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According to an SEC filing, Twitter has named its first female member to its board of directors. Marjorie Scardino, former CEO of the Pearson publishing and education company, will join the board immediately. In addition to her time at Pearson, she also served as CEO of the Economist Group, which publishes The Economist.
The Verge's Russell Brandom notes that Scardino's appointment could be read as a response to criticism the board has faced for its lack of diversity, especially in a November article by the New York Times. At the time, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo hit back — how else? — in a series of tweets attacking both the report and its sources.
TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden suggests that the move is also good one for Twitter, considering Scardino's media industry background. "The media industry is a key partner for Twitter as the company builds out its revenue-generating business with advertising and coordinated information dissemination," writes Lunden. She also points out that today also happens to be the kickoff of ChimeHack, a female-driven hackathon that's coordinated to coincide with the TEDWomen event in San Francisco.