In the last month, with all of the attention on the glaring lack of diversity among the workforce at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Apple, and other tech-industry giants, it is easy to become overly fixated on numbers. The demographics of these companies look nothing like the demographics of their customers, nor do they approximate the changing cultural and racial landscape of the U.S. As an example, 3 percent of Twitter’s U.S. employees are Latino while 2 percent are Black, even though Blacks and Latinos account for a disproportionate share of Twitter users. Jesse Jackson called these numbers “pathetic.” While the racial, ethnic, and even the gender composition of these companies merits scrutiny, so does the issue of inclusion.
In Diversity Consciousness, the last chapter is entitled, “Preparing for the Future.” In it, I discuss inclusion and it relationship to diversity. Diversity, meaning all of the ways in which we are different, does not somehow guarantee inclusion, a more recent concept in the literature on diversity and organizations. Inclusion moves us beyond diversity, beyond statistics, and beyond simply getting people “to the dance” or “in the door.” Inclusion, for example, refers how well Twitter is integrating, developing, retaining, and leveraging the contributions of diverse employees in both tech and non-tech jobs.
Rev. Jackson challenged the leaders in Silicon Valley to begin the process of setting goals to increase partnerships and the number of Blacks, Latinos, and women at all levels and in all departments. While he emphasized the critical importance of diversity, any initiative of this nature is bound to fail if inclusion is not an integral part of this process. For instance, in any given company:
Are diverse employees encouraged to share their diverse thoughts, perspectives, and experiences?
Are the contributions of all employees valued?
Who feels included in important decision-making, and who does not? Why?
Is there follow-through on diversity initiatives by senior-level leaders?
When there is “push-back” on diversity initiatives, how does leadership respond?
When it comes to diversity and inclusion, do employees feel that leaders “walk the talk?”
Is there a culture of inclusion?
Is the commitment to diversity and inclusion institutionalized?
Do employees understand the connection between diversity, inclusion, and their bottom line?
What metrics are being used to assess the progress being made?
According to Rev. Jackson, diversity is the next step in civil rights. Let’s not forget inclusion.