We probably should not make assumptions about people based on their race or sex.
Diversity of thought and experiences is not really the same as diversity of race or sex. I would hate to think we need to pre-judge people in this day and age on the basis of protected class.
I think a lot of people misunderstand what inclusion and diversity REALLY means.
If you have an all-white male-only staff and only interviewed white males, yeah, that’s an inclusion and diversity issue.
If you have an all-white male-only staff but interviewed people from all genders/races/etc but you chose to only hire the white guys solely based on their merits, that’s diversity in action!
Diversity is about expanding the pool of people you interview to ensure you’ve interviewed a diverse set of people – it’s not making sure you have x% of staff as females, y% of people of color, etc.
John: you said it in a way I’ve never heard before, and I really like your analogy.
It’s difficult to examine one’s own behavior for things that might need to change. Diversity and inclusion means doing that, just investigating exactly what it is that goes into decision-making about hiring and inclusion in opportunity. If a person has an unconscious mental picture of what a successful person in a certain field looks like, that unconscious picture will bias the decision unless the decision-making process is examined consciously.
If you interview people from all races and genders and choose all white men for their merits, it’s worth examining what you think makes “merit.” Are you thinking of test scores, or what you think of as a professional appearance and manner? Or, do you include natural Black hair in your assessment of a professional appearance? Do you include the ability to overcome hardship and obstacles as merit?
No one is saying you should hire people solely based on their race or gender. Diversity and inclusion means examining a value system that we inherited from former generations and considering whether or not it is outdated.
You’re spot on, IMO. I didn’t mean to imply making merit-based decisions comes with zero bias in the decision making process and as long as you can say “I talked to “x” number of non white males before hiring the white guy” is sufficient for where we need to go on this matter. Because you’re right … you can THINK you’re hiring someone solely on their merits, but your unconscious racial/gender/etc bias could’ve come into play.
Let me know when the NBA follows your lead.
It is less about the appearance of the kernel than how fertile is the field.
Jack,
If you want to make it to the NBA, all you need to do is showcase your skills to make the roster. Happy to help!
We probably should not make assumptions about people based on their race or sex.
Diversity of thought and experiences is not really the same as diversity of race or sex. I would hate to think we need to pre-judge people in this day and age on the basis of protected class.
I think a lot of people misunderstand what inclusion and diversity REALLY means.
If you have an all-white male-only staff and only interviewed white males, yeah, that’s an inclusion and diversity issue.
If you have an all-white male-only staff but interviewed people from all genders/races/etc but you chose to only hire the white guys solely based on their merits, that’s diversity in action!
Diversity is about expanding the pool of people you interview to ensure you’ve interviewed a diverse set of people – it’s not making sure you have x% of staff as females, y% of people of color, etc.
John: you said it in a way I’ve never heard before, and I really like your analogy.
It’s difficult to examine one’s own behavior for things that might need to change. Diversity and inclusion means doing that, just investigating exactly what it is that goes into decision-making about hiring and inclusion in opportunity. If a person has an unconscious mental picture of what a successful person in a certain field looks like, that unconscious picture will bias the decision unless the decision-making process is examined consciously.
If you interview people from all races and genders and choose all white men for their merits, it’s worth examining what you think makes “merit.” Are you thinking of test scores, or what you think of as a professional appearance and manner? Or, do you include natural Black hair in your assessment of a professional appearance? Do you include the ability to overcome hardship and obstacles as merit?
No one is saying you should hire people solely based on their race or gender. Diversity and inclusion means examining a value system that we inherited from former generations and considering whether or not it is outdated.
You’re spot on, IMO. I didn’t mean to imply making merit-based decisions comes with zero bias in the decision making process and as long as you can say “I talked to “x” number of non white males before hiring the white guy” is sufficient for where we need to go on this matter. Because you’re right … you can THINK you’re hiring someone solely on their merits, but your unconscious racial/gender/etc bias could’ve come into play.