But don’t overload them, either! As much as candidates want to meet with diverse faces, if your one female engineer is in every single interview panel, it’s not fair to her performance (or sanity).ĩ. Ensure that underrepresented employees are included in your interviews. A structured process also allows interviewers to learn and improve your recruiting process faster.Ĩ. By asking each candidate the same or similar questions, you have a consistent “data set” to help boost objective decision-making. This isn’t to say that you must stick to a strict script in your interviews - candidates often share important insights when conversations flow naturally - but structured interviews lead to higher-quality hires because they help reduce bias and “gut-feeling” hiring. Invest in a structured interviewing process and training. When they reach $50, they donate the money to charity.ħ. Whenever someone at npm accidentally genders something gender-neutral, they put a dollar in the jar. Start a “Guys jar.” Take a page from the Bay Area startup npm’s book and implement a “Guys jar” as a friendly reminder against unnecessarily gendered language in the office.
Instead of being based on a checklist of skills that may weed underrepresented candidates out, job descriptions should ideally focus on what your new hire will be expected to achieve, say, a month, six months, and a year into the job.Ħ. Studies have found that while men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the qualifications, women will only apply if they meet 100% of them.
Pinterest has seen success with this adjustment in its referrals process and has blogged about it here.ĥ.
It only makes the team stronger in the long run. Emphasize that diversity requires deliberate effort, and it’s something all employees can help with - by making introductions to great people they know, even if they don’t fit the “traditional” profile. Challenge your employees to think beyond the obvious - past their three best friends that may or may not all be from the same demographic. Explicitly request a diverse range of referrals. Never punish or shame people, as this can lead to counterproductive responses.Ĥ. Challenge your interviewers to articulate a more specific explanation as a way to uncover hidden biases and have open conversations about them. When interviewers want to reject candidates for “culture fit” or a “gut feeling,” unconscious bias is often at play. Ban “culture fit” as a reason for rejecting a candidate. Studies have shown that people with stereotypically “ethnic” names need to send out more resumes before they get a callback, and that resumes with female names are rated lower than ones with male names, even if they’re equally qualified.ģ. Conduct blind screenings to minimize unconscious biases in the resume review process.
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You can also use this free app to check for gender-coded words like “aggressive” or “dominant” that may dissuade women from applying.Ģ. Audit all your job descriptions to check for uses of “he/his/him” as the default, and convert them to gender-neutral pronouns like “they.” Text.io is a fantastic platform for this. Convert all job descriptions to gender-neutral language. So, instead of seeing D&I as “all or nothing,” you can build momentum by tackling smaller initiatives from the list below.ġ. But we tend to only hear about the big ones and not so much about the day-to-day work. Impactful D&I will always require a balance of bold initiatives and sweating the details. These are designed to be impactful steps you can take right away, regardless of your headcount, budget, and bandwidth. There are countless ways you can improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and below are over 50 ideas to help inspiration flow. The longer you wait to build a diverse workforce and inclusive culture, the harder it will be in the future. Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, but the key is starting. This work can be challenging, but it’s crucial to creating a more equitable and supportive workplace for everyone.Īs someone who grew a team that became known for its diverse workforce (a rare distinction in Silicon Valley), I encourage you first and foremost not to be paralyzed at this moment.
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Following widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism, companies around the world are taking a hard look at how to improve their diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs and policies.