NOTE: This is a re-post from 2014 - in todays environment I fear it will get worse but I hope I am wrong.
It is a tough
question.......the fact of the matter is that SOCIETY does not care. Society as
a organism, is completely apathetic to diversity. Jamelle Bouie of Slate has a
great write up of an MTV research survey on Millennials (see here). Basically
they believe we have already conquered racial inequality.
I categorically
submit that we have not. That is not an opinion, it is what the employee
demographics that Google and LinkedIn have recently made public suggest; we do
not care about gender equality or racial equality.
There are a lot
of areas of society where this matters but I’ll focus on areas that I have some
understanding.
A lack of economic drivers.
Fostering and
managing a racially diverse workforce is a difficult problem. From a company’s
perspective they need talent that can help today. There is no real pressure on
these companies to change their practices. There are some common refrains that
we hear:
- As long as company X makes money for my portfolio, I don't care.
- I want to know that I am receiving the best care, I don't see color.
- We just choose the best candidate, we do not even look a pictures.
These are the
refrain of the masses, and by masses I mean the majority of business, medical,
and academic leaders. As with everything it is about context and the path
through history that brought us to this moment. While I hesitate to paint a
whole demographic with a paint brush, I think we need to discuss these kinds of
issues if we have a goal of changing the current trends. So who are ‘THE
MASSES”?
Based on most
reports the average C-level executive are white males between the ages of 45
and 65.
The events of the past guide our actions
So why doesn't
a generation of white men that grew up in the midst of; the African-American
civil rights movement, Gandhi's pleas for basic dignity, and "Bra
burning" seem to get it?
It might be
because they think:
- The battle was fought and won, that we are post-racial, post feminism
- We have already sacrificed enough, if "those people" can't compete now it is because they lack the skill
- There are more important things to worry about than the diversity of my company, talk to me when the economy is better
Now before
anyone gets offended and feels they have to justify their equality chops by
commenting-I get it, this is a gross generalization of a large cohort. My
response is; no evil continues without the inaction of good people. Sorry but
my life and career have been adversely affected by the color of my skin. You
cannot reasonably expect black folks-or women- to turn the other cheek when
they have real world experience with being past over for a better candidate
like the CFO's cousin's brother-in-law, twice removed.
So why should Google, Apple, Harvard, or any of our top institutions care about diversity?
..........I
don't know. There is very little data that can be used to support the
hypothesis that diversity is good for academic or corporate goals.
Laserfiche'sSimplicity blog lays out the potential reasons and some ideas to move forward
better than I can. I will leave it to you to read about the reasons that we, as
a society, should care.
Does it really matter once minorities are hired?
I want to take
a more personal sidetrip; even when males from racial minorities or women are
successful (whatever that means) there is a cost-Not only to the minority or
female worker but to the organization.
As a black
male, I can tell you that just knowing that these demographics exist-and have
historically existed- changes my behavior towards colleagues and potential
employers. I can’t properly explain what it is like to spend your career as a
white elephant, to stick out in such a way that you feel you need to justify
why you are there, that you are talented enough and hardworking enough to be
there. It makes you less likely to ask for help, less likely to give help when
you feel that you have to be better than your colleagues just to retain your
place in the food chain. It colors every interaction, brings doubt to any
constructive criticism, in short it stunts your growth and your ability to
contribute to the companies growth.
It doesn't end
at work, it also has an effect on the personal side. The feeling of having the
future, of not just you, but anyone who looks like you rest on your ability to
succeed is a weight that changes you-not really for the best.
I cannot
explain to anyone who hasn't been through it what is like to have people shirk
from your handshake-even though they know you are a professor at a university
or they are paying you to be in there presence.
I cannot
explain the pain and emotions that are surfaced just by meeting black folks in
their 70s and 80s and the pride and hope written big on their face just from
hearing that you have a Ph.D.
I personally do
not want any more generations to go through that, to feel the dual weight of a
multiple generation’s hopes and dreams, and the weight of knowing that you will
never know if you got a fair shot.
Racial Bias
exists, it is part of human nature
We can be
better, the first step to reducing our personal bias is to acknowledge that we
all have them. We make assumptions based on visual information. The beauty of
the human mind is we can consciously fight against this visual bias. It is not
easy but hopefully "we" as a society will start to hold our leading
institution and businesses to a higher standard now that we have evidence that
we have let these companies off easy when it comes to diversity.
