Cheers to Women In Tech

The most recent episode of Front End Happy Hour is all about Women In Tech – a topic near and dear to my heart. There was a lot of talk about unconscious bias and ways to encourage diversity. It was good to hear the group agree wholeheartedly that increasing diversity in tech leads to more perspectives, greater innovation, and all around better products.

What does Diversity look like?

So, let’s explore this. What does it look like for an existing company to develop this promised strength in diversity? It takes more than talk. It takes more than hiring a token #{diverse_person}. There needs to be a shift in culture – a true embrace of the challenges that come with diversification…

Challenges?

While diversity is proven to yield wonderful results, no one said it would be easy. Homogeneity usually feels easier – if everyone thinks in the same way, that often leads to speedy consensus. The fastest route may not be the best, however. In this case, it’s important to work through any potential discomfort.

With a true embrace of diversity a company is saying that they want more perspectives, more ideas. This means teams need to develop respectful processes for working through different opinions and finding ways forward. Team members need to develop open minds and empathy.

A company can only benefit from diverse perspectives if it makes them truly welcome in the workplace.