I didn’t complete the blog post title because research shows that over 60% of North Americans will not read articles that talk about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Whether you are person who sighs when the conversation turns to DEI, or rejoices, you might find the following short read of interest. You may also get a chuckle out of the shoe analogy at the end.

Yesterday, I attended a nation-wide event hosted at/from Cisco ‘s Toronto headquarters. The primary focus: DEI. This is the third such event I’ve attended in many months.

The other two:

• December 2023: Over 2000 women in senior roles (and a handful of men) from major tech companies, including all of our partners such as Cisco, Aruba, Extreme Networks, Dell, HP IBM, Palo Alto, Zscaler and others – many others – gathered in New York to discuss channel matters. DEI came up in almost every talk given.

• Shortly thereafter, Ingram Micro held a similar session in Toronto.

From what I understand, there have been thousands of such conferences and workshops throughout North America since the beginning of 2024. A high percentage of these sessions occurred within the tech sector.

Why? Although it has been proven that a more diverse workforce can improve the bottom line by 15% – 37% (it all depends on whose research you read, and how is conducted and where), the tech sector has the dubious honour of being in the top 10 least inclusive industries. Please don’t shoot the messenger!

Luckily, it would seem that is changing.

Key points coming out of these sessions

• Having a diverse workplace is not simply ensuring you have people of varying cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. Diversity includes gender, sexual orientation, physical capabilities/challenges and age.

• It is important to let women of all ages, especially those early in their careers, know there is a place for them in tech. To that, I would add that it means getting more girls wanting to take STEM subjects early on, if we are to have a more balanced workforce in the years to come.

• Inclusivity is about creating a culture where people feel comfortable, not fearful, disclosing something personal about themselves (being LGTPQ, deaf, pregnant, etc.).

• It is not about filling quotas, but about hiring the person with the right capabilities to do the job – and that means being open to the type of person that might have the right skill sets and experience.

• When you are able to get different perspectives for decision-making from people with diverse backgrounds, you create the possibility of making better decisions. Based on that, I would add then, that diversity needs to include hiring people with different types of work experience, and considering transferable skills as part of the hiring decision.

• Today, there are more people from multiple generations working in organisations, and it is important there is good communication between all groups. My perspective: Older employees need to embrace the fresh-thinking from the fresh faces, and younger employees should welcome the input of seasoned employees when problem-solving, because they have probably encountered that challenge at least once in their career. I am not advocating accepting everything you hear, but at least taking the input into consideration. Truly considering the advice.

One of the great things I heard at the session is the shoe analogy that I promised to share.

• Equality: Everyone getting a pair shoes.

• Diversity: Everyone is getting a different type of shoe.

• Equity: Everyone is getting a pair of shoes that fits.

• Acceptance: Understanding that we all wear different kinds of shoes.

• Belonging: Being able to wear the shoes you want, without fear of judgment

If you would like to read more, here are a couple of articles that you might find interesting:

• Deloitte Insights: CIO – Current state of DEI in Tech

• Deloitte Insights: Integrating tech and Well-Being

• Even though a little older, there are some useful information in this 8-Pillars DEI e-Book

One last thought, which came from one of the Cisco panelists, is that diversity is being invited to the dance, and inclusivity is being asked to dance once you get there.

Here’s hoping you always get to dance!