Are You As Inclusive As You Think?
This is the month where companies add rainbows to everything. The month where corporations talk about how they are allies and inclusive, and you can tell that because they have a rainbow on their logo.
I mean, good job with June. You’re helping to raise awareness of LGTBQ issues. But what are you doing the rest of the year?
And if you’ll pardon the slight bit of attitude, what are you really doing?
I’ve worked at many companies that claim to be inclusive. They have special clubs and committees for often excluded groups. They even have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy. They fly all the right flags, sponsor the right events, and tell everyone that they are welcome.
It’s adorable.
That’s all superficial fluff. Yeah, it’s better than nothing, and it’s certainly better than a policy of non-inclusion. But in the 21st Century, that is really the bare minimum. You’re a level 1 Inclusivist. Basic weapons and armor, and no spells other than “Light.” You don’t even have Magic Missile yet.
Why? Because it really doesn’t impact anyone’s career. Those same places have no problem laying off those diversity hires first (sometimes only those hires). They have no problem with all of their leadership team being Muggles when there are equally skilled but excluded people available.
It’s often not even intentional. It’s just unconscious bias. That person is too “flamboyant” to be a Director of Finance. That person is too “set in his ways” to be a Creative Director. That guy isn’t a “Team Player.” What that translates to is: too gay, too old, and neurodivergent.
But they have a DEI Policy! How could that happen here?
Because a diversity policy is just an idea. It’s like having a super power policy. If no one has super powers, then it’s meaningless. Same thing, although that’s a pretty bad metaphor.
A diversity policy needs buy-in from everyone. Not just the people it impacts the most, but Leadership. From top to bottom. And there must be some mechanism to monitor and enforce the policy. If the Director of Sales refuses to hire any women with short hair because they might be, you know, that way, then the policy fails. That Director may or may not have any idea why they’re refusing to hire short haired women, but the DEI Director should be able to step in and say, “We need you to start evaluating candidates differently. Here’s the plan…”
Need a real world example (if you’re someone impacted by inclusion issues, you probably have plenty of examples)? There’s research that shows that when hiring symphony orchestra players, men were getting hired over women, even when the women were better. It wasn’t usually intentional, it was just internal bias. When those orchestras went to blind interviews, meaning they only heard the music and never saw the person, the number of women hired shot up significantly. From 6 percent to 21 percent.
But let’s be real for a moment. Sometimes the bias is pretty conscious. In those cases, you need to have enough buy-in to say, “This changes or people will be let go.”
Flying the rainbow flag is a good first step. But internally, there needs to be concrete actions to ensure everyone has a chance to shine. We’re all different, but we can all excel when given an even chance. Don’t settle for the least you can do. In fact, don’t settle at all.
If you like what I wrote, considering buying me a cup of coffee.
