Back in March I read an interesting article on Forbes(1) regarding the importance of walk the talk when it comes to Diversity. A bit later, Nike had announced (March 2021) diversity targets and tied executive compensation to it (2), and McKinsey had reported that startup with clear attention to Diversity were outrunning the others in all major performance indicators (3).

Forbes states that only 26% of startup analyzed were making deliberate effort to improve diversity among their teams.

Yes, COVID outbreak could be responsible for some sort of shift in the priorities, especially in the domain of the relations and work environment, based on the fact that the smart working has its own challenges. It is also true, however, that startup leaders tend to hire people who they know or find commonalities with. This bias can lead to a excessively homogeneous team and culture. When that happens, organizations may lack perspectives that differ from those of their founders.

This is a risk that a startup cannot afford to encounter: from diversity comes lateral thinking, flexible approach, innovation – all aspects really core for a startup. It is not only a matter of gender, or ethnicity: a company that hires young people could end up having an environment in which people live at the office, and who doesn’t eat pizza late at night is not a good fit.

Company culture is relevant also for family related aspects: when only a few employees has children, the family time is not a priority. When the vast majority of people come from a single university, there is literally not space for other mindset. Especially in technical environments (law, engineering, finance to name a few sectors where this aspect is more evident).

HR, in this context, is crucial to understand the risk and drive an inclusive and diversity oriented hiring selection. It it might feel difficult, especially for less experienced managers. It could lead to discriminatory decisions if not taken with the right approach.

It could be challenging for the management, too; the hidden bias leads to considerations like: “she doesn’t belong to our sector”; or ” we are looking for someone who shares our same passions for…”.

Diversity doesn’t just happen; it needs to be intentional in everything the company does.

It is therefore important to work since the beginning in building an inclusive and diverse environment, by:

• Speaking about internal diversity and inclusion, and invest time and resources: building a diverse team isn’t just about hiring diverse candidates — it’s about building a culture that celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds and identities.
• Participating and investing in community efforts that support diversity, expanding the hiring pipeline to include remote candidates to increase opportunities to recruit resources from different background, cultures, mindsets.
• Keeping interviews focused on the person’s ability to do the job, having the interview focused on practical, work-oriented problems highly reduces recruiter’s bias and allows a better and all-rounded evaluation.
• Keeping track of your internal environment: propose questionnaires, collect data, be happy to receive feedback, encourage different ideas and opinions.
• Focusing on values and attitude, not on professional network or University name.

What do you think about it? Are you promoting Diversity in your Startup just because it is cool to do so?