diversity v.2

A good deal of hiring “surface” diversity is dependent on your company’s geographic location. When I started at FWHT, in Fort Myers, we had zero people of color the entire time I was there. Why? Because the city is predominately white, with an African-American underclass. There were simply no candidates. Not even close.

When I opened the NY office, my first hire was a Korean girl adopted by Jews. How’s that for diverse. That’s not why I hired her — but it obviously wasn’t why I did not hire her. Kirsten Schatmeyer. And she killed it.

At MMI I hired an Asian SEO director. He rocked. Billy Ye. And he killed it.

At the NBA I hired a Puerto Rican media assistant. He nailed it.

My partner in Mediality was Polish. It made communication — not elocution, but things like cultural norms, difficult — but he was the best. I partnered with the Russians. They were the best. Communication was tough. But worth it.

I hire blind. On merit. That’s it. That has to be it.

I do think that discrete efforts to get underrepresented persons into the market are valid. Especially what Gotham Gal is doing. But that’s a little different. She does not invest in the female, period, she invests in the opportunity presented by the female. And in the female. That kind of mentorship is maybe what we need to see more of in organizations — taking the time to help minorities grow, learn, and gain the confidence they may lack seeing that they are indeed a minority in the tech space.

I think this whole clusterfuck came to be in the beginning. When (largely) white men hired who they knew, who were white men, and it just cascaded. Suddenly we look up and it’s a white boys’ club. Homogenous. A lot of people feel comfortable with homogenous and may inadvertently (or intentionally) discriminate in hiring. Or make false assumptions about the capacity of, say, women, or other minorities.

Just because it’s always been does not mean it always has to be. I was definitely an outlier, and I know other women who are too. I also know/have known women in tech who give women in tech a bad name. Same with female entrepreneurs. There’s a barrier to entry — getting funded as a woman by predominately male-led VC.

It’s change the mindset, and mentor the diverse, and go down further and educate for the future. For changing the mindset — that is the responsibility of industry leaders, primarily. To start. Vocally. By example. And in the enduring conversation of why women don’t get paid as much as men in tech, I always make the argument — perform, quantitatively make your case for a raise/parity, sell it. Quantitatively as in, get the numbers on your net contribution the your company’s bottom line, your take from that, and use some common sense as to what you should be compensated at. Easier said for pay-for-performance, but it can still be done. I say this, and women just are dumbfounded. They want the “men” to change. I say take your destiny into your own hands before you expect an entire culture to change, ‘cause the latter is gonna be a longer wait.

I learned early to request a lower base in turn for unlimited upside on commission. I also learned not to accept the fallacious comp plan that still endures, where the three commissionable tiers are paid out percentage-wise in descending order. How is that motivating? I make more money for you, you pay me progressively less? Logic.

I don’t know how I figured this stuff out. No one helped me to. But we do have to help those coming up. Fostering proactivism in the workplace regardless of diversity is good for everyone. And I do truly believe in mentorship. You want to grow your company, you have to put in the time to grow your people. I never had a mentor. I just went out and found one and paid attention. Asked questions. I should play the lotto; I am a good picker. And when I get the chance you’d better believe I will be paying that forward