From TechInclusion16. All of these recommendations came up in more than one session at the conference
- align D&I efforts with company business goals
- treat it as seriously as other business priorities
- prioritize and drive from the top
- start early
- focus on creating an inclusive culture (including training on unconscious bias and microaggressions) as well as getting diverse representation
- approach it intersectionally, focusing on race and gender and disability (including invisible disabilities) and age and LGBTAIG people and cognitive differences and other dimensions of diversity
- broaden the recruiting pool by looking for people from non-traditional backgrounds and creating relationships with diversity-focused organizations
- institute a “Rooney Rule” requiring interviewing diverse candidates for senior positions
- tools like Blendoor (to work around biases in the interviewing process) and textio (to refine the langauge in job ads to attract more diverse and better-qualified candidates) are also useful at helping people be more aware of bias
- measure impact and results
- celebrate successes and communicate regularly reminding employees of the business value of diversity
Update, February 2017: the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Science and Technology Action Grid from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, released in November 2016, goes into more detail.