No, you shouldn’t be trying to “get diversity right.”

By Kristin Moore, Jhana Business Development Manager

Diversity and inclusion is a hot topic in Silicon Valley. In the past few years, the tech industry leaders have released their diversity statistics and vowed to fill in the gaps. As a result, the topic is a major buzzword. Entire conferences and companies have been created to “solve the problem.” Through the conferences, think pieces and speeches, I keep hearing the same sentiment being spoken that we “need to get diversity right.”

So, what does “getting diversity right” actually mean? Does it mean releasing company diversity reports that mirror the demographics of the United States? Does it mean looking around the office and seeing a perfect stock-photo image of people of all shapes, sizes and colors? Are we even asking the right questions? Is this working?

Beyond “hacking” the problem

You can’t approach diversity the same way you approach a software issue. In Silicon Valley especially, we’re looking to develop an answer to every problem. It’s no surprise that we talk about something messy and complex like “diversity” in these same problem-solving terms. We can “hack” together a solution for laundry and send someone to space, so we must be able to get diversity right… right?

Unfortunately there is no formula or set of inputs that will create a diverse workplace. It starts with individuals in positions of privilege who are open to confronting their own biases and blindspots. That kind of social change takes time and effort, and many people don’t feel comfortable pushing themselves to think beyond cookie-cutter resumes. We often say that we’re going to be “radical” about hiring for diversity. In practice, this often means simply considering a person who’s differently abled or someone without a degree. How is that radical? What is so radical about human decency?

I’d argue that here is no one way to get diversity “right.” It’s counterproductive to refer to it in those terms. One thing that makes getting it “right” difficult is that diversity is deeper than skin and identifiable traits. There are a range of different abilities we could represent, ages, and sexual orientations. Diversity and inclusion could also mean hiring someone outside of your political leanings in a very liberal city and being able to work with them just like any other person. People are messy and not all diversity is obvious — there is no app for that.

It’s more than just getting people in the door

You’ve hired them. Now what? Experience is just as important. The experience that your company provides is a sign of just how important diversity actually is to the company. Using the term “getting diversity right” also may indicate that you’ve gotten someone in door but might not retain them. Hiring a diverse candidate is a first (amazing) step, but making sure they are set up for success at your company is critical as well.

For example, you may hire a woman with a non-traditional background for an entry-level sales role who commutes 1 hour or more a day. If she took a paycut in order to make the career change, the cost of commuting may be a strain on her budget. Many companies offer assistance for transportation or pre-tax exemptions for commuting, but you could also be creative and make it part of her total compensation and benefits. If that’s not possible, could you allow the person to work from home on certain days of the week? After spending time recruiting, interviewing, calling references, making an offer and onboarding, the last thing you want to do is lose great talent due to a lack of understanding.

Each company will need to evolve depending on their current demographics and each company has different hiring challenges to overcome. Take Jhana, for example. We’ve made great strides in becoming an inclusive and diverse workplace, but we still have a lot of work to do. At Jhana, 70% of our employees are women and 86% of managers are women. At face value, “getting diversity right” might mean hiring more men! But it could also mean hiring older candidates, candidates who are differently abled and candidates who might not seem “diverse” at all on the surface. Our percentages help us see progress we’ve made in some areas and also where we’re lacking, but it will never indicate that we’ve gotten everything right.

“If it feels messy, it’s probably working.”

So what is the solution? There are many ways to be diverse and there truly is no one thing that will “solve” Silicon Valley’s diversity problem. The best solution is to be a little bit more thoughtful, confront your own biases, and, if you’re in the position to hire, take the first step to figuring out how to get diverse candidates in the door and retain them.

I’ve spent the past year or so trying to be intentional and thoughtful in hiring diverse candidates. Let me tell you, I do not think I’ve gotten it “right” for Jhana and I do not think there is a right way to go about it. I’ve stopped trying to check boxes for candidates or try to find “the most diverse person.” Instead, I’ve made sure I post our job opening in a variety of places where I can find people from all backgrounds. I’ve had to confront my own biases, blind-spots, and privilege. I’ve been less critical of resumes before I do a phone screen and adopted a catchphrase from my VP of Sales: “if it feels messy, it’s probably working.”

Honestly, it does feel messy, and I truly hope it’s working.

Jhana provides bite-sized learning for anyone who leads a team. “Bite-sized” means content aimed at making them more effective as managers, but presented logically within the scope and context of everything else they have to do. Learn more at our website.