SaaStr Annual 2018 Talk: D&I Initiatives Every Startup Leader Should Think About

Aubrey Blanche, doing awesome work at Atlassian

What Aubrey talked about:

D&I = Diversity and inclusion

• Individual people cannot be diverse, only teams can be diverse
• Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being glad you’re actually there.
• Homogenating is the outcome of having low standards and laziness

2 Things Aubrey Believes:

• There is a pipeline problem when it comes to building diverse teams and organizations. Science can solve it.
• Half life on our skills is going down. Diversity is a way of addressing that.

2 Changes Aubrey Made to Improve D&I at Atlassian:

• Implemented standardized behavioral interviews
• Showcase an inclusive set of benefits
• Present opportunities at your company to attract a diverse pool of candidates. Make people feel welcome.

My Bias:

What I noticed, or thought I noticed during Aubrey’s talk:

White guys walking out of the talk on their phones…disrespecting the subject matter and the person delivering it…actually there are other ppl leaving as well, so I’m being influenced by preconceived notions (i.e., bias).