As a DEI professional, what’s the best way to realistically start dismantling structural discrimination?
At fintech company Robinhood, Diversity and Belonging Lead Jalyn Isley recommends equipping managers with the resources they need to develop diverse teams before all else. Those resources should include training in how to avoid bias traps and prioritizing skill-based hires over elusive “culture fits.”
Built In Colorado caught up with three local tech professionals who are under no false illusions that making such strides will be easy or immediate. But they’re committed to listening to employee needs and reevaluating long-standing processes. And they’re using data to do so.
“Every company should do an equity analysis of all processes throughout the employee lifecycle,” ezCater Senior DEI Manager Amaia Arruabarrena said. “Once you have a holistic view of the organization, you can prioritize certain work to drive real change,” she added.
What does psychological safety look like in your organization? This is a question that Chief Design Officer Kelly Byrom asks herself to get to the root of structural issues that can lead to discrimination. But at Four Winds Interactive (FWI), the answer to that query alone isn’t the only thing leadership is concerned about. Variables like pay structure, hiring processes and training procedures affect how and when people speak up and whether or not they are rewarded for doing so.
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve diversity (of all kinds) in their organization?
Make a commitment. Companies need to do an honest and total evaluation of the inequities within the entire organization. The only way to truly make change is to understand what needs to change.
We do research, gather data and listen to our employees at every level in order to understand how we can take action-oriented steps toward diversity, equity and inclusion moving forward. Our DEI committee is now a DEI council run by that employees across the company. The council is currently in the research stage. We are taking a DEI audit, which includes examining hiring, information access and employee growth to identify the biggest opportunities for improvement.
The only way to truly make change is to understand what needs to change.’’
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve inclusivity and equity in their organization?
To improve equity and inclusion, we need to rethink and address common processes that are based on inherent biases. Are we too focused on hiring one type of person? Who are we listening to most in the room? What does our pay structure look like? What does psychological safety look like in our organization? How do we train our people managers to see these issues and address them? These are the sorts of questions we are focusing on as we look for ways to improve.
Of all the DEI initiatives you’ve led, which has been the most impactful, and why?
As a company, we have made great progress. FWI has become one of the founding members of the Colorado Inclusive Economy, a group of CEOs and executive leaders who are committed to helping grow an economy that works for all.
Change is occurring within the company as well. We recently switched DEI to live under design. Design in our organization spans the entire company. We want to take that approach with DEI as well. We need more research, more iteration on ideas and more involvement from people across the organization.
While we work on our roadmap, we have started some short-term initiatives, like our DEI Knowledge Series. Once a week, we spend an hour together listening to a podcast or watching a short documentary followed by a frank discussion. We have been learning more about systemic racism, gender bias and the importance of representation, just to name a few issues. It’s a safe space to listen, learn, and have conversations that can lead us to action to improve our company and community. Looking forward, we believe the DEI audit is going to give us valuable information on changes we can make to better our organization.
Before a company can start driving internal change, leadership must understand employee demographic data. From there, it’s all about operating under the assumption that you can always be more equitable, according to Senior DEI Manager Amaia Arruabarrena. At ezCater, Arruabarrena has found that creating safe spaces for employees of all backgrounds, tenure and seniority has been particularly beneficial in the company’s efforts to promote inclusivity.
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve diversity (of all kinds) in their organization?
It’s difficult to improve something without knowing where you’re starting from. Every company should do an equity analysis of all processes throughout the employee lifecycle. This data collection should include how candidates are sourced, the interview process, performance management, promotion structure and exit strategy. These analyses will yield helpful data showing where opportunities for bias in the system exist and where improvements can be made. Once you have a holistic view of the organization, you can prioritize certain work to drive real change.
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve inclusivity and equity in their organization?
Listen to your people. Operate under the assumption that you can always do better. It’s tempting to believe that once a significant change has been made or an employee resource group has been established, the work is “done.” This work requires continuous effort. By directly asking your employees about their experience and what they need, you can more effectively direct efforts and initiatives, and will feel confident that the work you’re doing will have the greatest impact.
As a company, make sure you are ready and willing to take action on the feedback collected. Collecting feedback for the sake of collecting it will disengage employees. It can be tempting to do this, because it’s doing something. However, it’s much more beneficial to hold off until you can use the feedback in an actionable manner.
This work requires continuous effort.’’
Of all the DEI initiatives you’ve led, which had been the most impactful, and why?
Creating safe spaces for people to share their experiences, learn from each other and give feedback has been the most impactful. These spaces are open to employees of all backgrounds, tenure and seniority. They exist as Slack channels, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly group meetings, as well as smaller sessions. I have seen real change come from these spaces because people feel safe showing up authentically without fear of judgement or being chastised for making a mistake.
In order for this work to be truly successful, it requires understanding the injustices and inequalities that exist, knowing what DEI work is and isn’t, and recognizing why we are doing it. These safe spaces allow people to learn and ask questions so we can all help make an impact.
These spaces also encourage real, honest feedback that some may not feel comfortable giving under other circumstances. This feedback is invaluable. It keeps us on the right track and makes it clear when something we’re working on is amiss.
At Robinhood, DEI is not a trend. It’s an ongoing effort that affects everyone at the company. Diversity and Belonging Lead Jalyn Isley said leveraging cross-functional support to embed DEI initiatives into the greater culture has been essential to the fintech organization’s growth.
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve diversity (of all kinds) in their organization?
Many companies make the mistake of treating DEI as a special, one-off program. In order to make this important work relevant and sustainable, it’s important to embed diversity and inclusion efforts into your overall strategy. DEI should be interlaced between all activities and efforts.
For example, our employee resource groups at Robinhood have the ability to make a real impact as we look for input to strengthen product inclusion. Members of our Sisterhood ERG have played a critical role in identifying opportunities to support and help grow our women customer base.
Many companies make the mistake of treating DEI as a special, one-off program.’’
What’s the number one thing every tech company should do right now to improve inclusivity and equity in their organization?
Every tech company should strengthen managerial resources and support so that they can develop diverse teams. Career equity and inclusion stems from championing underrepresented groups for growth opportunities. By investing in DEI training experiences, organizations can help managers avoid bias traps and support the diverse needs of their teams.
Of all the DEI initiatives you've led, which has been the most impactful, and why?
Leveraging cross-functional support has been impactful in driving our DEI initiatives. We have many team members across the company who are passionate about this work. They play a critical role in ensuring that our initiatives are effectively embedded into our culture.
