CHAPTER 1

We Hired Some Minorities,
Some Women, and People with
Disabilities; Isn’t That Enough?

When Vanessa Robbins was hired by the Atlanta office of regional corporation Setco, she was excited that her new “assistant director of brand development” position not only was a good professional opportunity but also seemed like the right next step in her marketing career.

Ambitious and a hard worker, Vanessa had high hopes for where her professional pathway might lead—partly because in her previous position with a smaller company, she was repeatedly recognized for her outstanding creativity and ability to grasp any problem quickly. It was nice to feel valued by her employer, but it wasn’t such a big deal, given that she’d graduated from an Ivy League university, and, not coincidentally, both of her parents were physicians. She wasn’t blind to the fact that she possessed the right credentials for success in corporate America, in addition to her demonstrated abilities, which had also been well acknowledged during her college years.

For their part, the human resources department and senior-executive leadership team at Setco, who interviewed and ultimately hired Vanessa, an African-American woman, were pleased to move their firm’s “diversity quotient” forward. The pressure they’d been facing from their board of directors was getting intense, and hiring Vanessa meant they could demonstrate progress in an area that they’d long neglected and, truth be told, simply was not a priority.

It wasn’t as if they’d never read all those studies about diversity and inclusion helping companies gain a competitive edge; they just hoped the push toward a diverse workforce was one of those organizational-change fads that would take care of itself without any dedicated resources or attention. They liked the fact that everyone knew what to expect at Setco. Their organizational sentiment toward D&I could be summed up in a few statements: Th ings were stable, with the company pecking order well established and religiously followed. Besides, it’s hard to even talk to people who aren’t like you; they are just on a different page. The whole diversity thing was time-consuming and not worth the extra effort, as far as they were concerned.

But they had to do something. And now they had. Hiring Vanessa was the first big step toward a more diverse organization, and they hoped it would work. She was sufficient leadership-level “diversity,” so the board could return to discussing the operational issues that senior leadership felt far more comfortable addressing.

REFLEXIVE MARGINALIZATION:
MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO

In her first three months at her new company, Vanessa noticed a pattern that bothered her and even caused her to lose sleep a few nights. More than once, she tried to rationalize away the stonewalling she felt whenever she offered her opinions or ideas, telling herself that perhaps she was mistaken. Was she still too new for people to know her name or listen to her suggestions? Whatever the reason, it wasn’t what she expected or was used to experiencing.

In her last job, there had been a widely diverse workforce and an inclusive corporate culture. The senior leadership team was made up of a diverse demographic of executives that mirrored their employees and customer base. No one felt like an outsider or like they were marginalized because of their ethnicity, race, gender, or sexual identity. Simply put, discrimination hadn’t been tolerated in any form—overtly or covertly. If it did occur, it was quickly addressed.

But Setco was different in this regard, and Vanessa was taken aback by that difference. During the extensive interview process, she’d been praised for her accomplishments and background and for her thoughtful, nuanced answers to the complex questions posed to her. The HR person even told her that several people at the firm saw her as the most qualified and promising candidate they had interviewed in a long time.

They brought me on to contribute at a high level, she reminded herself, thinking back on what was said during her onboarding meeting, so that’s exactly what I am going to do.

Focusing on a solution, she came up with a plan. She would do observational research in order to figure out what was going on. At the next three team meetings, she carefully studied the group’s dynamics: Carl directed the meetings, and Mike and John were usually the ones offering input, while the other woman on the team—who happened to be white—contributed only rarely. When she did say something, Carl would thank her and immediately turn to either Mike or John for their opinion.

“So, Mike,” he’d say,“what do you think of Rita’s observation?”

And Mike would reiterate what Rita had said and then talk around it until it became so buried under his verbiage that her input was long forgotten.

Oh, thought Vanessa, it’s a gender thing. She decided to talk to Rita about the behavior she’d observed. But when Vanessa found a private moment to do that, Rita seemed resigned.

“Yeah, they’re kind of old school here,” she admitted.“But I hardly notice it anymore. You’ll get used to it, too. Th ey expect deference from women—but what else is new? Hey, it’s a job,” she added with a shrug.“It pays well, and I’m a single mother, so I can’t afford to rock any boats. My kids and my mother depend on me. My dad died of a heart attack a year ago and my mom’s living with us now.”

Vanessa expressed concern, saying she could understand Rita’s position. But as she walked away, Vanessa thought about the fact that this really wasn’t what she had signed up for at Setco, and she felt it physically—as if she were now buried up to her neck in cement. Later that day, after recovering a bit, she decided to push back. Th ere had to be a way to break through, not only for herself, but also for the betterment of her team and the organization as a whole.

Steeling herself at the next team meeting a few weeks later, Vanessa jotted down a few notes while Carl talked, preparing her response to what he was asking the team to brainstorm about. When he paused and looked at Mike and then John, she saw her chance.

“What about …” Vanessa began, and she laid out a three-point plan for a marketing campaign designed to launch Setco’s new high-value product, which was what Carl had wanted the marketing team to address.

Everyone around the conference table turned to look at Vanessa in apparent disbelief. The facial expressions of the men transformed from uncomfortable to sullen, as if they couldn’t quite figure out how to process the fact that she had confidently contributed such great, on-point ideas. But Rita, Vanessa could see, was struggling not to smile. Covering her mouth, she coughed several times and reached for her water bottle.

When Vanessa finished speaking, Carl stared out the window for a few weighty seconds before asking,“Anyone care to respond?”

John leaned forward slightly, as if he were about to speak but, thinking better of it, sat back in his chair and said nothing.

“All right, then,” Carl said.“Let’s move on.”

Vanessa felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. Th is dismissal of her contribution was so blatant that for a good fifteen seconds, she considered walking out of the meeting and handing in her resignation as soon as she could type it up. Instead, she waited to calm down, and then it occurred to her that she could talk with her manager, Claire, someone who had a vested interest in her success at Setco.

The next day, which was a Friday, she arranged a meeting with Claire and spent a good hour preparing. She planned her approach with care, wanting to present her concerns without seeming too emotional. She even came up with a way that her manager could help her work things out with Carl and the team.

Vanessa began slowly, trying to outline her frustrating experiences during team meetings and conference calls in a way that wasn’t too critical of the company while still sharing her disappointment at being marginalized, if not outright dismissed. Vanessa also talked about why she’d taken the job and how this apparent gender bias hadn’t been clear during the interview process.

Claire pursed her lips tightly while Vanessa was speaking, looking ever more annoyed. Pausing just slightly, she asked if Vanessa thought she might be misreading her situation.

“Keep in mind,” Claire added,“you are one of the very few African-Americans working at various levels in the company, and the only one at this level, so you may be a little sensitive … to certain things.”

By now, Vanessa had guessed that Claire was invested in the company’s unspoken marginalization strategy for those who weren’t part of the preferred demographic. But something prompted Vanessa to try again. So she shared that ten minutes after the incident in which her plan for a product launch was oddly dismissed, John had mentioned a very similar approach, and Carl had pounced on it, calling it “brilliant thinking.”

And, Vanessa continued, for weeks before this incident, John and a few others on her team had been asking her to meet privately with them to brainstorm because, they said,“You have great ideas.” But then, at the next meeting, they would present her ideas as their own while she sat across from them in disbelief.

“Hmmm,” said Claire.“Would you like to know what it sounds like to me?”

“Yes,” replied Vanessa, though she doubted that Claire would present an objective perspective, given what she’d said earlier.

“It seems you haven’t quite grasped the concept of being a team player, Vanessa. You’re also sounding like a ‘victim,’ you know? Many women feel this way, and it’s often because they aren’t taking responsibility for themselves. In your case, that would mean your professional development. You need to think less about others’ behavior and more about how you can alter your own. After all,” she added, as if it were the most novel concept in the world,“you are the only person you can control.”

Vanessa could see that Claire was prepared for some kind of pushback—perhaps her manager even realized that this platitude was, at the very least, missing the point—but she refused to give Claire the satisfaction of eliciting less-than-professional behavior. Instead, she offered a polite response to Claire’s patronizing suggestion and found a graceful way to end the meeting.

This kind of exchange is all too common in many organizations that have hired diverse talent without creating an inclusive environment to retain and develop their new talent. Leaders in a noninclusive culture default to putting all impetus for change on the individual versus owning the impact of systemic processes and exclusionary behavioral patterns.

Once Vanessa was back at her desk, preparing to leave for the weekend, she thought to herself, What am I going to do now?

LIP SERVICE AND BEYOND

Before we get any deeper into our journey toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, let me define exactly what we are talking about. Diversity is the spectrum of human difference. Equity refers to equal opportunity for all humans—an environment free from bias, harassment, and discrimination. Inclusion empowers all people to access the same opportunities and challenges; to receive the same level of respect and value; and to be treated as they desire to be treated, regardless of inherent or perceived differences.

So, then, what is D&I lip service? Think of lip service as a company hiring one or two people of color and putting them on display on their website as if “diversity” has been achieved, much like in Vanessa’s story.

Lip service is an “Everyone is welcomed here!” corporate declaration. There is intentionality about diversity in visual marketing, but the employee experience does not align with the words in the mission statement or the assortment of diverse smiling faces in the corporate presentation. This misalignment often shows up in the hemorrhaging of diverse talent (this is what eventually happened with Vanessa). They quickly exit the organization due to not feeling included or valued. For a company like Setco, going “beyond lip service” would start with engaging inclusion strategies before employees were even hired, such as connecting them with the appropriate internal employee resource groups, mentors, or other support and resources that would set them up for success.

Hiring professionals at large organizations often feel that they have done their job when they have brought in “diverse” talent, but there is a big difference between acquiring greater diversity and achieving true inclusion. Hiring to create diversity alone—checking off boxes on a corporate hiring profile by increasing the representation from a few target populations—is not a wise maneuver. Here’s why:

Unless you’re working toward real inclusiveness, you may find that within a year, an alarming number of those hires have left the organization. Their exit interviews may reveal additional clues about the limitations of diverse hiring strategies when there are not inclusive practices in place to support the engagement and success of all employees. And it’s truly a lose–lose situation when new employees are hired and trained, only to leave the organization before realizing their potential for optimal performance.

When employees cannot contribute in a manner they find fulfilling, they must set out in search of companies where they feel truly welcomed, valued, and rewarded, where their unique perspectives are exactly what the business is looking for and their insights are put to good use.

By the same token, companies that hire just to fill a quota waste time, effort, and—of course—funds preparing people for roles they won’t fill long-term and searching for new talent when those individuals inevitably leave.

This is exactly what happened with Vanessa: After eight months of soul-searching and struggle, she decided to move on, and her next career move could not have been better for her. Hired as vice president of sales and marketing at Makeda, a major tech company, Vanessa feels empowered in her new role. She knows she can bring all her unique gifts and talents to bear while being her authentic self at a company that truly values what she has to offer.

So, how could this situation have been avoided? How can we reach true diversity and inclusion, rather than just paying lip service in the form of a few diverse hires? My next example will show you.

SVP GOODE GETS D&I RIGHT

This is a story about a white male senior vice president at a Fortune 500 firm who embodied everything about high “inclusion intelligence” that one could hope to see. This executive, whom I’ll refer to by the pseudonym SVP Goode, came to the United States from Italy. He was uniquely gifted in the areas of emotional intelligence, compassion, and business savvy.

Working from his leadership level within the organization, he was able to institute a number of previously unimaginable initiatives to benefit women, people of color, and everyone else.

Goode began by hiring a woman of color as the corporation’s head of global marketing—a move that was unprecedented at that level in the organization—and then he did much more.

He proactively recruited a diverse pool of talent for his leadership team and held them accountable for doing the same with their direct reports. He refused to accept the fallacy that it is hard to find top talent from different cultures, ethnicities, abilities, and genders. And when he did assemble a diverse team, Goode was very intentional in his efforts to reverse a trend seen in many large organizations, where employees are hired for individuality but rewarded for conformity. He quite deliberately celebrated and promoted what made each team member different—and therefore valuable to the organization—by asking for their perspective based on their unique experience, rather than trying to get them to think, act, and behave like everyone else.

Next, he held café-style meetings to get to know people by actually listening to them, as opposed to taking a traditional top-down approach, in which a leader is intent upon enlightening those at lower levels in the corporate hierarchy. By listening closely, he discovered what each person loved to do, and what he or she was especially good at doing. He then used this information to give that individual more flexibility in his or her job. If, for instance, someone was hired to work on external partnerships, but she was also a great creative designer, he encouraged her to use her additional skills as part of fluid project teams. These teams were assembled based on their members’ talents, rather than their job titles or responsibilities.

This agile, talent-based model enabled people to bring all of their varied skills to work. In addition to having happy, productive employees, the company reaped a number of indirect benefits. For one, offering people that level of flexibility meant the company was maximizing internal capacity and discovering new skill sets within the existing workforce. As a result, they no longer needed to outsource certain jobs, creating significant cost savings.

Apart from those initiatives, Goode also offered development opportunities for everyone—not just a select few “high potentials,” as is often the case. He advocated for all of his employees, understanding the importance of maximizing the potential of his most valuable resource: his people. And people loved working for him—so much so that his team had a very high retention score. Each person felt seen, heard, recognized, valued, challenged, and given the support to develop his or her professional abilities.

Even more astonishing, this SVP championed the needs of parents with small children by advocating for a robust and holistic family-leave policy, which included paid time off for both mothers and fathers. He even helped make it possible for women who were nursing to continue to do so while coming to work each day and while attending off-site meetings after he identified this need during one of his listening sessions. In the end, because of SVP Goode’s many efforts, his organization received a number of diversity awards.

So what did this executive do right that others so often don’t even consider? He used his influence to help transform his organization.

He understood that it wasn’t enough to hire a handful of people who were members of typically disenfranchised groups just to meet an arbitrary quota for the sake of representation. Instead, after onboarding women and minorities into visible positions of responsibility, he supported them by listening to them and structuring their work and their work life around the whole of who they were. He did this to make it possible for them to contribute every bit of value they could bring to the table by virtue of being their authentic selves on the job, in addition to using their job-related skills, abilities, expertise, and experience.

TRANSFORM—DON’T CONFORM—FOR
BUSINESS SUCCESS

If your company’s motto is akin to “When in Rome …,” then Rome is likely about to fall—whether you know it or not.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2020,“More than half the nation’s children are expected to be part of a minority race or ethnic group,” and by 2060, just 36 percent of people under age eighteen will be single-race, non-Hispanic European-American, compared with 52 percent today. The U.S. population as a whole is expected to follow a similar trend, becoming majority-minority in 2044.¹ What the data so clearly indicate is that diverse groups will be writing the next chapter in every corporate narrative.

Our understanding of how to attract and retain—and market to—an increasingly diverse and global demographic is virtually the only way to succeed going forward.

Continuing to thrive is a matter of embracing what is inevitable. That is why businesses must alter employee demographics so that they mirror customers’ profiles. And since the days of enforcing a narrow standard for success are rapidly receding into the rearview, we must also build inclusive corporate cultures to support our new heterogenous makeups.

Anyone can conform to his or her organization. I’m challenging you to look for opportunities to transform your organization and empower your employees to do the same. To do so, an inclusive mind-set must replace uninformed assumptions about different groups of people. In the next chapter, I will discuss the most common uninformed assumptions around diversity and inclusion so that we can begin to explore their impact on workplace culture and practices.