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Shift Towards Equitable Culture
Build a culture of belonging to promote retention and advancement for Black, Latina, and Native American women in tech.
Towards Equitable Culture
Build a culture of belonging to promote retention and advancement for Black, Latina, and Native American women in tech.
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Uncover actionable steps to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, with the ultimate goal of retaining and promoting women of color in technology roles.

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Key Terms

Due to their experiences with bias, women of color are:

[5] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

38% less likely than white women to report that they could see a long-term future for themselves at their organizations

 

16% more likely to report that they have left or considered leaving a company because of its culture

 

10% less likely to report getting the promotions they deserved [5]

 

The promotions process has a huge impact on outcomes. Even after accounting for other workplace variables, unfairness in promotions had a significant effect on belonging, intent to stay, and career satisfaction.

Examples of Microaggressions

[9] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Frequently mispronouncing someone’s name.

 

Consistently confusing the few people of color in the company with each other.

 

Dismissing an idea when expressed by one employee, but acknowledging it when paraphrased by another employee.[9]

Why It Matters

[6] Wittemyer, R., Nowski, T., Elingrud, K., Conway, M., & Jalbert, C. (2018). Rebooting Representation. Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Company. 

The subject of countless memes and jokes, “bro culture” is synonymous with the technology sector. Humor aside, these jokes and memes reflect the realities of a sector that is often unwelcoming to women of color. As employers become more and more savvy about recruiting women of color to technology, a larger question looms: What is the experience of women once they are hired into these roles?

[6] Wittemyer, R., Nowski, T., Elingrud, K., Conway, M., & Jalbert, C. (2018). Rebooting Representation. Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Company. 

Unsurprisingly, not great. Research finds that women of color in technology experience considerable challenges once they are hired, including: inadequate mentorship and support, salary inequities, and microaggressions, to name a few. Data point after data point shows that women of color are more likely than white women to feel dissatisfied at work and more likely to consider leaving.

[6] Wittemyer, R., Nowski, T., Elingrud, K., Conway, M., & Jalbert, C. (2018). Rebooting Representation. Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Company. 

Ripa Rashid, Head of Inclusion and Diversity at TD Cowen, summarizes the current state of affairs this way, “The inclusion gains from a gender perspective have primarily been for white women. And if you look at the leadership pipeline funnel most of the loss that’s happening in the early years of a pipeline around gender, it’s disproportionally women of color.”

[1] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

[2] Rincon, R. M., & Yates, N. (2018). Women of Color in the Engineering Workplace: Early Career Aspirations, Challenges, and Success Strategies. Society of Women Engineers & National Society of Black Engineers.

[3] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism.

[4] Biu, O. (2019). Race to Lead: Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector. Building Movement Project.

Indeed, women of color report lower perceptions of fairness and higher and more severe levels of overt discrimination than their white female counterparts. This can manifest in multiple ways, including devaluation/doing uncompensated work, feelings of tokenization, etc.[1 – 4]

Due to their experiences with bias, women of color are:

[5] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

38% less likely than white women to report that they could see a long-term future for themselves at their organizations

 

16% more likely to report that they have left or considered leaving a company because of its culture

 

10% less likely to report getting the promotions they deserved [5]

 

The promotions process has a huge impact on outcomes. Even after accounting for other workplace variables, unfairness in promotions had a significant effect on belonging, intent to stay, and career satisfaction.

[6] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech (E. Hammonds, V. Taylor, & R. Hutton, Eds.). The National Acadamies Press.

As many as 56 percent of mid-career women in technology are leaving their careers due to negative experiences in the workplace.[6] The financial hit for companies is significant. The National Center for Women and Information Technology estimates that the cost of turnover due to gender bias for U.S. companies is $64 billion dollars a year.

[6] Wittemyer, R., Nowski, T., Elingrud, K., Conway, M., & Jalbert, C. (2018). Rebooting Representation. Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Company. 

The good news is that it is possible to move the needle on these disturbing trends. Companies that score high on measures of inclusive culture demonstrate better outcomes, including higher retention rates of employees from underrepresented groups.

[7] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code.

What does an inclusive culture look like? Accenture found that more inclusive workplaces were characterized by bold and diverse leadership, policies designed to level the playing field, and an empowering environment that treated its employees with respect, while providing them with autonomy. In such workplaces, women of color are 77% more likely to advance to a manager level position, relative to less inclusive workplaces.[7]

[8] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code.

Accenture estimates that if every company scored high on measures of an inclusive culture, the annual attrition rate of women in tech could drop as much as 70 percent.[8]

Examples of Microaggressions

[9] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Frequently mispronouncing someone’s name.

 

Consistently confusing the few people of color in the company with each other.

 

Dismissing an idea when expressed by one employee, but acknowledging it when paraphrased by another employee.[9]

Biases that Women and Women of Color Experience in the Workplace

[10]Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

Hover over the text to see the definition.

Prove-it-again bias

Minority groups must put in more work than majority groups to be perceived as equally competent.

Tightrope bias

Office politics are designed by and for the majority group in the workplace, making it more difficult for other groups, including women of color, to navigate workplace dynamics.

Maternal Wall bias

Pregnant people are perceived as less competent and have to prove or re-demonstrate their capability upon re-entrance into the workplace after a leave of absence.

Tug of War bias

Members of underrepresented groups may feel as if they are being pitted against one another.

Tokenism

Employees belonging to a particular underrepresented group or identity are assumed to represent the entirety of that group or identity.

Gender of Color-Invisibility

Often well-intentioned, but ultimately harmful attempts to gloss over workplace inequities by using ‘color-blind’ language that undermines the real experience of women of color in the workplace (i.e., “we do not see gender or race”)

[10]Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

Source: Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law.

Action Steps

The following action steps can help employers foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, with the ultimate aim of retaining and promoting women of color in technology roles.  

[10] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism. 

[11] Employment and Social Development Canada. (2019). Women and the Workplace: How employers can advance equality and diversity. Employment and Social Development Canada. 

Be explicit about workplace values and norms. Employers can set the tone by establishing workplace norms that promote respect and consideration. This can be done in formal ways by developing codes of conduct that spell out unacceptable behaviors, such as sexual harassment, racist language, as well as more subtle forms of bias, toxic masculinity, and patriarchal social norms.[10,11] For example, the Code of Conduct for Salesforce states upfront that it believes in “upholding the equality of every human being” and includes sections on diversity, non-discrimination, as well as personal dignity.

[12] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code. 

Inclusion and belonging can also be communicated in more subtle ways – for example, by displaying diverse representation on websites and company marketing materials; by fostering team-building activities that promote relationship-building and cultural understanding; or by scheduling networking events during work hours, making them more accessible for those who may have caregiving or other responsibilities after work hours.[12]

[7] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code.

In addition, employers should be mindful of the ways in which office politics and informal decision-making channels can leave women of color out of the loop. For example, after-hours or informal activities like happy hours might contribute to relationships or alliances that carryover into and influence workplace decision-making. While such activities, often falling under the umbrella of “team building,” can represent a gray area, employers can be intentional about taking a closer look at the role such activities play in feelings of belonging and inclusion and balance them with workplace norms that include transparency around decision-making processes.

[13] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism. 

Understand the experience of women of color at your organization. Designing practices and policies that are inclusive of women of color requires understanding their unique experiences in the workplace. Companies can right-size such efforts to their organization. For a larger employer this could take the form of a staff survey that allows for candid and anonymous feedback. For other employers, it could take the form of a committee or an advisory group. What works best for an employer will depend on its size, structure, and industry, but regardless of approach, it is critical to ensure the process allows employees to express their views safely, without fear of backlash and with the expectation that constructive steps will be taken to address any concerns.[13]

[14] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism. 

Identify potential advisers or ‘diversity champions’ to help develop an inclusive workplace. Women of color are best positioned to guide workplace initiatives that will help them feel a greater sense of belonging and value. To this end, it can be helpful to engage women of color as internal advisors or champions to provide recommendations for inclusion and belonging. If taking on such a role substantially increases the workload of those that are tapped for such efforts, commensurate recognition and compensation should be provided.[14]

[15] Promoting race inclusivity in the workplace: A toolkit for organisations. (2022, February 10). The Law Society. 

Sponsor and mentor women of color.[15] Mentors offer guidance, support, and advice based on their own experiences; sponsors also provide guidance, but go one step further and serve as advocates to support career advancement. Many of these relationships develop organically and informally, but it also behooves employers to be intentional about creating such relationships.

[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4279861/  

Research has shown that mentorship programs increase representation of minority men and women by 15%-38%.[16] A key to effective mentorship or sponsorship of women of color is to recognize their intersecting identities. Otherwise, mentors risk harming—rather than supporting—their mentees’ performance and well-being in the workplace.
ABCD's of Sponsorship

[17] Chow, Rosalind (2021, June 3). Don’t Just Mentor Women and People of Color. Sponsor Them. Harvard Business Review.

Amplify protégés’ accomplishments in order to circumvent the double standard women of color face when it comes to self-promotion. Boost protégés by acting as a reference or guaranteeing their success, especially given the biases women of color can face during performance reviews. Connect or associate yourself with your protégés in order to facilitate new relationships and enhance their standing or visibility within the community. Defend protégés from their dissuaders or naysayers. Women, especially women of color, are more likely to be criticized for interpersonal styles than their white, male counterparts.[17]

[18] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code. 

Provide spaces for peer support. Employee resource groups, affinity groups, and online networks can offer safe spaces for women of color to share their experiences and share concerns about their workplace experiences.  For example, Microsoft partners with Codes and Women Think Next to help women from diverse backgrounds find connections and mentors in the coding and engineering fields to accelerate their careers. Microsoft also partners with the Anita Borg Institute and National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) to connect with diverse communities of professionals and provide its own employees with networking and professional development opportunities.[18]

[19] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

[20] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Cardazone, G., Urban, K., Bohrer, A., Long, M., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Prince, S., Kumar, A., & Coury, S. (2020). Women in the Workplace 2020. McKinsey & Lean In. 

Encourage solidarity and allyship.  At the same time, those who are members of privileged identities may feel unsure navigating conversations around race, gender, etc. But it is important to recognize that everyone has a role to play in creating an inclusive workplace. In fact, it is often those who are in a position of privilege, whether they are male, white, or cisgender, who can use their power to bring attention to bias and inequity and advocate for changes, while incurring less risk than a woman of color might. Employers can promote opportunities for allyship by encouraging sponsorship and by providing training to ease difficult conversations about non-inclusive behaviors.[19,20]

Exercise: Take a Look at Your Contacts

“Earlier this year, I cleaned up my contacts and became interested in what the gender split would look like for my address book…Of the just over 1,900 contacts in my primary address book, 399 are women. If the majority of leaders at most companies are men and if the majority of their networks are men (as mine are), then this is a self-perpetuating problem…It really is who you know. And who I know is 80% men…I suspect that many people will be similarly surprised at what the data says about their networks. Once you know your own ratio, I think you’ll be motivated as I was to make it better…”

Rick Klau, from My Unconsciously Biased Address Book – The 20 Percent Problem

[21] Daley, S. (2021, March 31). Staggering Women In Tech Stats Show the Industry Has a Long Way to Go. Built In. 

Adopt flexible, family-friendly work policies. Establish healthy boundaries around work hours and discourage ‘always on, always available’ work cultures, which can be especially difficult for those with caregiving responsibilities.[21]

[22] Employment and Social Development Canada. (2019). Women and the Workplace: How employers can advance equality and diversity. Employment and Social Development Canada. 

On the flipside, flexibility in when, where and how individuals can get their work done, including options for part-time work, can promote employee retention.[22]

[23] TrustRadius. (2021, March 8). 2021 Women in Tech Report. TrustRadius. 

This is especially important for women of color, who often take on additional family or domestic responsibilities at home. As mothers, data show that women of color take on heavier workloads than white mothers. For example, at least 80% of Black women are the sole breadwinners for their families. Asian American women and Latinas are more likely to live in multi-generational households, adopting child or elder care responsibilities.[23]
Benefits like maternity and paternity leave are more important to women of color when considering new job opportunities

Source: TrustRadius 2020 Women in Tech Report | Copyright TrustRadius 2020

[24] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Cardazone, G., Urban, K., Bohrer, A., Long, M., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Prince, S., Kumar, A., & Coury, S. (2020). Women in the Workplace 2020. McKinsey & Lean In. 

In addition, Latina and Black mothers are more likely to shoulder all responsibility for childcare and housework in their households.[24]

[25] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Be sure to codify flexible policies to ensure that employees can take full advantage of them, without fear of negative repercussions. Flexible work schedules will be available in name only if managers reinforce ‘always on’ work cultures by subtly pressuring women to work extended hours.[25]

[26] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law. 

Offer support for all types of caregiving responsibilities, including child and elder care. Women of color often have non-birth-related caregiving responsibilities; consider providing leave for a variety of caregiving responsibilities beyond parental leave.[26]

“[It’s] not only about having [flexible policies] on the books, but also making sure that people who take advantage of those policies are actually not punished for taking advantage of them.”

– Chandra Childers, Economic Policy Institute

[27] Employment and Social Development Canada. (2019). Women and the Workplace: How employers can advance equality and diversity. Employment and Social Development Canada. 

Provide additional supports, such as subsidized or on-site child and elder care. For non-traditional jobs, consider providing extended hours and 24/7 on-site or at home care options.[27]

[28] Amel, Zahid (2018). Don’t Make Us Choose: Women in Tech and Childcare. 

Cisco and Genetech, for example, both offer onsite child care as a benefit, a shift that has translated into increased retention of female employees.[28]

[29] Accenture. (2018). When She Rises, We All Rise. Accenture. 

Encourage balanced parental leave and domestic responsibilities. Encourage parental leave instead of only maternal or ‘primary caregiver’ leave.[29]

[30] Employment and Social Development Canada. (2019). Women and the Workplace: How employers can advance equality and diversity. Employment and Social Development Canada. 

Gender-neutral policies can help combat gendered ideas of care and family responsibilities and lead to more equitable divisions of responsibilities at work.[30]

[31] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law. 

Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, for example, suggests tracking the number of men who take paternity leave within an organization as a way of promoting norms related to gender equality. After employees return from extended absences, support them through ‘back to work’ or ‘on-ramping’ programs, such as those provided by Mettacool, a consultancy focused on provided programs to advance gender equity.[31] Such programs can ensure smooth and gradual transitions in and out of the office.

[7] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code.

Provide skills training and professional development internally. Make investments inside the organization to skill up employees and offer equitable pathways for career and skills development. Begin by identifying formal and informal leadership and skills development opportunities and offer stretch assignments and mentorship to give women of color hands-on experience that will allow them to transition into new roles in the organization. For example, through its Pathways to Technical Leadership program, IBM helps women in mid-level technical jobs build their leadership through workshops, training opportunities, and mentorship. Similarly, Cisco invests in two training programs for women employees— DARE for junior women and JUMP for mid-level women. Participation in these programs doubles a woman’s chances of promotion and also significantly increases retention.

[32] Rincon, R. M., & Yates, N. (2018). Women of Color in the Engineering Workplace: Early Career Aspirations, Challenges, and Success Strategies. Society of Women Engineers & National Society of Black Engineers.

Offer rotation programs. Be intentional about exposing employees to different roles within the company by offering opportunities to rotate through different departments. Research shows that participants found these programs to be immensely valuable and appreciated the opportunity to learn new things.[32]

[33] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law. 

Identify the competencies needed for high-profile assignments and create pathways to help women of color develop the requisite skills.[33]

[34] Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success (pp. x, 276). Random House.

Companies that have high rates of employee satisfaction foster a “growth mindset,” one in which employees have an opportunity to learn from tackling new problems.[34]

[35] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Because of unconscious bias, such opportunities are not always distributed equitably. Examine how such opportunities are distributed and make sure women of color are given ample opportunities to challenge themselves and refine their skills.[35]

[36] Rincon, R. M., & Yates, N. (2018). Women of Color in the Engineering Workplace: Early Career Aspirations, Challenges, and Success Strategies. Society of Women Engineers & National Society of Black Engineers. 

Help women of color find the mentors they seek as they change employers, positions, and locations. Investments in employee-sponsored mentorship and sponsorship programs can pay rich dividends in engaging and retaining women of color in technology careers. Research shows that African American women in particular were more likely to mention the positive impact that mentoring relationships have had on their career. Importantly, anyone can serve as a mentor or a sponsor — research shows that the gender or race of the mentor was not a factor when the relationship was a positive one.[36] Slack, for example, has a six-month sponsorship program called Rising Tides, which provides career development training, coaching, and one-on-one sponsorship with a senior executive to emerging leaders from underrepresented groups.

[37] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Use “skill adjacencies,” or the overlap of knowledge, skills, and abilities between two roles to facilitate pathways into new roles. Employers can thoughtfully support those who start in entry-level roles in technology, such as help desk attendants, to transition to new roles that allow them to build upon and expand existing skills. Employers can facilitate this by identifying how different roles within their company overlap and how to support underrepresented minorities to continue advancing in their careers.[37]

[38] Employment and Social Development Canada. (2019). Women and the Workplace: How employers can advance equality and diversity. Employment and Social Development Canada. 

[39] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Cardazone, G., Urban, K., Bohrer, A., Long, M., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Prince, S., Kumar, A., & Coury, S. (2020). Women in the Workplace 2020. McKinsey & Lean In. 

Provide leadership development support to women and increase their numbers in management, senior positions and on boards.[38,39] Fewer than 5% of C-suite positions are filled by women of color.

[40] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech (E. Hammonds, V. Taylor, & R. Hutton, Eds.). The National Acadamies Press. 

For employers to be truly inclusive, executive leadership teams need to be more diverse as well. Employers can create pathways for equity internally that ensure that women of color have ample opportunities to advance within the company, while also supporting professional development opportunities that help prepare women of color for executive leadership positions.[40]

[41] https://legacy.itsmfonline.org/programs-development/emerge-academy/

For example, the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), whose mission is to increase the representation of Black professionals at senior levels in technology, offers a program specifically designed for women of color in upper levels of management in technology. The 10-month program, called Emerge Academy, supports both participants’ professional and leadership development, as well as their self-discovery journey, with program components designed around the unique experiences of women of color in the workplace.[41]

[42] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Urban, K., Cardazone, G., Bohrer, A., Mahajan, S., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Rambachan, I., Burns, T., & Tijana Trkulja. (2021). Women in the Workplace 2021. McKinsey & Lean In. 

Ensure fairness in performance evaluations. Although employers have made strides in reducing bias in the hiring process, data show that far fewer employers apply a similar lens to performance reviews.[42]

[43] Ashcraft, C., McLain, B., & Eger, E. (n.d.). Women in Tech: The Facts. NCWIT. 

Women are far more likely to receive negative feedback, particularly related to factors like personality or style. In one study of women in technology, researchers reviewed 248 performance reviews and found that negative feedback appeared in 71 of the 94 reviews for women compared to 2 out of the 83 reviews for men. In addition, women (71%) received negative feedback about their personality at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts (2%). Comments such as “You can come across as abrasive sometimes,” “Pay attention to your tone,” and “Sometimes you need to step back to let others shine” were frequent.[43]

[44] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law. 

Mitigate these biases by developing clear and specific performance and backing up performance ratings with evidence. Training from human resources staff to provide guidance on mitigating bias and ensuring consistency in reviews can be helpful. Relatedly, men are more likely to engage in self-promotion, highlighting their leadership and their accomplishments, whereas women and women of color are often less like to do so. Employers can be intentional about ensuring everyone knows how to promote themselves effectively or offering alternatives to self-promotion. For instance, encourage supervisors to implement more formal mechanisms of sharing successes, such as a monthly email that lists employees’ accomplishments.[44]

[45] Vaghul, K., Ira, K., Radeva, A., & Caro, C. (n.d.). Beyond Demographic Data Disclosure: The State of Gender and Racial Representation at America’s Largest Companies. JUST Capital. Retrieved December 19, 2022.

Disaggregate employment data. Employers are increasingly publishing data on the diversity of their employees, as well as trends related to recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement, but very few companies break their data down by job titles, gender, and race/ethnicity. According to a report by JUST Capital, only 6.4% of companies in their database disclosed intersectional data on the demographic makeup of their companies.[45]

[46] Harvey, B., & Saujani, R. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. Accenture & Girls Who Code. 

By bringing an intersectional lens to data reporting, employers can establish baseline figures on the composition of their staff and identify meaningful and realistic targets as they seek to build a more diverse workplace that is inclusive of women of color.[46]

[47] Coffman, J., Rosenblum, E., D’Arcy, A., & Rodgers, A. (2022, March 31). Making DEI Work Inside and Out. Bain. 

Report DEI efforts, goals, and outcomes publicly. Public disclosure signals a commitment to the ongoing work of building diverse workplaces. External reporting can help ensure public accountability from company leaders to DEI initiatives.[47]

[48] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech (E. Hammonds, V. Taylor, & R. Hutton, Eds.). The National Academies Press. 

In 2019, Intel became the first major tech company to publicly release its EEO-1 form. At the time, Intel’s Chief Diversity Officer, Barbara Whye, wrote that “transparency and open sharing of our data enable us to both celebrate our progress and confront our setbacks on that journey. We feel a sense of responsibility to continue to lead the industry in this space by raising the transparency bar for ourselves and, as a result, raising it for others.” [48]

[49] Allen, J. (2021). The Status of Women of Color in the Workplace 2021. Women of Color in the Workplace. 

[50] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/women-of-color-and-the-wage-gap/

Do not base pay on salary history and be transparent about salary. It is widely documented that women get paid less than men, and most women of color get paid less than white women for similar roles. In 2020, for every dollar made by white men, white women made 79 cents, Black women made 64 cents, and Latina women made 57 cents.[49,50]

[51] Williams, J. C., Korn, R. M., & Ghani, A. (2022). Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech. The Center for WorkLife Law. 

Conduct a pay audit to assess equity.[51] Because gender and race disparities in salary accumulate over time and impact retention and advancement, periodic audits to assess pay equity can help employers re-calibrate salaries to ensure that employees are being compensated fairly and equitably.

[52] Allen, J. (2021). The Status of Women of Color in the Workplace 2021. Women of Color in the Workplace. 

Relatedly, employers can track promotions and raises, as well as furloughs and layoffs, by race and gender to ensure employees are being treated equitably.[52]

[53] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Cardazone, G., Urban, K., Bohrer, A., Long, M., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Prince, S., Kumar, A., & Coury, S. (2020). Women in the Workplace 2020. McKinsey & Lean In. 

Salesforce makes equal pay audits a regular part of its organizational process. Wherever they find unexplained differences in pay between men and women, they compensate the affected employees for the difference. They also provide monthly diversity data to each executive at the company, showing them how they are doing at attracting, retaining, and promoting women and underrepresented groups.[53]

[54] Wittemyer, R., Nowski, T., Elingrud, K., Conway, M., & Jalbert, C. (2018). Rebooting Representation. Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Company. 

Hold managers and executives accountable to diversity metrics. Employers can incorporate performance goals related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their performance reviews, including the extent to which managers are fostering an inclusive culture, the extent to which they are building diverse teams, and so on. Financial incentives for meeting goals and benchmarks can further signal the importance of this work.[54]

[55] Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Urban, K., Cardazone, G., Bohrer, A., Mahajan, S., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Huang, J., Rambachan, I., Burns, T., & Tijana Trkulja. (2021). Women in the Workplace 2021. McKinsey & Lean In. 

Slack is one of only a few tech companies to report its diversity figures through an intersectional lens.

In doing so, Slack found that Native, Black, and Latina women comprised only 9 percent of their engineering positions. In reporting these data on their company blog, Slack not only established a baseline, but by documenting the lack of diversity in its engineering ranks also articulated how they could do better.[55]

[56] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism. 

On their company blog, they wrote, “We recognize that we still have a long way to go… One way we are starting to address this gap is by introducing the Rooney Rule* into our recruiting process as we hire for more senior-level leadership roles. We also recognize that we do not yet have a woman or person of color from an underrepresented group on our board of directors. When we begin to add outside directors, addressing this will be an important priority.”[56]

[56] Chander, S. (2017). Women of Colour in the Workplace. European Network Against Racism. 

*The Rooney Rule is a National Football League policy that requires teams to interview candidates of color for head coaching and other senior positions.

Resources

Catalyst is a non-profit organization that works with companies worldwide to accelerate women’s progress in the workplace. It offers several practical tools for employers, including MARC (Men Advocating Real Change), which empowers men to engage in workplace inclusion through research- based programming and an online community.

Pinning Down the Jellyfish: The Workplace Experiences of Women of Color in Tech includes 6 toolkits that center around shift in hiring, retention, and advancement (bias in hiring; access to opportunities; performance evaluations) and shift in culture, policy, and advocacy (bias in meetings; family leave; workplace flexibility).

biasinterrupters.org provides resources aimed at correcting and preventing implicit bias in the workplace.

NCWIT’s Supervising-in-a-Box series provides information on how to address unconscious biases and helps managers create high-performing, diverse technical teams.

NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program offers connections to talented young women interested in internships and other work-related opportunities in computing.

Implicit Association Test allows individuals to learn more about their own bias.

The Reboot Representation Tech Coalition is a partnership of leading tech companies that have come together to multiply their impact, align their agendas, and pool their resources to address the gender gap for underrepresented women of color in tech. 

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