Diversity and the Tech Worker Life Cycle

It’s no secret that the tech industry in the U.S. is not representative of the tech user base. Most folks recognize that this is indicative of systemic inequality or at least that more diverse teams and companies are more profitable. I’ll assume you’re already on board; this post is about steps you can take to help diversify the talent pool and your own team. It’s important that each company begin this process as early as possible, as larger groups can be subject to massive diversity debt.

A word on diversity

When I talk about a diverse group, I refer to a healthy mix of perspective including both aspects that are frequently visible (sex, race, age), and those that might not be (e.g. physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious or political affiliation, national origin, socio-economic background). Of course these lists are not exhaustive, nor do they begin to address intersectionality, but the idea of a mix is important. A team of all women or all Native Americans is probably going to be missing valuable perspectives, as with a team of all white men.

I’ll also disclaim in advance that my links to example orgs are heavily weighted towards balancing the gender gap, as those have been some of the more visible studies and organization efforts, to date (as well as one of the easiest diversity factors to identify at a glance). This is another problem, but the conversation around white feminism is one we can save for another day.

While diversity in tech is a very popular topic of conversation, many people want to make changes, and some have great ideas, it’s a truly enormous problem with many facets, and it can be hard to know where to begin. I break it down into a four-stage cycle with some suggestions for addressing each.

Very important: Fixing any one of these areas will not solve the overall problem, but trying to tackle all four at once is probably not practical for any organization. Be aware, get help, educate others, and do your best.

1. Awareness, Interest, and Education: The Top of the Funnel

While we know tech workers aren’t representative of the general population, the same can be said for the tech talent pool. To change that, we need to generate interest and awareness in under-represented populations. We need to show them what tech jobs are, why they’re desirable, and how to get them. Representation can also be helpful, at this stage, to show people in these groups that it is possible for “people like them” to succeed in tech. Then we need to provide the education to get them there.

A lot of organizations focus on awareness and education for young people, as well as showcasing success stories of people from under-represented groups, and this is incredibly important in getting them to pursue tech careers (as is just talking about the gender gap in STEM). Unfortunately, even in cases where this process is working very well, it is a long-term solution to an immediate problem.

So, to move the needle a bit sooner, seek organizations that serve adults in those same under-represented populations (disclosure: I am a chapter leader for Girl Develop It, in Philadelphia) and ask how you can help. They may need monetary sponsorship, but alternately, you may be able to contribute meeting space, expert instruction, assistance with marketing, and similar in-kind donations. If you can offer apprenticeships, do so; the gap between education and work experience is a difficult one to cross. In return, you increase brand awareness of your company with that community and often get a chance to promote job opportunities to them. Your company culture may become more tolerant and inclusive, if your employees are working directly with these groups. Keep in mind that these organizations will often consist of instructors, mentors, family and friends, in addition to novice learners, so you may be able to recruit more senior candidates than you expect.

2. Recruiting: Reach New Audiences and Do It Well

Working with educational organizations is just one way to reach candidates of an under-represented population. In addition to organizations that serve tech professionals (as opposed to novices) in those populations, you can also try to reach social and civic institutions (community centers, unions, conventions, news outlets, universities, and so on) with a large audience of a particular demographic. Or just check out this amazing list compiled by Eva Zheng. Once you’ve put together a list of outlets to which you’d like to promote your open job opportunities, if you have employees who belong to your targeted demographics, now is the time to show them the list and get their feedback and suggestions. It’s important that this is a late step in the process, however, because creating a diverse team is your job, not theirs. While the people on your team who belong to under-represented groups are likely happy to help, it is not their responsibility to recruit “people like them,” so your due-diligence is critical.

If some of the channels you identified don’t directly post job opportunities, consider whether there is another way you can partner with them to help raise your company profile with their audiences.

Another important aspect of the recruiting stage is the job posting itself. This is a great place to focus, because it is entirely within your control, as an organization. There are some fantastic resources out there to help make your postings welcoming and inclusive, but have your copy reviewed by as many people with different perspectives as possible, either internally or externally. Ask whether any words are appealing or off-putting, and whether they spot any red flags.

3. Hiring: More Welcoming and with Less Bias

Everyone hopes this isn’t a problem at their company, but look at the diversity of your applicants versus the diversity of your hires, and the math will generally give you your answer. Except if your applicants are also not diverse. Then it’s too soon to be able to tell.

People are biased. It may be fixable, it may not be. What you can do is reduce the opportunity for bias in your hiring process. Some ways to do this might include:

• anonymized resume review (remove names and other identifying information, like some locations or educational institutions)
• blind remote coding or coding reviews, in which the evaluator has almost no information about the candidate
• eliminate subjective hiring criteria, wherever possible; standardize everything that can’t be eliminated

To the last point, clearly define a criteria like “culture fit” (though I prefer the term “culture add”), in terms of something like company values. Create standard questions to identify and measure those traits and have multiple people evaluate the responses independently. Focus on the qualities that are going to make that person a valuable and thriving member of your team, not whether you’d want to be friends with them.

You can also make the hiring process itself welcoming:

• Carefully audit questions for subtle exclusivity. An example of a subtly exclusive question is something like “What superpower would you want, and why?” While it may be a great shorthand question to get candidates to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and passions, it also suggests that a familiarity with “geek culture” is a requirement. A fantastic programmer whose primary interests are Hemingway and gardening could easily get the message that they don’t belong. Instead, you could ask “What would you be most likely to research for fun?” or “What personality trait would you change about yourself?” The shorthand may be quicker, but may also be a turn-off.
• For all candidates, include someone in the candidate-facing process who is visibly a member of an under-represented population. I realize this will be a bit controversial, so tread very carefully, and discuss it with your team. Showing that there is more than one kind of person who can succeed at your company will be meaningful. It gives candidates a feel for how people who are “other” are treated (hopefully, well), and gives those who identify as “other” an opportunity to ask questions they might not otherwise be comfortable asking. And no matter how they identify, everyone should get the message that you value a diverse team. This is not to say you should falsely represent the diversity of your organization, but most candidates will have an idea of that when they walk through the door, or earlier, if they’ve done their online research.
• Willingness to train can allow you to broaden your candidate pool significantly, while providing valuable training experience for your existing employees. This isn’t about lowering your standards for one demographic, it’s about taking your pick of more junior candidates and growing them into exactly what you need. Being willing to train is a great approach to take all the time, not just because it widens your talent pool, but also because it encourages people who are less confident (but equally capable) to apply. Break the cycle that continues offering opportunities and advancement to the group of people that looks like those already in the industry.

4. Culture: Build a Great One

This certainly comes into play with hiring and whether candidates feel comfortable and welcome at your company, but it also dictates whether your employees stay. “Culture” can encompass myriad things, some of which are extremely hard to change, but a few top-down things you can do to foster an inclusive culture are:

• Create and promote supportive family policies (family leave, lactation facilities, etc)
• Complete a pay audit to determine whether your employees are being compensated fairly, in comparison to each other. Make corrections, as needed, or at least formulate and communicate a plan to make corrections over time. Transparency around compensation and promotions is also a great way to hold yourself and your leadership team accountable.
• Ensure that your internal and external communications show a range of diverse people, sensitively portrayed
• Clearly define discrimination, harassment, and non-retaliation policies as well as processes for handling complaints. Make sure everyone is aware of the policies, through training or, at minimum, an employee handbook.
• Provide clearly-stated company values, so employees have guidelines on what behavior is encouraged and discouraged. This can help them independently make decisions that will grow the culture in the direction you want and also offers a framework for giving feedback on how they conduct themselves.

On values: It’s important that your stated values match the everyday operations and behavior of your team. How to align them is another topic, but know that your employees and candidates will likely be able to tell whether you are organizationally “walking the walk” and will react accordingly.

Measurement

So when are you in a good place, and how can you tell? There are at least three factors to consider: your potential user-base, the demographics of your locale, and the demographics of the talent pool. Ideally, your applicants, your company, and teams within the company, are at least as diverse as the most varied of those numbers. But, it also depends on why you’re measuring.

Here’s some additional speculation: a team representative of your potential customer-base will probably get you that bottom line impact, though diversity of thought really cannot be under-valued (even if you’re building investment banking software). Having applicants and a team representative of your local community or of the talent pool (whichever is more varied) is in the territory of “doing the right thing.”

And how you measure success will be important, too. To get really fine-grained, you probably need to do a sensitively-designed employee survey to find out how folks identify on a variety of factors, both visible and invisible. These are obviously not questions you can ask applicants, so this would only give you information on current employees, but might be something your shareholders would be interested in, or local media, if you’re doing well. (See an interesting example of public diversity data here.) On the other hand, if you’re just doing a gut-check, you can start by looking around the room.

What does it mean?

Once we have happy, successful tech workers from under-represented populations, they will often want to give back to the community, and can serve as role models and mentors for the groups with which they identify. Or heaven forbid, they can enrich our workplaces through their presence and perspective, alone.