The summer of 2020 and the murder of George Floyd brought racial tensions to a boiling point, forcing America and the rest of the world to confront the country’s history of violence and prejudice against African Americans. In response, companies rushed to announce diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments and establish or improve their DEI or HR teams to address the inequities that underrepresented minorities face in the workplace. By examining diversity in hiring, we embark on a journey to unravel how this dichotomy shapes the landscape of diversity, equality, and inclusion within organizations.
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The Struggles of Diversity Leadership: Progress or Just Promises?
The idea of having leaders for diversity isn’t new. In fact, businesses have been talking about it for over 20 years. By 2020, many companies had hired people to lead diversity efforts. For example, LinkedIn reported that the number of “heads of diversity” doubled between 2015 and 2020. Roles like “chief diversity officer” grew by 68%, with many created after the events of 2020. Today, more than half of Fortune 500 companies have such roles.
But here’s the problem: These leaders often don’t have the budgets or resources to make big changes. This means that despite hiring people to focus on diversity, workplaces haven’t become much more inclusive. In 2021, a study published by Harvard Business Review found that only 26% of diversity leaders felt they had the authority to influence company policies significantly.
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Layoffs in Tech
During the COVID-19 pandemic, tech companies grew fast because people needed technology to work, learn, and connect from home. To meet the demand, companies hired thousands of workers. But when the pandemic slowed, so did business. This led to massive layoffs.
Few Numbers to consider:
In 2022, more than 154,000 tech employees were laid off globally (Layoffs.FYI). Big names like Meta, Amazon, and Twitter cut tens of thousands of jobs. Elon Musk’s Twitter, for instance, let go of nearly half its workforce.
Sadly, layoffs often hurt women and minorities the most. Why? Many underrepresented employees work in areas like marketing or HR. These roles are often the first to be cut because companies see them as less essential than engineering or product development. A 2022 report by McKinsey showed that women and minorities are 30% more likely to work in roles deemed “non-essential” during layoffs.
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Layoffs and the Marginalization Employees
Unfortunately, employees from underrepresented backgrounds are often disproportionately affected by layoffs, despite being in an industry that is predominately dominated by men. At tech companies, more women and underrepresented minorities are employed in non-technical departments such as communications, marketing, HR, etc.
These roles are traditionally seen to be more dispensable than engineering or product roles, and the individuals in those roles are often the first to face layoffs, as they are deemed less essential to the overall business. In other cases, tech companies are applying the last-in-first-out approach to layoffs. If the company’s focus was diversity in hiring in the last 2 years, they are likely to disproportionately impact women and underrepresented minorities through this layoff strategy.
Questions Leaders Should Ask During Layoffs
To avoid unfairly targeting underrepresented groups, leaders need to think carefully about their layoff plans. Here are some questions:
- Who is being let go? Will the layoffs harm the diversity of the team?
- What happens to DEI efforts? Are the people leading these initiatives still in place?
- How are layoffs communicated? Will employees see the process as fair?
- Are severance packages fair? Are all employees offered the same support?
There was a story around in corporate gossip bin, When Salesforce conducted layoffs in 2023, CEO Marc Benioff emphasized transparency and committed to supporting affected employees with severance and job placement services. This approach minimized backlash and maintained trust within the company.
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Building a Better Future: Making DEI a Core Part of Business
If companies want to improve Diversity and inclusion, they need to make DEI a part of everything they do, not just a side project. Here’s how they can do it:
- Train leaders to understand and practice inclusivity.
- Define values that promote inclusion and make these values part of performance reviews and company goals.
- Create awareness starting with the hiring process. For example, ensure job descriptions are free of biased language and interview panels are diverse.
- Measure progress. Use data to track how well diversity goals are being met.
Case in point: In 2021, Microsoft shared that it increased Black and Hispanic representation in its U.S. workforce by focusing on internal promotions and partnerships with organizations that support underrepresented groups (Microsoft Diversity Report).
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A New Approach: Collaborating for Long-Term Change
Creating a truly inclusive workplace isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires commitment, collaboration, and a willingness to address systemic problems. Companies need to stop treating diversity as just a goal and start seeing it as a way to unlock the full potential of their teams. Research by McKinsey shows that companies with diverse leadership are 36% more likely to outperform their peers financially.
By working together and taking bold steps, the tech industry can become a place where everyone—regardless of gender, race, or background—has an equal chance to succeed.
BarRaiser is committed to ensuring an inclusive and diverse workplace through unbiased interviewing and training the interviewers to provide a safer, inclusive environment to all.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the dichotomy between hiring and layoffs within the tech industry has significant implications for DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion). While the COVID-19 pandemic led to a period of hypergrowth and increased diversity in hiring. The subsequent economic slowdown resulted in layoffs that disproportionately impacted underrepresented employees. This further highlights the need for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to DEI, going beyond just increasing diversity numbers.
To address these challenges, tech companies must prioritize inclusivity throughout their culture, processes, and leadership practices. To create an inclusive workplace, companies need to train is important for companies to train their leaders in inclusive leadership. Implement core values that align with inclusion, and spread an inclusive culture throughout all departments. Creating awareness both internally and externally, starting from the interview process, is crucial.
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People Also Ask
What role does HR play in DEI? HR is key to creating fair policies, hiring diverse candidates, training teams on inclusion, and tracking progress toward diversity goals.
What are the biggest barriers to DEI? Some barriers include unconscious bias, a lack of diverse role models, systemic discrimination, and resistance to change. Addressing these requires education, policy changes, and strong leadership.
How does DEI impact recruitment? DEI makes recruitment fairer by reducing bias and encouraging a diverse workforce. This leads to more creativity and better decision-making within organizations.
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