When we think of DE&I, we are trained to immediately think of gender, ethic, racial or religious diversity. What about diversity of thought? That really is what we’re looking for after all. When building a highly performant team, you need diversity of thought. You can accomplish that through gender, ethnic, racial, etc diversity. However, those attributes are not reflective of WHY diversity is important.
If we have 3 candidates all from the same school, and 3 candidates from different schools in different states and varying academic rankings. Which group do you think will give you a broader spectrum of ideas and solutions? Hint: it won’t be the ones cut from the same cloth. In this scenario, the group with candidates from different schools in different states and varying academic rankings is likely to provide a broader spectrum of ideas and solutions due to the diversity of thought resulting from their varied backgrounds and experiences.
We’ve seen an uptick in “non-traditional” hiring. Sourcing talent from backgrounds which don’t conform to the standard convention. Experienced hires from different industries and job types with aptitudes in customer service, engineering, hospitality…there is a wide array of transferrable skills here. I’ve worked on initiatives where we’ve trained college students or people from non-traditional and non-technical backgrounds and put them in the field as technology consultants with great success. What was the net result? We employed people from the communities we were serving. We provided an outlet for people right here at home to earn a livable wage in their field of study and work their way through college AND gain experience, enabling them to pay down their student loan debt to manageable levels. We provided job opportunities to underrepresented communities and illuminated the path to a brighter future for them and their families, effectively changing the socioeconomic trajectory for generations to come.
Don’t get stuck on what DE&I stands for, instead consider what it really means. Creative solutions from people with diverse backgrounds.
