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In Silicon Valley we live by mantras like, “move fast and break things.” As an industry we’ve created millions of jobs and introduced transformative technologies. Now it’s time to turn this engine of endless opportunity toward ensuring that those opportunities are truly available to everyone, and that means breaking open existing networks.
For years, the tech industry has released annual diversity reports and committed to action. This level of transparency is inspiring, and rare in other industries. The results make it crystal clear that we still have diversity challenges to overcome.
This summer, in the wake of the tragic murder of George Floyd, we saw a true sense of urgency to address systemic inequalities. With a new roster of public hiring goals, we are in a decisive moment. There are a number of reasons to be optimistic that this will be a turning point for not only our industry, but for corporate America at large.
Consider the example of California’s action to create more diverse boards. When a law was passed in 2018 requiring publicly-held companies headquartered in the state to have at least one woman on their board of directors, nearly 30% of public company boards in California consisted solely of men. Today, that figure has fallen below 3%. And in September, that law was extended to requiring that at least one member be from an underrepresented minority. Other states are following suit. Washington State has signed its own board diversity bill into law, and Hawaii and New Jersey are exploring similar mandates.
Corporate America is also taking its own steps. In September, dozens of companies, including Uber, Sonos and Eventbrite, took the “Board Challenge” and pledged to add at least one Black director to their board within the next year. These goals inspire us to rethink the ways we recruit and hire from boards down through our organizations.
Considering the innovations our industry brings about every day, it is shocking that we are still largely recruiting for C-suite and board positions in the same way that companies were a century ago. To start connecting with a more inclusive pool of candidates, there is something radically simple we can do. And it starts with throwing away our rolodexes.
Instead of relying on existing networks of connections — or those of the recruiting firms we partner with — we need to expand the scope of where we find talent.
We’ve often heard of the “pipeline” problem — the claim that there are not enough Black, LatinX or female candidates for roles in technology. The reality is that the problem is not the pipeline but instead the network our “pipes” are connected to.
Think about your own connections. If you’re like the average American, the people in your circle think and look like you do. If our personal networks lack the diversity we are trying to achieve, why do we rely on them to build our teams?
Talent is out there. According to the Kapor Center for Social Impact, only 10% of technical roles at the 20 top-grossing tech companies are Black or Latinx, even while those groups represent 21% of computer science graduates. And that is only accounting for ‘traditional’ graduates and does not include the incredibly talented and driven alumni of coding bootcamps or programs like Code2040 or Hackbright Academy. We simply have to update our recruiting practices to find and include all qualified candidates.
Transparency will be key. The tech industry is taking important first steps by putting out diversity reports, even as the industry takes shots from the public when we don’t meet our goals. It’s time to bring that same level of transparency to the hiring process as well. That’s true at both the entry level and mid-level. And it’s critically important for the most senior roles at the top of our companies.
Have you ever seen a job listing for a C-suite position? Chances are slim. Senior-level roles are almost never listed publicly on LinkedIn or company websites. Instead, companies rely on existing networks and recruiters to find candidates. The few minority executives who are relatively well-known get calls constantly, while thousands of equally talented people languish in anonymity because there isn’t enough connectivity between them and the opportunities. When you consider how many people are closed off from even knowing an opportunity exists, it’s no surprise that broad, diverse talent is not included.
Transparency is the answer. Companies can open up and connect beyond their existing networks — either through their own processes or by using hiring platforms like AboveBoard — and begin meeting their own diversity goals.
There is a nearly endless pool of diverse talent to fuel the engine of innovation. It’s time we give that talent the opportunity to help us build better and more inclusive companies.
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Nick Caldwell is the Vice President of Engineering at Twitter and advisor to AboveBoard, an inclusive platform for executive hiring.
