Auckland recently hosted its second Dive In festival, and the theme this year was understanding unconscious bias - how and why it happens, and how it can be overcome.
The panel discussion raised some challenging points around quotas, leadership, and personal responsibility to demonstrate inclusion in every place where you have influence. Darren Linton, CEO of marketing company Yellow, shared the story of his own company’s journey towards equality and inclusion, and said that while certain aspects of the journey can sometimes be uncomfortable, it is a vital one for every company to take.
“Some people say ‘we just hire the best person for the job and don’t think about diversity,’ but even that idea just screams of a lack of understanding of unconscious bias,” Linton said. “We’ve all got it, and so unless you’re conscious and proactive about overcoming it, you will get led to something that is again all about sameness.”
“When we were looking for a new CFO, I told everyone that it was going to be a woman,” Linton explained.
“I’ve had debates about that, about whether it’s right or wrong, but my intention was to have a 50:50 gender balance on the executive team. We have to be intentional and sometimes do things that are uncomfortable if we’re going to get the change, and that doesn’t mean that I’m going to hire someone who can’t do the job. But the first time I went out to the market, nine of the 10 CVs that came back were from men. How do you shift that dial?
“It does need to start from the top, but everyone can do things within their own team and environment to help move that along.”
D&I expert Mary Haddock-Staniland also weighed in on quotas, noting that although the intentions behind them may be solid, they can too easily turn into a ‘tickbox’ exercise which doesn’t promote a genuine concern for diversity and inclusion. She says the most important thing for any organisation to do is to simply start the journey, no matter how they choose to go about it - just set the first foot on to that path, and the results will follow.
“We don’t necessarily agree with quotas, but the message that Darren’s business sends is so powerful,” Haddock-Staniland said.
“Often organisations don’t know where to begin, but the most important thing is that you do begin. There are so many dimensions and layers to diversity, but in my team, we band around organisations who ask questions and don’t know what they don’t know.”
“Begin that journey by asking the right questions, learning and encouraging the conversation,” Haddock-Staniland explained. “Don’t be a bystander or allow for bad behaviour. Call people out. If you are a true, committed individual in allowing people to come to work and be their full selves, then allow your colleagues to do so.”
On the role of men in business and leadership, corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson says that every role should of course still be open to everyone - but that leaders of a different generation should think about what they were historically taught, what they embodied and aspired to, and how much that is still relevant today.
“I’d love for everyone to take away this quote from an anthropology professor – ‘other people are not a failed attempt to be you,’”Henderson said.
“There’s still a role in leadership for anybody, and that shouldn’t exclude the people who currently are there.
“But the world has changed beyond recognition even since the year 2000, so a lot of what many people have learnt and proudly embodied is seriously out of date. So, we need to pause, sit back and think about what’s relevant today, and what we need to learn.”
“What I would encourage everyone to do is think about what inclusion looks like in your own life, as a leader in your family, business and community,” Darren Linton concluded.
“My challenge is that you don’t have to be the CEO of a company - you can just live your life and make decisions to do things that demonstrate inclusion to the people around you.”
