When diversifying your workforce, it is vital to appreciate the distinction between diversity and inclusivity. If an organization manages to build a diverse team but fails to ensure that everyone who is on that team feels welcomed and supported, then members of underrepresented demographics will simply leave the organization, causing diversity initiatives to fail.
Because of this, inclusion is an intrinsic component of any diversity strategy. Without inclusivity, it is impossible to reap the rewards conferred by diversity, including a deeper talent pool, increased innovation of products and services, enhanced brand profile, and improved staff morale, retention rates, productivity, and profitability.
If they are encouraging employees to bring their whole selves to work, employers must ensure that each and every one is valued equally. Inclusion should be ingrained in the culture. All employees should be treated with respect, culminating in an environment that welcomes people from all backgrounds and experiences.
The State of Diversity in Tech
In the tech industry, the gender gap is particularly pervasive. More subtle differences may include type of education, or personality type. Personality differences in particular can create hurdles to promoting feelings of belonging among all employees—for example, when an introvert finds themselves surrounded by extroverts, they are likely to feel overwhelmed, creating tension in teams.
Clare Brown, Influencer and Audience Strategist at IDG, argues that creating a diverse and inclusive workplace requires uncomfortable conversations and a willingness to cede power. Tech is a system predominantly built and designed for cishet white males. Brown calls for people in power to be willing to acknowledge that and lift up others, adding that women and BIPOC cannot give authority to themselves.
For tech to become truly inclusive, it will be important for business leaders to cede power, stepping out of their comfort zones completely. One drastic example is the Reddit cofounder, Alexis Ohanian, who resigned from the company’s board in favor of a black candidate. Meaningful change requires leaders to take radical action in very visual ways that may make them feel exposed or uncomfortable.
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is a principle that remains as relevant as ever in the business world, and arguably no more so than the tech sector. Chris Bennett runs the Wonderschool education startup. In a recent Bloomsberg article, he recounts an investor once asking him, “Who do you know that I know?” Bennett, a black man who had moved from the East Coast, was the first in his family to earn a college degree. Bennett quickly saw that this lack of connections was a deal-breaker for investors.
It is not only women and BIPOC who are at a disadvantage. A recent study by the World Health Organization revealed that almost 1 billion people in the world have some form of disability. This is 15 percent of the global population. In spite of this, research by the International Labor Organization suggests that disabled people are two times less likely to find employment compared with their non-disabled counterparts.
Types of Diversity Efforts
Technology such as AI can go a long way towards eliminating unconscious bias in the hiring process, playing a vital role as both a source of information and a unifier, while promoting workplace transparency. In fact, technology can serve as a key to opening up the door of opportunity for members of disadvantaged demographics and ensuring equity throughout the recruitment and onboarding process.
Recruiting and hiring a diverse workforce is an important first step in developing a more inclusive work environment. However, it is also crucial for employers to invest in creating a dynamic company culture, where all employees enjoy the same opportunities to share their perspectives and ideas.
Members of underrepresented demographics need access to established networks, and organizations need to get creative about providing it to them. This may be achieved through digital networking events, or virtual mentorship programs that do not require participants to physically attend the space in order to network. As Clare Brown indicates, many BIPOC do not have access to the same networking circles as their white peers. If getting ahead really does depend on who you know, then democratizing access to those circles is crucial.