Matthew Royal reviewed Diversity, Inc. by Pamela Newkirk
Review of 'Diversity, Inc.' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The thesis is that despite spending millions of dollars a year on corporate diversity initiatives, corporations do not look much more "diverse" than when they began them. Diversity initiatives are focused on anti-bias training rather than setting clear policies that achieve results.
The metrics for achieving "diversity" seem to boil down to a corporation's racial composition equaling the general population. Different subsets used in no particular order: corporation population, distribution up the corporate hierarchy, board population. No better metrics are suggested. No path to achieving these or other metrics are suggested; just general discontentment with the current system. Behavior in the C-suite has been bad among even supposedly woke tech companies, but when a communications officer uses the "N" word, little is done except an apology, and possible sacking.
While I'm certainly not an expert, I would suggest anonymously polling existing minority groups in the company for their pain points …
The thesis is that despite spending millions of dollars a year on corporate diversity initiatives, corporations do not look much more "diverse" than when they began them. Diversity initiatives are focused on anti-bias training rather than setting clear policies that achieve results.
The metrics for achieving "diversity" seem to boil down to a corporation's racial composition equaling the general population. Different subsets used in no particular order: corporation population, distribution up the corporate hierarchy, board population. No better metrics are suggested. No path to achieving these or other metrics are suggested; just general discontentment with the current system. Behavior in the C-suite has been bad among even supposedly woke tech companies, but when a communications officer uses the "N" word, little is done except an apology, and possible sacking.
While I'm certainly not an expert, I would suggest anonymously polling existing minority groups in the company for their pain points annually. Based on what is discovered, institute policies to address them within 6 months, so the next year's poll can measure the result. Additionally, define concrete goals by measuring first, creating a policy, measuring again, then correcting course as needed:
1) identify and eliminate systemic barriers to advancement,
2) institute strict corrective measures against expressions of personal prejudice,
3) identify talent pipeline bottlenecks and divert the bulk of diversity funds to unblocking them.