Tag: unconscious bias

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Diversity at Google Off to a Good Start #diversity #technology

It’s been more than a year since Google published its diversity statistics, starting a trend amid the big Silicon Valley tech companies and confirming what women and minorities already knew: The industry is mostly populated by white and Asian men. Google

But, unlike some of the big name tech leaders, Google is doing something about it. According to Business Insider, today the company’s VP of people operations Nancy Lee published a blog post outlining the concrete ways the company has changed its numbers in the past year, and its plans for 2015.

Lee told USA Today Google spent $115 million on diversity initiatives in 2014, and plans to spend $150 million this year. According to Lee’s blog post, those efforts and resources will focus on four key areas: Continue reading “Diversity at Google Off to a Good Start #diversity #technology”

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Does Diversity Mean Improved Race Relations? #diversity #race #inclusion #racism

The short answer is, no. Racism is not a location. It’s not about ease of proximity. It’s a system, and system’s are not as easy to change is it is to get along with a new, different kind of neighbor. Diversity is great, but unfortunately, it’s not a straight line to a bias-free, racism-free workplace … Continue reading Does Diversity Mean Improved Race Relations? #diversity #race #inclusion #racism

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A Diverse Leadership Philosophy: Good For People, Good For Growth #inclusion #diversity #bias

It’s been a relatively quiet week on the diversity front – thank everything. There have been the usual discrimination, bias and gender rumblings, of course, but aside from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pledging to educate teams on domestic violence, and Michael Brown’s killer testifying before a grand jury, there haven’t been any catastrophic demonstrations.Philosophy5

This meant I got to do something unusual – read to learn rather than read to inform. My reading material of choice: How Philosophy Makes You a Better Leader by David Brendel via Harvard Business Review.

The article talked about a neglected facet of leadership development and executive coaching – the impact of beliefs and values on behavior. Specifically, “the benefits of introspection and reflection on one’s own character and beliefs receive less attention in a typical coaching session than the benefits of behavior change,” Brendel wrote. Continue reading “A Diverse Leadership Philosophy: Good For People, Good For Growth #inclusion #diversity #bias”

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Black Skin Means Bad News #diversity #race #discrimination

I’ve talked to many diversity executives over the years, and almost all have confirmed that in order to create real traction for their initiatives, to even gain acceptance of their presence and value, they have to talk about diversity like a business. That means hard numbers, tangible connections to key stakeholders and strategic alignment to established business goals and needs. No soft stuff.Numbers don't lie

Emotion, historical baggage, discussions of right or wrong, or playing the blame game and pointing fingers, these things do not work, they say. In fact, these things actively work against the diversity executive, even in situations where there are acknowledged or apparent workforce diversity issues.

But according to some new research, numbers may not always work to sway hearts and minds and promote positive action. A study from Stanford University psychologists Jennifer L. Eberhardt and Rebecca C. Hetey revealed you can’t fight racial injustice with statistics either. Continue reading “Black Skin Means Bad News #diversity #race #discrimination”