@Diversity

Diversity is a difficult conversation – but it can be had if you add the right people to the conversation. If it is all men, women's voices are not heard. If you fail to include people of color, you are faced with the scenario that many companies, institutions of learning, and other organizations are facing.  Black and Brown people often are not among organizational leadership – and in some cases only have very small numbers among staff and other administrators. If you examine any major organization, you will find that diversity is an issue in some form. The interviewing and hiring process is a perfect example of an area that needs increased diversity. One way to fix this is by including different perspectives within the organization and adding various levels (experience and exposures) of employees in the interview process. If the interview team is made up of all men, the candidate that is hired is more likely to be a man. This has been proven to be true in study after study  when the makeup of a team has little to no diversity. In a Harvard article, ‘Why Employers Favor Men’, Gerdeman found, “…female employers were more likely to hire women than male employers”.[1]

Unconscious bias or not, most of us are more comfortable with people with whom we share common interests or values. This is called homosocial reproduction. “Homosocial reproduction is defined as a selection process by which managers select individuals who are socially similar to themselves for hiring and promotion.”[2] Interests and values often also cut along racial and gender lines. 

Women’s voices are diminished or silenced in conferences, events, or meetings where the majority of the members are men. If a woman says something, it goes virtually unnoticed until a man repeats or says some rephrased form of the same thing. This behavior has been called ‘hepeating’.  In Arwa Mahdawi’s Ted Talk[3] (I watch it often to remind myself how far we have yet to go) noted there are more men named John in leadership roles than there are women. The numbers are even smaller among Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other underrepresented minorities. 

Today, women and people of color are still having “firsts”. The first woman to do this or the first Black woman to hold that job. Often these “firsts” are met by claims that there is an attack on White men – I disagree. You cannot have diversity without complete and intersectional inclusion – Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Whites, and all minority groups at the table discussing the issues, admitting that unconscious bias exists (being open and comfortable enough with your colleagues to say what you are feeling and thinking), addressing the lack of diversity with each hire, and opening the doors to the so-called “old boys” network. When we are not mindful of including these different voices and perspectives, we lose them. For example – women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/Medicine (STEM) fields leave their careers at a much higher rate than any other group. Pay, promotion, and respect are often listed as the reasons. 

Research studies indicate women are paid less than Asian and White men. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research outlined the wage gap, “White women earn 81% on the dollar compared to White men, black women earn 67%, Asian women earn 93% and Latinas earn 62% compared to the earnings of white men.”[4] STEM fields are among the highest paying according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).[5]  However, that does not translate to equal pay across gender and race. Pay, promotion, and respect are as difficult to tackle as the issue of diversity. Pay and promotion are hidden behind the veil of human resources (HR) (the least transparent part of any organization). Even in instances when an organization lists its salaries for employees, there is so much more to those salaries than what is listed. The official language includes terms like years of experience, education, research, and any other factor that can justify higher pay for one group over the other. There have been articles written to encourage minorities and women to ask for raises and promotions, but the HR machines are well-prepared for these requests and have a bevy of reasons why the request cannot be granted or responds with a salary study is needed or some other cloaked response bound to leave the requestor’s head spinning and thus the request falls flat. To the institution’s credit, they cannot grant every request. There are legitimate reasons why pay and promotions are denied. However, if the moment the institution hired a new person, they included equitable pay at the onset, developed the career path of the individual, assigned that person a mentor within the organization, and checked in with the new employee within six months, then again in a year, and a year later, the new employee may have a sense of whether they as an employee were wanted and belonged. For large organizations, this plan may be difficult. However, if the leadership of that organization thought of its organizational culture and the cost of employee turnover, it may justify the cost of such a plan. 

The World is becoming more diverse every day. Regardless of how many walls are built or policies are enacted, the makeup of the population is changing. The mixed race population is among the fastest growing segment. Hispanics (Dreamers, immigrants, or otherwise) are also increasing in numbers. James Johnson’s research, ‘Six Disruptive Demographics That Will Change the U.S. & South Carolina Forever’ points an eye-opening look at age and race. These trends are not just happening in America. A Pew Center study found major shifts in demographics all across the globe.[6] One significant statistic noted was the change in religion. The report stated, “Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion, mostly because Muslims are younger and have more children than any other religious group globally. By 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians.” These demographic shifts lend themselves to new thinking about diversity. If we are not ready to have these conversations now, we may find ourselves forced to have them when we are unprepared to have them.

As technology continues to disrupt most, if not all industries, the need for STEM workers is increasing. The debate has continued as to whether there is a shortage of STEM workers for years. However, the number of positions posted for STEM workers in California, North Carolina, Colorado, and the Dakotas have seen their states grow exponentially in jobs, people, and start-ups. As new innovations become available, job displacement will occur for those that are under-educated and under-skilled. Efforts are needed now to retool the skills of those most vulnerable to automation and fill jobs in STEM where the demand for skilled workers are needed.

Like all of the major issues in our society, we can continue to talk about diversity, but until we put actions to words, the talk is just noise. Diversity should no longer be an afterthought, simply because of our morals or personal values. Diversity should be a part of the organization’s cultural, long-range strategic planning for the health of the organization, employment, and the well-being of our society. We may have many wicked problems in our society but like anything else, they can be tackled one at a time. It requires a commitment to addressing the issues and creating the policies and practices to enact fairly and with careful planning. 

[1] Gerdeman - https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/why-employers-favor-men

[2] Dressel, Hartfield, and Gooley - https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1206&context=jgspl

[3] Ted Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtUlRYXJ0vI

[4] Hegewisch, Phil, and Williams-Baron - https://iwpr.org/publications/gender-wage-gap-2017-race-ethnicity/

[5] Fayer, Lacey, and Watson - https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2017/science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-occupations-past-present-and-future/pdf/science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-occupations-past-present-and-future.pdf

[6] Cohen and Caumont - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/