Top 3 Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives for TribalScale in 2020
By Polly Leung and Ailsa Blair, Design Manager
In our last two pieces surrounding Move The Dial and diversity and inclusion, we touched upon what we learned, what excites us, and why ‘moving the dial’ is necessary. Now, as we face the start of a new decade, we’re so excited to be pivoting towards what we are working to achieve for diversity and inclusion at TribalScale in 2020. Here are three key initiatives we are focused on for the new year:
Improving our numbers across the board, no excuses
As a company that prides itself on inclusivity, we still currently have a 69% men vs. 31% women split. This number jumps greatly when we just focus on engineering; 79% men vs. 21% women. However, we have made great progress in other areas. Our design team is currently 100% women or non-binary folks, 75% women of colour, and 25% representation of the LGBTQ* community. With the hiring of Tina Johnson as our new HR Coordinator this month, we can start looking at the underrepresented groups within TribalScale and actively work to create a supportive and nurturing environment across all departments.
Venture Capitalist Freada Kapor Klein said “we’re never going to make any progress by adding talent from diverse backgrounds if we don’t fix the inclusion and culture issues.” We plan to do just that. This includes making our office a safe space for women, people of colour, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ* community, folks who aren’t able-bodied, and folks with mental health issues.
Ensuring that the research and testing we do is reflective of the diverse nature of our society
My career in Product Design began with user research in 2013, so I’m very passionate about ensuring our projects have a solid foundation of research prior to development. We’ve all heard about how research can save time and money on iterations of a product, but we rarely talk about who we are performing this research with or on. To create the best products we have to test with participants who are reflective of our society, and we need to prioritize accessible and inclusive design practices across the board, no excuses.
I was recently interviewed by the incredible Kelly Small for their upcoming book The Conscious Creative. I wanted to contribute to the book because I truly believe that the more we talk about the problems that surround us in design and in tech itself, the more impact we can have on the industry as we move forward. Here’s an insight into the impactful work that Kelly is doing to make our challenges more visible to larger communities:
“The truth is that discourse in the creative industries has been largely dominated by heteropatriarchal anglocentric/eurocentric ways of knowing, seeing and acting in the world. In other words, the community of practitioners talking about design, architecture, tech and the like have been pretty homogeneous — white, male, and straight. As an ethical designer, it’s critical to get real with ourselves to challenge our prejudices and assumptions as they relate to the richness (or lack thereof) of unique perspectives and cultural knowledge that influences our work.” - Kelly Small, author of the forthcoming The Conscious Creative, publishing Fall 2020 with House of Anansi
Become better allies to under-represented groups in tech
“I wish marginalized folks didn’t have to do all the work educating other folks. And that some of y’all weren’t so happy sitting back and having us do all of that work for you.”- Angelica Ross, Founder of @TransTechSocial & @MissRossInc
One of my biggest takeaways from the Move the Dial Summit this year was listening to Angelica Ross’s talk “Moving forward, together” where she stated “As a black trans woman I have learned to understand and own my privilege, and if I can do that, y’all white men should be able to as well.” As a white able-bodied person in this industry, I have an immense amount of privilege that others do not. I do not have to worry about whether the colour of my skin or my ability will prevent me from being hired by a company. So, with that in mind, one of our goals for 2020 will be to become better allies to the under-represented groups within the tech community, aiming to support and lift folks up.
There’s a couple of ways we’re going to do this:
- Listen to the viewpoints and experiences of folks from under-represented groups, and what they want from the tech industry as we move forward.
- Be inclusive in the events we host at TribalScale, running events exclusively for under-represented groups and forming a safe space for them to share their experiences.
- Confront prejudice and bias, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so. Far too often folks with privilege make comments that can be considered microaggressions to minorities around them. We plan to hold a series of workshops and Lunch & Learns where we share our personal experiences to the entire organization. We’ll also be empowering folks to stand up for each other when these moments occur (both inside and outside of work), as it’s often overwhelming for the person affected to do so.
Shining a light on the struggles that others face on a daily basis is critical and will allow us to move forward into a new intersectional era within tech. We should be striving to unlearn the harmful behaviours and actions that are ingrained in us by society, and we can do that together.
My hope, as a leader within TribalScale, is to lift up those around me and empower them to produce their best work while feeling safe in their surroundings. My role as a leader is not to dictate things to my team. It is to inspire, reassure and support those around me. My job is to bring out the best in people, and I hope to do that in an incredibly meaningful way — for everyone.
References
Decolonising Design (2016, June 27). Editorial Statement. Retrieved November 11, 2018, http://www.decolonisingdesign.com/statements/2016/editorial/.
This is part 3 of a three part series discussing Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace, featuring the point of view of women in tech, and TribalScale’s 2020 goals. Read Part 2 here
Have questions about TribalScale’s inclusion and diversity initiatives? Click here to speak to one of our experts.
Ailsa M. Blair often describes themselves as a queer, intersectional feminist, Brit. After moving to Toronto, Canada in 2011, Ailsa was introduced to the world of Product Design and UX Research during a previous role. It was here that they fell in love — believing that when design touches everything, it’s important to make sure you have a solid foundation of research before pen is put to paper.
Currently plying their trade as Design Manager at TribalScale, they help to mentor, coach and manage the design team, while working to ensure team members are growing professionally and quality work is being developed. They love to work on new and innovative technology as they design ethical products and services for our clients’ user bases. As for unwinding, they have a deep rooted love for strength training and watching/playing soccer. On the weekends, they are often found hiking with their husky/lab mix, or cuddled on their couch watching murder documentaries.
TribalScale is a global innovation firm that helps enterprises adapt and thrive in the digital era. We transform teams and processes, build best-in-class digital products, and create disruptive startups. Learn more about us on our website. Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook!
