How You Can Help Advance DEIB
Many tech professionals haven’t been impressed with their companies’ previous DEIB efforts. And who can blame them? Over the past few years, many companies have paid lip service to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) - they may send a few emails to employees about the importance of diversity, or host a DEIB event or two, but won’t devote the time or resources to actually adjusting their policies and culture to align with DEIB values.
DEIB Is More Than Policy; It’s a Cultural Shift
What’s at the root of this failure? Unfortunately, there can be a number of potential issues. Some companies refuse to recognize that successful DEIB efforts require cultural buy-in. There may also be a lack of necessary feedback loops to ensure that change is actually happening and how that may be landing for folks. In other cases still, organizations may treat DEIB like a one-time project, shifting resources elsewhere and stalling momentum once they feel it’s “complete”.
Fortunately, there’s a lot that you can do on an individual level to help push change in organizations. First and foremost, you can encourage your managers to recognize the importance of DEIB in everything they do, from assigning tasks to calling on upper management to diversify the overall workforce.
Second, you can push for cultural change. It’s critical that all team members understand and recognize the need for DEIB on an emotional level, which will then compel them to enact broader change. DEIB initiatives succeed when the individual, team, and organization are united. Keep in mind that cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, so don't get frustrated and stay focused on the long-term vision.
Now, if you don’t feel comfortable taking these actions, it could be worth doing some introspection on why that is (as there could be a number of things holding you back). On the flip side, if you’re hesitant to speak up because your company culture is not one that centers psychological safety and openness, it may be time to start looking elsewhere.
Improving Corporate DEI Tech Connects Podcast, Episode 14
Jacob Little, Glassdoor Senior Head of People Experience and DEI, and Stuart McCalla, Evolution Managing Partner, speak with Dice about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI and how DEI programs can potentially improve a company’s internal diversity and culture.
Beyond Policy: Elevate and Celebrate Mentors and Allies
The tech industry can prove to be a difficult place for those from underrepresented groups, especially within organizations that are overwhelmingly White. Mentors and allies can help boost DEIB efforts by advocating for employees from underrepresented groups, sharing life lessons about navigating the corporate world, and much more.
For tech professionals, finding mentors and allies can prove a difficult (but nearly always worthwhile) process. Organizations can help by establishing a formal mentorship program, supplemented by “allyship” initiatives that bring individuals from diverse backgrounds together. In lieu of such formal efforts, individuals should seek out others in their organization whose viewpoints resonate with them; start a conversation and see if there’s chemistry. It’s always important to remember that mentorship is a two-way street, with both parties expected to give advice and listen to the others’ challenges and concerns - collectively, this can help drive “bottom up” change.
No Easy Solutions
It’s important to keep in mind that many of these challenges and issues can’t be solved overnight. Here are some other steps you can take to help advance the cause of DEIB in a sustainable way:
- Ask your management team to set actionable DEIB-related goals. Once aligned, proactively share across the organization so everyone is aware.
- Push for a company-wide analysis of employee diversity, and ask what HR is doing to diversify its talent sourcing. Ensure your HR process doesn’t unintentionally weed out folks from certain backgrounds or with certain needs.
- Coordinate with your manager on ways to help highlight the contributions of underrepresented groups within the organization. Build a cadence for this to establish consistency.
- If your organization doesn’t already have it, advocate for bias training. Explain why this is important and what impact mitigating bias can have for individuals and that larger company.
- Launch engagement surveys to gather feedback and suggestions. Follow up with the results and tangible action steps in an org-wide setting.
These are just some of the steps you can take (in alignment with your manager) to inform progress. Not all of your efforts may succeed, but if everyone offers a sustained effort, you’ll push towards a more diverse and equitable workplace. And remember, progress over perfection; as long as things are moving in the right direction, regardless of how slow it may seem, you will have something to continue to build upon.