Diversity

Diversity is what makes life interesting Khoudia Diop

Diversity

The condition of being different or having differences. Differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, health, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, religion, physical size, education level, job and function, personality traits, and other human differences.

Dimensions of Diversity

Equity

The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal. Kurt Vonnegut

Equity

Fair treatment for all while striving to identify and eliminate inequities and barriers.

Equity vs. Equality

Inclusion

Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is the key to growth. Jesse Jackson

Inclusion

The act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability).

Belonging

True belonging never asks us to change who we are. Brené Brown in ”Dare to Lead”

Belonging

Belonging means that everyone is treated and feels like a full member of the larger community, and can thrive.

DEIB - Summary

• Diversity
  
  Having different types of people on your team.
• Equity
  
  Fair opportunities for everyone.
• Inclusion
  
  Having those different types of people’s voices heard.
• Belonging
  
  The feeling of being part of the team and being able to contribute.

Remote Paradise?

• Unconscious bias
• Microaggressions
• Group-specific disadvantages

Unconscious Bias

• We all have biases we’re not aware of
• "Who is an American?" & Adjectives to faces tests (Mahzarin Banaji)
• Conscious vs. implicit memory → what about beliefs, likes, dislikes (implicit attitudes)?
• We all think in categories / in-group vs. out-group
• Numerical facts don’t work
• Still unsolved problem: self-directed mindbugs

What to do about bias?

• Most important: be aware that you can have biases!
• Expose yourself to varied experiences (single-sex vs. co-ed schools)
• Bypass the bias by guidelines and procedures (no-brainer strategy)

What to do about bias?

• Outsmart the machine:
  • Blind auditions
  • But what if a blinding strategy is not possible?
  • Exterminate mindbugs?
  • Priming works, but it’s an elastic change. It needs re-execution.
  • Visibility creates a long standing primer

Microaggressions

• Definition: Commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward stigmatized or culturally marginalized groups

Microaggressions

• Examples:
  • "So where are you really from?"
  • "Hey guys!"
  • Being ignored at a bar because of your ethnicity
  • Assuming that someone with a disability or mental problem wants to be "cured"

What to do about Microaggressions?

• Signalling: exhibiting an inclusive attitude without a concrete situation
• Intervention: actively interfering in a situation
• Persue an incident later on
• The flamingo signal (↝ Accenture SONG)

Disadvantages for Specific Groups

• The risk for people from underrepresented groups to be or feel less included can be higher
• Introverted people can feel more isolated
• Increase of domestic abuse of women
• Childcare anyone?

Disadvantages for Specific Groups

• Double disadvantage for women:
  • Women are discriminated in the workplace in general
  • In hybrid teams remote team members are often disadvantaged
  • Combine these two for women working remotely

Allies

• Definition: An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole.
• It’s a life-long process and not self-defined. It has to be recognized by the affected group.

Allies

• How to act:
  • Advocate for others
  • Share opportunities
  • Let venting happen and listen

Hidden Allies

• A hidden ally is someone who not openly shows support for whatever reason
• How to identify them as a person from an underrepresented group:
  • The obvious: they come to you later and express their allyship
  • The less obvious: watch closely when an incident (e.g. microaggression) happens. Who reacts in which way?

Hidden Allies

• How to "activate" a hidden ally:
  • Talk to them, find out what their position is.
  • Acknowledge their point of view and make clear that you see them as an ally.
  • If they express concerns about being open about it: seek coverage from a manager and/or HR.

• Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Resources
• Brené Brown, "Dare to Lead"
• Merriam-Webster Definition of Inclusion
• J.-B. Bayle et al., "From Legacy of the First Workshop on Gravitational Wave Astrophysics for Early Career Scientists"
• Mahzarin R. Banaji, "Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People"

• Gina Rippon, "The Gendered Brain"
• Forbes, "Allyship - The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Diversity"
• Accenture SONG, "How to communicate inclusive language in your team"
• Anna J. McDougall, "You belong in Tech
• HBR, "Women Face a Double Disadvantage in the Hybrid Workplace"