Entries Tagged 'Diversity' ↓

One of the more interesting moments in my transition from developer to manager was when, in a training class, an honest instructor said, “If you don’t want to see office politics, you shouldn’t become a manager.”  I always thought I wasn’t one for office politics, but I was beginning to get dragged into them as an individual contributor, so I realized it was a non-issue for me.

But I’m not here to talk about that kind of office politics.  I’m here to talk about politics in the office.  Well, politics, religion, and whether you prefer waffles to pancakes.  You know, the hard questions.  I recently saw a discussion sparked by an employee who felt “harassed” by having unpopular political views criticized by others at the workplace.
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I’ve spent time lately talking about diversity and inclusion from a corporate perspective.  Now I want to reflect on the issue from a more personal angle.

I try to live with an open mind, recognizing the bias of my own upbringing while trying to disregard it.  I account for and value the varying cultural perspectives I encounter in my daily life.  But I also deeply value equality, freedom, and reason.

What do we do when we encounter perspectives which clash with our values?  How hard is it to reconcile the ideal of inclusion with the reality that some ideas deserve to be excluded?

Basically, when does “I respect your beliefs” end and “I think you are dangerous” begin?
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(This is part of a multi-post series on Diversity at EMC.  See all posts in the Diversity category here.)

Last week, I posed the question this whole series has been leading to:  If you’re passionate about diversity and inclusion, is EMC the right place for you?

Today, I’m going to do my best to answer it.  The answer shouldn’t surprise you - I am going to say “Yes.”  But hopefully I can keep the reasons interesting.

I am not saying Yes because EMC has this thing all figured out.  I should hope you can piece together from my series of posts that EMC is getting better, that we have some passionate people in the right places, and that we’re succeeding.  But just like anything in business, you never claim victory.  You just keep raising the bar.  EMC knows a thing or two about that.
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(This is part of a multi-post series on Diversity at EMC.  See all posts in the Diversity category here.)

I’ve talked a lot about diversity, starting with my own personal experiences and looking further and further outwards.  I’ve had some hallway conversations, exchanged private emails, and gotten more of a feel of what some other people’s experiences look like.

Through it all, though, the question has remained: how do you take the overriding spirit of inclusiveness and build it into corporate DNA?  How do you make sure that people aren’t just working on diverse teams, but that they value and seek diversity?  How do you make sure that everyone feels valued?

There are endless ways, and many of them are under control not of the corporate overlords but the front line managers, senior managers, and even peer employees.
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(This is part of a multi-post series on Diversity at EMC.  See all posts in the Diversity category here.)

In a previous post, I mentioned how new hires into an organization might cluster around a “least risk” demographic.  While it’s not always true, anyone outside that group might be at a disadvantage in competing for recognition and advancement.

As an example, a software developer who speaks English with an accent might write excellent code but struggle with the interpersonal aspects of the job, which become more important as her responsibility in the organization grows.  She is not being explicitly penalized for her background, but is facing a disadvantage other team members are not.  When deciding who to promote, she may be passed over (and in fact that is a defensible decision).

So how do you help people in these underrepresented groups succeed?
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(This is part of a multi-post series on Diversity at EMC.  See all posts in the Diversity category here.)

Even once you accept that diversity is inherently valuable in the workplace (just as it is in finance), there are still business realities which can complicate the situation.  For example, a team competing solely on time to market will be more likely to win if the members of that team share common language and cultural assumptions (no overhead dealing with cultural gaps, communication difficulties, etc.).  Similarly, a sales team might benefit from having a similar demographic makeup as their target audience, even if that audience is homogeneous.

Over time I believe these would turn into weaknesses for those teams, but sometimes “over time” isn’t what matters.
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(This is part of a multi-post series on Diversity at EMC.  See all posts in the Diversity category here.)

In my last post, I talked about the background I bring into the diversity conversation as a member of an engineering organization within EMC.  You should realize that I’m not claiming that we are “better” than anybody else at this, though.  In fact, if you look at the history of the situation, you’ll see that we have plenty reason to be humble.  That doesn’t mean there are no lessons to be learned here, of course.

The Labor Shortage

You’ve probably heard one of the many stories about a lack of technical workers in the US.  It is generally understood that a company cannot compete in today’s market without bringing in skilled workers from overseas.  You can read more about this at Wikipedia, and see the number of H1B visas granted to overseas workers by major US tech firms and universities.

If you’ve been working in the tech industry for the past decade or so, you’ve seen a steady growth in the number of people from around the world who are employed at US companies. This isn’t because hiring managers suddenly got more open-minded about diversity.  No, it’s a matter of necessity.  In order to hire qualified engineering talent, companies have to broaden their horizons.

In some ways, this is true about any way that a hiring might be discriminatory.  When it’s hard to find good talent, good talent gets hired, regardless of race, gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, religion, and so on.

The high-tech workplace of 2008 is diverse, or it’s not competitive.  A company simply cannot afford to discriminate.

The Global Workplace

At the same time, companies are being forced to operate globally.  Even if a company isn’t looking to cut costs by moving development offshore, there are benefits to having a global presence.  If you want to sell your product to the world, you better be prepared to show the world you are global.  EMC is a global company, but the organization I work in is relatively focused — we “only” have sites in 3 countries working on core ControlCenter components.

Our Hands are Forced

These two factors have, over the past decade, really forced the hands of our engineering organization, and probably many others around the world.  Individuals have to learn to operate in a diverse environment, or they can’t survive in the organization.  Whether you like it or not, your team will be made up of people who you probably otherwise would never have met.

You Can’t Force Hearts

The thing is, our hands have been forced, but our hearts have had to follow at their own pace.  You can have a diverse office without having an office full of people who value diversity.  I happen to believe, though, that years of having our hands forced have led to an environment where the hearts have followed.  Going “up the ladder” from new hires through low-level management finds a true melting pot, not just of ethnicity but of gender, lifestyle, religion, and age.

I listen to the people I work with, and I hear more and more often what sounds like heartfelt enthusiasm for our diverse culture.  People want it more diverse!  When we see something we don’t know, we actively move towards it and try to understand it (”What’s that you’re eating?” “What holiday is this that you’re celebrating?” “Can you explain Cricket to me again?”).  It wasn’t always like this!  I remember when it felt forced.  But it doesn’t feel forced now.

I feel the front lines of Engineering (at least in my immediate surroundings) are among those that “get it” at EMC.  But even Engineering is much bigger than the small part of it I see, and the company is much bigger than just this.

In future posts I will dive deeper into the issue, and bring in some perspective from people who are exposed to a lot more of the company than I am.

You want long-term success?  Diversify.  That’s usually financial advice, but the corporate world understands it applies in a much broader scope.

I remember my first mandated corporate diversity class — we learned all the reasons it made good business sense to be diverse and learned about the law as it related to discrimination and the workplace.  We had it pounded into our head that not only was it the law, it was a Good Thing.

Years later, I work in one of the most diverse offices I can imagine.

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