Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Personal Perspective as a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Aurai
TL;DR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (hereafter DE&I) is not something that is done overnight. As a bicultural woman working as a Talent Acquisition Specialist within the IT/Data industry I see it as my personal mission to contribute to a more diverse, equal and included workspace. This blog gives you a clear view on what DE&I actually means, how it plays a role in my work and some tips for pursuing DE&I in the workplace.
Introduction
2023: a time where information has been easier to obtain than ever before. Where people are so much alike, but at the same time so different. Where diversity and inclusion are hot topics. Much is said and done, at the same time it feels like nothing has been said or nothing has been done. That is why we take a few steps back and start with: what does DE&I actually mean?
Furthermore, I would like to give you a glimpse of my personal experience as a bicultural woman and how it led me to Talent Acquisition within the IT/data industry. An industry mainly known for its unequal division between men, women, and non-binary people. At the end, I will give some tips for my fellow Talent Acquisition Specialist for pursuing more DE&I in their organization.
What does diversity, equity and inclusion entail?
Sometimes you only see diversity, or only inclusion, and almost never equity. But what people often do not know: you can have diversity, but that does not mean that you are inclusive. You can be inclusive, but that does not mean your group is diverse. You can have both concepts, but that does not mean that there is a case of ‘equity’. I know, it might be a little confusing but do not worry. Plenty of explanations are given about these concepts, so let’s take a look at that below.
Harvard Human Resources (2022) explains these three concepts:
- Diversity: “The condition of being different or having differences. Differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, health, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, religion, physical size, education level, job and function, personality traits, and other human differences…”
- Equity: “Fair treatment for all while striving to identify and eliminate inequities and barriers”.
- Inclusion: “Inclusion means that everyone is included, visible, heard and considered”.
Harvard Human Resources (2022) also emphasizes the importance of the concept of belonging. This forms part of inclusion and means that in order to include everyone, one must be treated and feel like a valuable member of the larger community and that the person can thrive within this community.
According Centraal Planbureau (2022) a diverse workplace leads to more creativity and innovation. Within a diverse group there is more space for different perspectives and ideas which could be beneficial for the organization as a whole. But, this benefit only comes to the surface when the work environment is a safe space for employees where they feel safe, respected and valued. Simply said: employees needs to be included.
Randstad (2019) emphasizes the importance of DE&I for, among other things, employer branding (how more diverse your workplace is, how more attractive it becomes for potential candidates with different identities to apply for a job) and productivity (a successful DE&I policy leads to more productivity and therefore a better turnover). McKinsey (2015) did a thorough research on the last point!
In short, diversity acknowledges our differences and it is up to inclusion and equity to respectively accept every difference and to eliminate any danger that could bring harm to these differences. A few benefits are clear: more creativity and innovation, productivity and a better employer branding.
My road to DE&I within Talent Acquisition
You might think: “All well and good the explanation of diversity, equity and inclusion, but why exactly?”
Well, long story short. I am Devi, 25 years old and born and raised in Amsterdam. First daughter of a Surinamese-Hindu father and Dutch-Jewish mother. My parents raised me, my brother and sister with the principles that we must be proud of our rich cultural heritages and always pay respect to other people, no matter the religion, skin color, cultural background. I must say that with these cultures, there are a lot of principles but the ones explained above are personally important to me.
I experienced (micro)agressions at my primary school, several part time side jobs and even in my own neighborhood. From anti-semitic messages to being bullied for my weight. I am not going to lie, I was hurt deeply and my self-confidence was for several moments in my life extremely low. But all these experiences were a start for me to develop myself into the woman I am today and still becoming.
Fast forward to now, I am a Talent Acquisition Specialist within the IT/Data industry. An industry known for its unequal division between men, women, and non-binary people (read more about this in this article).
My main task is to select and hire the best talent for Aurai. The most important thing for me to do is to create a safe space for my candidates, because I believe this helps obtain valuable information about my candidate. Of course you have small talk: “the weather is not so great today!”, “how are you doing, was our office easy to find for you?” etcetera etcetera. But in my opinion, setting clear boundaries is what matters the most.
I tell the candidate what they can expect from me and what the goals are of this conversation. Furthermore, I emphasize that it is a safe space to talk about motivations, personal experiences or former work experiences without any pre-judgements. Creating an informal (to a certain level) and safe space for my candidates led to really nice conversations.
For example, I had a conversation with a really nice and talented candidate with Surinamese roots. We talked about Surinamese food, if we had ever been there and what kind of superstition we believe in. This is just a small example of how we can connect with each other if we just look at each other’s similarities first instead of differences.
To end this article, I would like to give some tips to my fellow Talent Acquisition Specialists or to anyone who is pursuing more DE&I within the IT/Data industry:
- Do not only focus on hardcore recruitment, but take a look at your organization as a whole. This can be of use in pitching your work environment to potential candidates. A workplace where anyone is included, diverse and equally treated is more attractive! To do this, ask yourself the following questions:
What is the current situation around DE&I?
What can be done to improve the situation regarding DE&I?
2. Talk with your colleagues, especially the people you recruited. Evaluate on how they are feeling within the organization. For example: I recently talked with my female colleagues about the position of women in this industry. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!
3. Take a closer look at your vacancies. How is the vacancy written? Make it visible to the potential candidate that your organization is a welcoming place for everyone.
Conclusion
So, you made it to the end of the article! Maybe a short recap can be of use: A lot is said about DE&I, but actions still speak louder than words. The IT/Data industry is upcoming but still mainly dominated by men (I would recommend reading the article mentioned above!). By giving a personal perspective on why DE&I should be on the agenda, I hope to provide the reader with enough motivation to spread the word.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this article! As you might know by now, DE&I is not something you can can implement overnight. You have to read about it, constantly analyze your situation and adapt to it. It is important to stay updated when it comes to the most recent developments of DE&I. You have to keep talking about it and working on it.
Do you want to know more about DE&I at Aurai or want to join our team? Do not hesitate to contact me!
Aurai provides custom data solutions that help companies gain insights into their data. We engineer your company’s future through simplifying, organizing and automating data. Your time is maximized by receiving the automated knowledge effortlessly and enacting better processes on a foundation of relevant, reliable, and durable information. Interested in what Aurai can mean for your organization? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
