If They do see someone who looks like Them, They’re told, “I’m sure you and (fill in the blank) will have a lot in common.”
Let’s say you’re purposefully diversifying your company. You’ve checked several boxes and you’re trying to check a few more, but no one can tell. Your responses to the questions below are just a few ways people will know whether you’re checking the boxes or not.
• How do you train your employees?
• Do you pair employees with someone who’s been in the company for some time to help them maneuver through the system for the first month?
• How do you handle inviting employees to meetings and introducing them?
• What type of outside projects and events does your company sponsor?
• What types of people do you like to work with?
• Do you have cultural initiatives?
• How do you describe your company culture?
• How do you create an inclusive environment?
• How do you support personal and professional development?
• Is your website accessible?
What About Human Resources?
Let’s take a few steps back to the checked boxes. Where were these employees found so that the boxes could be checked off? Job fairs? Schools? Clubs? Sororities? Fraternities? Ads offering employee incentives? Job placement boards?
I want to be clear that I’m not beating up on human resources professionals on how they find employees. I work with them a great deal, so I understand what they’re up against. They take direction from higherups in the company. Who’s giving them direction? How much support do they get to use unconventional resources to find someone who fits many of the boxes?
Several HR specialists have told me that they were asked to find diverse candidates to interview, but when they submitted those candidates there were always “issues.” Things that make you wonder. I guess the fact that HR tried is a box that gets to be checked off.
Large companies can afford to have their HR departments use artificial intelligence (AI) or computer programs that recognize buzzwords – oops, I mean targeted keywords or phrases to search for employees. It’s lucky for them that they can afford the software or a company to handle their search, but it’s not so lucky for the job-seekers who may not have gone to the college or have the degree that was programmed into the computer as a requirement for employment (unbeknownst to the job-seeker). Of course, these computer programs introduce all kinds of bias into the hiring process.
Story Time
This is a good time to share the story from the veteran I mentioned in the last chapter.
My experience has been very different as a veteran coming out of the service, after twelve years, into the workforce. As I started that journey, I realized I had two checks in the box for diversity – being African American and being a veteran. But I didn’t want those two factors to be the only reasons why someone would hire me. I felt that I needed to show the workforce that I’m qualified and I’m not your average veteran who left the military with no game plan.
I remember the day I went to a job recruiter and she told me that I wasn’t real! I was perplexed for a second, and then she explained herself. She said that there was no way that I was able to be in the military, complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees, work a second job, and have my own business when we all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. It doesn’t seem real! I was surprised by her comment. I left the office feeling very discouraged. Were my qualifications not what companies were looking for? Was I overqualified for the positions I was applying for?
The interaction I had with that recruiter pushed me into the world that I was destined to be in, which is fashion. I’m now in a position to move to the beat of my own drum while still learning the essential skills that are needed to be successful in the fashion industry.
— Former U.S. Navy Chief/Creative Director Fashion
A New Box
I hope you realize that as you’re evaluating a potential employee’s added value, they’re evaluating the value you bring to them.
Here’s a new box for you – my box. Didn’t think about that, did you? What does that even mean?
People who walk into your company may have more than one box to check. Someone may be biracial and a veteran, or Asian and a woman. Do you just pick the box that works for you and not take the effort to see who they are? Are you just happy that you found one person who checks several boxes so that you’re covered?
That doesn’t work. Checking the box is only as good as checking the box, which means nothing. Checking the box is not good enough! Unless you make an effort to hire the people who are best for the position, the ones who have the talent and not just the exterior that lets you check the box, then you’re making an empty gesture. If you already know this, please share it with others in leadership, because some of them still don’t understand valuing talent over checked boxes. They point fingers and say that pushing D&I doesn’t make sense. But others can point to the bottom line that says it makes sense to hire for talent, and if boxes are checked that’s great.
You have to make the effort to insure that equity is a top priority, remembering that equity equals access. People need the opportunity to grow within the company, to see that it’s possible to grow within the company. They need to learn new skills, they need to know where they can find the information that enables them to do that, they need to know who they can speak to who will hear them and see them and guide them.
That good feeling of inclusion. The same feeling you wanted when you took the job.
Some Sad Examples
It’s clear that the way companies have been approaching D&I isn’t working, and just checking boxes isn’t good enough. Just take a look at some real-life examples that will make you cringe.
The following products should never have been approved to reach the public:
• Blackface sweaters
• Monkey sweatshirts
• Sambo charms
• Anti-anything shirts or jackets
• Clothing that appears to be concentration camp uniforms …
And companies have engaged in the following atrocious behaviors:
• Refusing to allow certain people to sit in their coffee shop
• Storing a wheelchair improperly during travel
• Telling someone to take off their head scarf
• Cutting someone’s hair in the middle of a competition
• Stopping same-sex kissing
• Not having a clean area to use a breast pump
