Sacrifice performance by prioritizing diversity and equity?
As a growing digital consulting services company we always thought diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programs are only for the larger Fortune 500 enterprises. We thought we were too small to even think about investing in such programs. Turns out that it is not just the right thing to do for companies of any size but there is also a business case for it.
Some of the reasons - (a) Our team needs to be a good representation of our customers so we can empathize with their needs in building our products and services. (b) Diverse teams are more innovative as they bring different perspectives due to their cultural heritage, age, gender or physical abilities.
So just over a year ago we made a commitment to building a DEI program by first listening and learning what we do not know. A common question that many hesitate to ask but glad it showed up in an internal anonymous survey - Are we willing to sacrifice performance and talent by prioritizing hiring or promoting to encourage diversity or equity?
It is important to understand the question and the underlying assumptions that are probably being made. The first assumption is that we may favor candidates who are less qualified just to meet our diversity targets. The second seems to be a confusion between equality and equity.
The first assumption is about favoring diversity over qualification or talent. We need a different mindset to address this and become aware of our unconscious biases. Do we need to change the composition of our interviewers for example? Do the interviewers need training on identifying their unconscious biases? Are we reaching out to talented candidates in different applicant pools that we have not consciously tried before by race, age, gender etc. Our hiring standards still remain the same but we invest more in awareness, training and changing hiring practices to reflect the diversity that we are seeking.
Our goal also should be to provide a level playing field for everyone to reach their full potential. Equity is about doing this in a fair and just way. We need to provide resources to everyone based on their needs to achieve a fair outcome. Eg. Someone joining us from an underprivileged background might need extra help to be more confident in meetings. Or someone might need flexible hours to meet their unique family needs. Once these are taken care of then we can have a level playing field.
A more recent example to better understand equity is how countries have decided to prioritize who gets the vaccines first. They could have been distributed “equally” to everyone. Instead we are giving them first to front line workers, elderly people and those with high risk. That is “equity”. It is not discrimination against the rest of the younger population who are not at the same level of health risk. It is about creating a level playing field by giving more consideration to those who need that head start.
Same happens when boarding a flight. Those who need extra assistance in boarding are allowed to board first. Families with young children, those in wheelchairs etc.
Understanding what equity means is so important in recognizing the humanity of those who have historically not had the same access to resources like others. Developing our DEI program has been a rewarding and learning experience. Our journey continues.