What do you do if your IT team is experiencing a lack of diversity and inclusion?

Agir proativamente para promover mudan?as significativas. Avaliar a situa??o atual e promovendo a conscientiza??o sobre a importancia da diversidade e inclus?o. Estabele?endo metas claras, revise as práticas de recrutamento e crie uma cultura de respeito e valoriza??o da diversidade.

In the process of assessing your current situation the HR department can be a great help, as they have resources that could help put your department in context. They should be able to provide you a breakdown of the rest of the organization, as well as the community you are based in, and the field you are in as well. Different parts of the country and the world have different makeups, and so there is never a one-size-fits-all approach. So seeing how you align with these outside factors can help you identify if you are really behind, and by how much.

It is critical to have the proper approach when it comes to improving your teams DEI, and again it is critical to make sure you are working with HR on this effort to ensure you are not violating other laws at the same time. Consider the dichotomy of wanting to improve diversity from a very white male department, but that it is also illegal to include race or gender as part of your hiring decision. When setting your goals, you also have to make sure that current staff, new hires, or people who were not hired, don’t feel that your decision was made to meet those goals.

When addressing a lack of diversity and inclusion within the IT team, it's crucial to communicate and engage openly. Start by fostering a culture of inclucivity where everyone's voice is heard and valued. Implement diversity training, mentorship programs, and actively recruit from underrepresented groups to create a more inclusive environment. Encourage open dialogue and feedback to continuously improve diversity efforts and ensure all team members feel respected and included.

This is such an important topic, and first should be addressed at the company level and should be a part of your culture. DEI and B is critical to a healthy workplace. As an IT leader you can increase representation and have a strategy and use the tips above, however diversifying your team does not equal true DEIB culture. It is important to lead by example, which means using inclusive language, welcoming everyone from all walks of life, encouraging your team to be their authentic selves, and fostering a safe space for them to do so. If there is no safe space, diversifying your team is an empty gesture geared towards appearance rather than a true culture of DEIB.

Make sure you communicate clearly with your team, and keep a close eye on them while making your changes. There have been a number of times where existing staff have become uncomfortable with the changes, claiming that management were upsetting the “culture” that currently exists there. Not only might this cause issues with your current staff, but new hires may be left feeling like an outsider. It is critical to make sure that everybody is onboard with the push, and that it is going to help improve things. A good way to do this is to make sure your DEI push is a team effort, not a management effort. Have them work as ambassadors for hiring efforts in target DEI markets, or mentors for new hires.