3 Things Leaders Should Know About Diversity — What We Learned from Pinterest’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion

By Anya C. Gonzales, Marketing Associate at Jhana

At Jhana, we care a lot about diversity. We want diversity to be interwoven into our structure and our practices. We practice diversity in a myriad of ways at Jhana. We’ve created a “diversity bulletin board” — a whiteboard set up in our kitchen where team members can share thought-provoking articles and podcasts about diversity. We encourage the team to talk about their diverse experiences and challenges (within their comfort zone). And we host “lunch and learns” where we discuss a specific issue around diversity. Recently, we asked Candice Morgan, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Pinterest, to conduct a seminar and a Q&A with the entire Jhana team to help us learn more about how we can think smartly and strategically about diversity.

Our time with Candice was illuminating. We really appreciated her authenticity, her candor and her willingness to share.

Here are 3 of her biggest insights:
1. Leadership sets the tone
Real change around diversity must come from the top. It’s okay for diversity to start in smaller pockets in a company. Its Diversity Task Force or LGBTQ Group, for instance, are great places to begin the conversation. However, the executive team and the company board need to publicly affirm diversity’s importance. Even more than stating its value, leadership teams must be willing to initiate radical transformations around hiring practices, company culture and community outreach. Basically, to make a big change, you need to practice what you preach.

2. Hire people who care about diversity
Yes, it’s important to hire diverse teams. It’s just as important to hire people who care about diversity. Why? Not only is it a moral responsibility, encouraging diversity of thought helps teams to be more creative, more innovative and is generally better for business. Candice says that hiring managers can screen for this in interviews by asking questions like, “How would you practice inclusive leadership in your team?”

3. Your hiring methods need to change
When you decide to increase the diversity of your team, you can’t do the same things you’ve always done and expect different results. It often means you have to cast a net that’s twice as big. Does it slow you down? Upfront you may need to invest more time, but only until you get good at looking at places you haven’t looked before. A few ways to cast a wider net:

• Build an apprentice or internship program.
• Build relationships with local colleges — and not just same shortlist of ‘elite’ schools. Do the same for companies from which you recruit.
• Host events and programs at universities or partner organizations specially aimed at those who have a higher risk of dropping out of the industry: for example, women in computer science or engineering programs.

Candice made a great point when she said, “limited diversity in a group limits the performance of that group.” In business, you want the people you work with to be constantly innovating. The best way to do this is to hire and connect with people of diverse backgrounds, different experiences and varying views. When we work with only the people who look like us and come from the same schools and companies, we lose out on critical thinking and reduce the collective intelligence of the team.

We want to give Candice a big “thank you” for her insights as we continue on our journey to push our diversity initiative.