Diversity & Defining the Next Generation

There are many ways for a company to tell its ‘diversity’ story, because the word itself implies there is no one size fits all. On my teams, and as I hire, I challenge my managers to seek diversity not just in the external realms that make up a check list, but how can we deliver value and impact to as many people as possible in authentic, meaningful ways. There are practical applications such as ratios of male to female, and gender equality pay. There are other inclusion considerations as well.

Often left out of this equation is age. Lately, there has been press at Microsoft for a whole legion of “Boomers” returning to the tech giant because the cultural transformation resonates with their values. At other times, ageism is called into question, e.g. replacing longer tenured, senior employees with less expensive “green” employees with lower pay.

But the age I am referring to is the emerging generation, the succedents to Gen Z.

Recently, I had the opportunity to partner with Big Picture, a Bellevue, Washington-based school that allows their students to spend one day a week learning “on the job”. One of my students had a son interested in exploring statistics and data science. I just happened to need help with my data strategy. He joined my Content and Transformational Learning team that I manage for a digital healthcare company and shares his story here along with my experience working in the "real world" as a young person.

“Like anyone else, I want my life to have purpose and meaning. I am only 15, so it’s a bit early to find my true purpose, yet I know that I want to do something important. For years I have been saying that I’m interested in Biology and Math, yet it was agonizing to say my interests were something I had little understanding about.”

I began working professionally when I was in high school. By professionally, I mean not working for my grandfather at one of his gas stations in Mamaroneck, NY over the summers, or helping my father at his import/export business. While most kids where rocking the mall scene or doing fast food, I was stuck in an executive suite alone, shrouded by volumes of books, stuck for hours after school in front of a computer. This was the mid-eighties, for context.

My job assignment? Simple: comb through the library and author abstracts from scientific and criminal law reference guides and create a searchable database. I was STEM and I didn’t even know it! At the time I worked for a Forensic Scientist, a PhD specializing in deposition and litigation. He needed quick access to data without having to comb the troves, and a brief synopsis to determine which was the most effect information to use. The cases were fascinating. It was like all the cool forensic shows you see on television like Special Victims Unit, just without the futuristic technology and really pretty people. It was just me, a stack of books, weary eyes and an old school computer. I’m talking MS-DOS, no internet surfing and graphic user interface be damned. All you got was a blinking cursor. As I would arrive after a long day at school, I would label and create electronic files of horrific car accidents, workmen’s comp claims that would turn the stomach and read…a lot.

By the end of my two-year “job”- a sweet gig at $20/hr back in the day- I was able to read and retain over 100 pages an hour. I knew a bunch of random s***, and could wax poetic about brain trauma, GMAC IV anthropomorphic dummies, and answer a few physics questions you might find yourself needing to know during an interview with Google. I also could type over 120 words per minute and knew quite a bit about the law and court proceedings. It set me up for the research, writing and computer skills I use and personally value every day in my life now. Who knows, maybe I will head to law school in the future.

I feel blessed that I can offer the same to someone else with equal work ethic, intellectual curiosity and desire to marry interests with meaning. To imagine his perspective on technology compared to my own at his age, reminds me how far we have come. I wonder how my intern will feel about technology when looking back from a thirty years later vantage point.

“My school has a unique internship program which I appreciate, because instead of just saying “I think Statistics is interesting” I can practice it. I’ve worked cleaning spreadsheets, summarizing them, writing about data, and developing matrices. My internship has inspired me to take a Statistics class where I learned how to determine if something is statistically significant, and what numbers are meaningful. I truly understand why Data Science is important and relevant to me. I see it as truth to inform action. I understand how it’s used, from winning Fantasy Football, to analyzing population demographics and identifying inequities.”

I love the idea that there is a young man who wants to use technology for more than entertainment, gaming and YouTube, intentionally exploring ways to address challenges in our society. How can we collaborate with schools to enable younger people to get connected more richly into their interests and the possibilities that begin to come forth as a result of that applied exploration?

“I understand that much of what I said can be incredibly boring to people. I’m fine with that, if everyone thought like me things would be boring. My passions and interests would probably have remained dormant until college if I didn’t go out and try to experience it. Just doing random things teaches you a lot. I’m sure my points are quite agreeable. When you experience something, you can determine your true interests, and discover what you want to do with your life. Teenagers can do the same. While they may not be beholden to something, it is never too early to find out what excites you and start exploring what your career will be. I have contributed seriously to projects as a peer to adults. Given the opportunity any teen can do the same.”