administration and other members of the GOP that Twitter, among other media companies, has been censoring positive posts and information about the presidency and the Republican party.
In the interview, Rosen questions Dorsey on his methods, asking if he ever encourages his more conservative employees to speak up while still being aware of the backlash they may receive from the general public
"It’s easier said than done," responds Dorsey. "I was a kid that was very shy. I grew up with a speech impediment. It taught me not to speak at all, and I eventually got over that and speaking up in a collection of 3,000 people where you make an assumption that they potentially think differently than you or believe differently is hard. It does require sacrificing a lot of your ego and your intellect in being vulnerable for a minute.”
You can catch the rather candid conversation in full here.
