*By Madison Alworth* Cloud messaging platform Twilio has an ambitious five-year plan. By 2023, the company wants 50 percent of its workforce to be female and 30 percent to either be black or Latino, identify as two or more races, be Pacific Islander or Native American, LGBTQ, or any combination thereof. LaFawn Davis, Twilio's head of culture and inclusion, knows achieving those goals is a tall order ー the company is currently 31 percent women, 3 percent Latino, and 1 percent black. "We wanted to set 2023 goals that were aspirational. And the purpose is to mirror the communities that we serve," Davis said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. But Davis said it's about more than just meeting quotas and percentages. "We also want to make sure we have 100 percent on our 'Belonging and Diversity' index. Every single employee no matter who they are, where they come from, what their background is, should feel like they belong." Davis has been at Twilio for a little under two years. Her chief goal is to increase diversity, but she considers herself accountable to not just to the company, but to the entire "industry, to the public," she said. She said implementing the changes will be very much worth the work ー and the wait. "There's going to be some things that work, there are going to be some things that we try and fail. And we are going to talk about those things as we go towards those goals." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/twilio-aiming-for-50-female-workforce-by-2023).
