Diversity in tech: could the solution be this simple?

You’ve heard it all before: when it comes to gender and ethnic diversity in the workplace, tech companies have a lot of progress to make. Of the tech giants that have released demographic data this year, none of them have achieved gender parity in their workforce: Airbnb came the closest, with 47.5% female workers. But other big names disappointed, from Facebook (28.8% female) to Intel (23.8%). The further up the pecking order you go, the worse those numbers get: just 27.5% of LinkedIn’s leaders are women, which actually looks impressive when compared to companies like Microsoft (12.5% women leaders).

The numbers are just as bad when it comes to ethnic diversity, as this figure shows.

There is, of course, a pipeline problem: computer science and engineering courses are mainly dominated by white men. In the US last year, women made up just 18% of graduates in this field, with black students coming in at 4.1% and Hispanics at 7.7%.

But it’s more than that. For example, research from the Computing Research Association shows that top universities produce black and Hispanic computer science and engineering graduates at double the rate that leading tech companies are hiring them. And a 2008 report from the Harvard Business Review found that of those women working in tech, 41% will end up leaving the industry, compared to just 17% of men.

Could it be that our unconscious biases – our ingrained beliefs that we are perhaps unaware of but that unconsciously affect how we make decisions – are also playing a part? That’s what Google thinks, and it has just shared a strategy for eliminating such biases:

1. Unbias the workplace

Without even realizing it, companies can send subtle signals that make underrepresented people feel like they don’t belong. For example, when Google opened a new office two years ago, they chose to name all the conference rooms after famous scientists. There was one small problem: fewer than 10 of the 65 rooms were named after female scientists. They quickly rectified this: today, half of the rooms are named after female scientists. Little things like this might seem insignificant, but they do matter: “Small, intentional changes can make a difference in how welcoming and inclusive your workspace is for everyone,” Google points out.

2. Make decisions by committee

Too many cooks spoil the broth, or so the saying goes. But as time-consuming as it can be to use committees for important decisions, Google has found it pays off. It now uses the process when deciding who to hire and promote: “Making decisions by committee might be tough or uncomfortable at times, but research shows that teams with divergent opinions can make better, less-biased decisions.”

3. Look closely at your job descriptions

Before you’ve even set up any interviews, you could be turning off potentially great candidates with an ill-thought-out job description. Gendered language can create the impression of what computer scientist Laura Lather calls “a brogrammer culture”, deterring some applicants. Google has also found that unless it thinks through its job requirements carefully, it can inadvertently rule out some qualified candidates. When it was looking to hire a global creative director in marketing, it insisted on 12 years of experience in a world-class creative agency. But only 3% of creative directors are women. After this was picked up on by the Huffington Post, Google rectified the bias.

4. Educate your employees

One of the most important things you can do to reduce unconscious bias is to make sure people know it’s there: “Research shows that awareness of unconscious bias can lead to reversals in biased outcomes.” Two years ago, Google launched a company-wide training programme to educate people at all levels and make them see how these biases and stereotypes could be influencing their decision-making. Last week, they made those tools available to all, including videos, workshop guides and checklists.

Google admits it is “early in its unbiasing journey” but maintains that it can make a big difference and increase diversity in tech. “Making the unconscious conscious is critical to create a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone.”

Have you read?
Work stress: why women have it worse than men
Which start-up cities hire the most women?
Why start-ups need women founders

Author: Stéphanie Thomson is an Editor at the World Economic Forum

Image: Facebook employees work in the design studio at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith