GAR Y RAYNEAU The tech team has a pivotal role when it comes to attracting and keeping diverse talent, but there are hidden biases you must tackle, explains guest columnist Gary Rayneau.
The tech team has a pivotal role when it comes to attracting and keeping diverse talent, but there are hidden biases and assumptions you must tackle
The year 2020 will live in infamy for many reasons. The business world continues to feel the shockwaves from a devastating pandemic but also from the murder of George Floyd and global protests in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The business that I co-founded a few years ago that helps organisations create inclusive and diverse cultures was suddenly in demand like never before.
“Surely this is a job for the HR department and leadership?” is a question you may well be asking, and it’s a question and sentiment I’ve heard from many of those we’ve worked with in tech departments. My question in response is usually along the lines of “do you want the HR department to decide what systems and software and hardware an increasingly diverse workforce needs?” I actually enjoy seeing the reaction and look of horror at the thought of this.
So, aside from HR trampling over your toes, why should you care? Just like when we speak to our clients who work within technical roles, I’m asking you to consider the people in your world for a minute or two. I’m also going to make the assumption that if you’re still reading you see the need for greater equality in this industry and, at the very least from a moral and social standpoint, you care.
When it comes to the distinct themes of diversity, inclusion and equality, all of the organisations we work with have their nuances, their areas for improvement. That said, whenever we encounter “technology”, either because we’re working with an IT department or a CTO, or perhaps the organisation itself is focused on technology, the same themes and, unfortunately, excuses crop up.
My HR example is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many reasons why diversity and inclusion should be a continued consideration for anyone who works within technology, from the fact that it increasingly underpins everything we do through to the increasing risk of bias in technological design – especially with AI becoming the norm.
There are numerous high-profile examples of this bias leading to floored performance and even lifethreatening errors. To name a few: Apple was very late to include menstrual cycle tracking within its Health app. Numerous companies have had issues with facialrecognition software not being able to identify Black people as easily as white people, which is particularly an issue in a future of driverless cars. In fact, sticking with the automotive industry, for years women were typically sustaining greater injuries than men in accidents because crash test dummies were modelled on men. Their size, weight and even the positions of their vital organs weren’t taken into proper consideration.
New faces
The other major reason why diversity and inclusion should be a consideration is a simple issue of hiring talent. There’s a technological skills shortage and the future talent pool looks different to what it did previously – it has to. To put it bluntly, if you only attract and employ men who are white, straight, middle class and degree-educated, you’ll struggle in the future because you’ll be missing out on other top talent.
This is where those recurring themes and excuses start.
Needless to say, there’s a great deal of confidentiality that goes hand in hand with our clients so examples will remain nameless. However, I can say that we are working with a software development company that’s attempting to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. The starting point was instantly recognisable: “We struggle to attract diverse talent. They just don’t apply to work for us and when we do actually manage to recruit someone that is different they don’t seem to stay long.”
In this example, the struggle was with female talent and also people of colour. For others, it could be talented people who identify as disabled, n euro diverse, L GB T Q +… the list of dimensions for those who are typically marginalised is long. My advice: familiarise yourself with it because increasing your awareness is the least you can do.
“The future talent pool looks different to what it did previously – it has to”
Let’s play through this example. There’s a vacancy and a talented Black, female software engineer goes through the usual process that everyone does. She reads the job ad and spec, which is full of innate gendered language with terms such as “lead, confident, active”. Next, she checks out the corporate website and observes mainly males, especially in leadership roles. Unperturbed, she looks at the social media channels the organisation has for a more candid view and again doesn’t see much of herself reflected back.
Before hitting “Submit” on the job application, she checks out Glassdoor and there are some negative views on there; even though a few alarm bells start to ring she continues as needs must. So, despite the organisation being desperate to engage and employ diverse talent, you can see how the first few stages of the process already hamper these efforts.
Stage two: the interview process. Everyone she meets through the process is a man and she learns that the team is mainly made up of white men. Due to this, it’s quite a “laddy” culture. She’s told that there’s plenty of fun and banter, which makes it a great place to work, and that it’s important she can fit into this culture to succeed and do the job.
Now I’m hoping you’re reading this and having a couple of distinct reflective thoughts. One being that this sounds familiar; if it’s not your team, you know of teams like this. The second reflection being: what chance does this person stand of being a success and actually staying in this organisation for any significant length of time?
The final stage: she gets the job because she’s fully qualified – but, to cut a long story short, she departs the role after only a few months. The culture didn’t naturally include her, she was forced to adapt herself to fit in, and the banter was exclusive and sometimes just offensive. Emotionally and personally compromised, she obviously and understandably wasn’t performing at her best. She leaves and the organisation again bemoans the lack of quality diverse talent in this industry.
To attract and retain diverse talent into sectors that are typically not very diverse, something has to break the cycle. In the recruitment phase, acknowledge that this isn’t a level playing field and bias exists. Make exceptions and adjustments to your process and communication to attract more diverse applicants. Actively look for the talent you want to attract rather than wait for it to come to you.
Once recruited, consider the inclusion part. How can you do a better job to make sure everyone feels included and able to perform at the best? Diverse talent can bring new ideas, experience and considerations to the team, enhancing the culture rather than assimilating into what already exists – “culture add”, not “culture fit”.
Final thoughts
Despite the above, I can imagine some of you sharing the views of individuals that we’ve worked with. “I just want to hire and work alongside the best qualified person for the job, regardless of their identity.” A lovely sentiment, and I’ve no doubt that in most cases this view comes from a good place, but it always leads me to asking my clients the same two questions.
First, are the chances of two equally qualified people the same if one of them belongs to a marginalised group? This is pretty much a rhetorical question and doesn’t take much consideration. The second question I ask is: what does “best qualified” actually mean?
This usually generates some lengthy discussions and reflections. Most of our clients that work within the area of technology would primarily define qualifications in terms of skills, knowledge and experience associated with subject matter – systems, software, languages languag and so on. What value could coul and should be placed upon a different lens of qualification? What do different lived experiences bring to the table? What does greater knowledge of culture and communities give to the team’s dynamic? How could the experience of someone who is disabled, for example, enhance the service provided by the department? I could continue, but essentially I’m asking you to consider what good looks like.
I hope that there are some thoughtprovoking points here, as well as some practical steps you could take. A word of warning, though: these aren’t quick fix types of issues. It’s ongoing, complicated and emotionally challenging, but important and necessary work.
Much of the above focuses on those who have direct influence over people and recruitment in the workplace. If you work as part of a team rather than lead, challenge your superiors and business leaders. Find out what they’re doing to support all teams becoming more diverse and inclusive. If you’re someone that works in the industry and find yourself marginalised or disadvantaged taged because of your identity ty then don’t struggle with it alone: one: seek out advice and help. lp. It’s out there, even though hough it can be a little difficult to find at times.
These past nine months have led to a wealth of materials from books, TV programmes, podcasts, journals to webinars being made easily accessible and available. ailable. Educate yourself and you’ll be a better person for it.
“It’s ongoing, complicated and challenging, but important and necessary work”