There’s nothing worse than the feeling that you weren’t hired to make a difference but rather tolerated as a required diversity hire. If organizations are merely checking off boxes, instead of setting intentional policies to support diverse employees, they’re setting those employees up to fail.
An interesting article from Technical.ly explores how some DEI efforts may actually be tokenism. It’s well worth the read and gives us something to ponder. Here are just a few examples from the article:
- Hiring a diversity council with no diversity in its leadership positions
- A company that lacks diversity but puts Black and Latinx people prominently in their marketing materials
- Focusing on diversity in hiring but not retention
What can employers do to move beyond tokenism? Dropping college-degree requirements, adopting flexible work policies, tech training apprenticeships, and employee resource groups are just a few examples.
Check out the full article and accompanying webinar here.
