These Are the Biggest Blind Spots in Diversity Initiatives, According to 8 Women Experts It's not just about recruiting diverse talent. It's about building cultures where they will thrive.
By Entrepreneur Staff Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the October 2021 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
"The murder of Mr. George Floyd was a tipping point for corporate America. But diverse people in general, and Black people in particular, are still having to deal with racism and toxic, hostile work environments. Startups can immediately diversify by creating an inclusive board or an advisory board. They can also partner with a community-based organization that serves people of color, invest in professional development training focused on bias and cultural competence, or consider the kind of "fractional' chief diversity officer we offer at Diverse & Engaged." — Dee C. Marshall, CEO, Diverse & Engaged, which helps businesses navigate diverse workforces and consumers
"We often talk about who is in the room making decisions — or who has a seat at the table, or any number of other clichés — but we rarely talk about who in the room has power. It isn't enough to invite a person of color or an outwardly queer person to the table and expect them to magically have enough influence to create substantive change. (Not to mention, expecting one person to do all the anti-oppressive work of the organization is hardly equitable, is it?) DEI initiatives need to ensure that new leadership gets a seat, yes, but also a voice, a vote, and allies in the room." — Christen Brandt, Cofounder (left), with Tammy Tibbetts, Cofounder, She's the First, a nonprofit fighting gender inequality through girls' education
Related: Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices for Your Workforce
"A major blind spot is the myopic focus on equating DEI with hiring. It often won't work unless you also create a culture where diverse talent can thrive. For startups, conducting a DEI audit is a first step. That can include talking to your employees, assessing their demographics against benchmarks, checking if your benefits support diverse needs, ensuring equitable development opportunities and promotions, and looking at hiring decisions. Once you've done an audit, you can develop concrete DEI actions to help your business be more innovative." — Cynthia Owyoung, VP of inclusion, equity, and belonging, Robinhood, a commission-free stock trading and investing app
"Startups have a great opportunity because the larger your business grows, the harder it becomes to course-correct. Recruit a diverse workforce and constantly evaluate your environment to ensure employees can grow once they arrive. That includes your executives. Observing someone "like me' in a leadership role helps attract and retain talent and motivates workers to be ambitious. As you grow, remember, no one is a binary identity, so there isn't a one-stop-shop policy that will help all women. Or all ethnicities. Or the entire LGBTQ+ community." — LaFawn Davis, Group vice president of environmental, social, and governance, Indeed.com, a job search platform
Related: Why the World Needs More Entrepreneurial Women in Leadership
"How can we guarantee that women don't stagnate at the entry level? Research in the Harvard Business Review shows that the feedback supervisors give to men tends to be more actionable than that given to women. For example, women receive comments like "You are often not on point during client calls.' Men get "You missed the opportunity to convey X. Remember Y to prevent that from happening next time.' Startups would do well to train their managers to deliver equally constructive and detailed feedback uniformly across all their reports." — Nancy Wang, Cofounder and CEO, Advancing Women in Tech, a nonprofit that empowers women leaders in tech
"It's time to stop retrofitting the system and start reimagining it. Let's evolve beyond the sponsorship model, which is filled with bias barriers, to our new model of "proximity-ship.' This means sharing the mic and enabling all employees to have equal access to leadership so they can be seen and heard. One thing small businesses can do is to think differently when recruiting talent. When you hire your friends, you're hiring people who think and look like you. Write your own rules—there is no legacy structure. For example, hire for passion and train for skill." — Shelley Zalis, Founder and CEO, The Female Quotient, which provides businesses with research and tools to advance gender equality
Related: Be Intentional About Diversity
"When retailers take our pledge, we conduct an audit of how many Black-owned brands they work with and how many are already on their shelves. This kind of audit is a concrete tool any business interested in becoming more inclusive can use. Startups can also hold themselves accountable for the diversity of their teams by releasing the information to their employees, partners, and, ideally, the public. On our career board, companies across industries can post job opportunities for historically excluded groups." — Aurora James, Founder, Fifteen Percent Pledge, a nonprofit that urges major retailers to dedicate at least 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned brands
"Sadly, in the cannabis and hemp industries, the issues are still there and getting worse. One particular blind spot involves the severe lack of capital offered to BIPOC businesses. If you're a cannabis startup, diversify your supply chains and triple your commitment to Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. Listen to entrepreneurs of color who require funding and equal partnerships to launch businesses. And if you're a consumer, only buy from entities that are at least trying to do this work and/or from BIPOC-owned businesses, which you can find on our InclusiveBase." — Mary Pryor, Cofounder, Cannaclusive, a collective that advocates for minority cannabis consumers
