5 things tech is getting wrong about equity work
Despite the abundance of innovation, capital, and creativity in tech, the industry still has a not-so-secret “diversity problem”. Not only are women underrepresented, they’re also paid less in comparison to their male counterparts. And the underrepresentation of Black and Indigenous Canadians, in tech, regardless of their gender, is also a significant hurdle for the industry.
After speaking and working with companies in the tech space, we realized that while all of them have the intention of making an impact, many don’t know where to start. We’ve identified 5 of the common misconceptions that are holding the tech industry back from advancing their equity work:
1. Under utilizing their skills to create innovative solutions
Although there are clear benefits of diversifying the tech sector, the industry still has a lot of work to do. The good news is, tech is filled with brilliant people who already have the skills that are needed to do this work. Most people who work in this field are naturally geared towards solutions-based thinking, which can be leveraged to help solve one of the industry’s (and world’s) greatest challenges: equity.
So what are the skills that tech practitioners already have that can be used to push the equity needle forward?
A focus on finding and defining the real problems. Radical change requires getting really specific about what you’re trying to solve. From gender pay gaps and talent retention, to accessibility and recruitment, there’s already a wealth of data that can be mined to give a clearer picture of where things might be going wrong.
An ability to identify your audience and build targeted solutions for them. Different communities have different equity challenges and require different solutions. By zeroing in on the audience, the tech industry can zero in on the real problems that actually matter and make a difference.
An unmatched ability to design out-of-the-box solutions that break all the rules. One of the biggest problems all industries -- not just tech -- face is the insistence on using old, and often unsuccessful solutions to “fix” equity challenges. Many of today’s most successful tech companies started by going against conventional wisdom, creating new, relevant and targeted approaches to tackle some of the world’s oldest problems. This is the exact approach that can and should be used to solve equity challenges. It’s time to write a new playbook, and the tech industry can lead this.
A comfort with constant iteration. Complex challenges like equity can’t be solved with a single static solution. The tech industry’s comfort with constant iteration can be a useful tool to generate new and customizable solutions that can actually help spark lasting change.
2. Staying laser focused on nothing but aesthetic diversity
Aesthetic diversity is only a visual snapshot of representation. We often see organizations, institutions and whole industries focus all their efforts on aesthetic diversity, with no real plan or desire to actually solve the structural problems that got them to this point in the first place.
The underrepresentation of marginalized groups in tech has been well documented, and it’s an important conversation to have. However, it’s equally important to talk about the structural changes (i.e. hiring practices, compensation, hierarchical structures, and policies) that are necessary to ensure that marginalized groups not only feel comfortable at these companies, but also thrive in them.
3. Refuse to build equity and justice into product design
“Brands that design their products with inclusion in mind sell more. It’s simple to understand why: the products work for a broader group of people.” -Sonia Thompson
Welcome to 2021 folks! We’re living in a completely different world where product and service designs that aren’t intentionally inclusive become expensive mistakes that ultimately lead to bad business. Sabrina Meherally, Founder of the inclusive design agency Pause & Effect, said it best when she said that brands that don’t keep inclusive design in mind often have to go back and redo their work, so they can serve a broader range of customers.
Your company can no longer afford to work siloed away from our current cultural context because inclusivity is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s an absolute necessity. We’re also living in a time of heightened visibility, where social media has put more power into the hands of the consumer. If you aren’t designing with inclusivity in mind, empowered consumers won’t be afraid to call you out on it.
4. Assuming identity is the only prerequisite for doing this work
Remember in 2020 when your company posted a black square on Instagram in solidarity with Black Lives Matter? Your caption might have started with something like: “Although I’ll never understand what it feels like to be Black…”?
Here’s the thing: being Black, disabled, trans, or female identifying isn’t necessary to successfully and intentionally build products, services, and workplaces for these marginalized groups. Going back to the first point, what is necessary to do this work is:
Investigating and identifying the aspects of your product or service and workplace that might be inaccessible and/or have unnecessary barriers to participation.
Finding out who those barriers are affecting. From here, you can seek out additional insight from marginalized folks (and make sure that you pay them well!).
Designing solutions to reduce or eliminate those barriers.
You don’t need to hit pause on your promise to recruit more marginalized people. In fact, bringing more marginalized people into tech is great. However, quietly assuming that these new recruits will make diversity, equity and inclusion part of their jobs (and not compensating them for it!) is a perpetuation of the exact problem you’re trying to solve.
You can walk and chew gum at the same time - meaning, you can start identifying and designing for equity challenges even while you diversify your workplace!
5. Training, training, and more training
Unconscious bias training, anti racism training, sensitivity training - these trainings seem to have a hold on us! For the last ten years, a multi-million dollar industry has been built around diversity and inclusion training; it’s the only remedy that we’ve been given for the very real and very large challenges we face.
The truth is unconscious bias training can actually make stereotypes feel more significant because most biases are conscious – not unconscious. People with long-held biases are highly likely to have their views reinforced by a training that contextualizes these views as things that are commonly held.
These trainings can also create a culture of moral licensing, where folks feel that, because they’ve received training, their actions are inherently moral.
It can even lead to a reduction in upward mobility for marginalized groups.
Most importantly, this kind of training also frequently means that people of colour, women, LGBTQ2I+, and other equity-seeking folks are forced to sit in a room and listen to all of the ways their coworkers discriminate against them.
Unconscious bias training is not only doing your organization, your team, and your stakeholders a disservice: it is actually causing harm.
Here’s what you SHOULD be doing instead: Developing a measurable strategy for diversity, belonging, and inclusion that is integrated into your processes, culture, and systems for real, measurable change.
Read more about what we do and the QuakeLab method here https://quakelab.ca/
Feel free to reach out here https://quakelab.ca/contact
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QuakeLab is a full-stack inclusion agency that provides the tools, expertise and methods to take your vision for inclusion from idea to action. We use proven design thinking frameworks and results-based management to position diversity, equity, and inclusion as a functional and integrated part of your business structure.