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Dedicated to my parents and sister

About the Author Jay Tarimala is an accomplished and internationally (Canadian) experienced recruitment professional with over fifteen years of hands-on experience in sourcing, recruiting, interviewing and candidate selection. Working as a talent acquisition professional, Jay has sharpened his collaborative and consultative skills and is viewed as a strategic business partner among internal and external stakeholders.

Diversity & Inclusion Getting it right

Copyright © 2021 by Jay Tarimala All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be reproduced or shared or modified or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the author except in the cases of brief quotations referenced in critical articles and reviews. Author can be contacted thru email at [email protected]

DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE The buyer is granted a single, non-transferable license for his or her personal use of the book. The contents of the book shall not be altered or copied by the buyer in any way. The buyer is not authorized to create derivative works based on the contents of the book, nor use these contents in any way that would infringe the copyrights in this material. The author or publisher is not providing legal or professional advice but, instead, is sharing ideas about diversity and inclusion that the reader may choose to consider. The Publication of this book does not create a consultant-client relationship. This body of work contains links to third party websites and links that are not owned or controlled by the Author and the Author assumes no responsibility for the content, usage, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. The buyer further acknowledges and agrees that the Author shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, incidental or consequential for any damage or loss or injury or claim, caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content referred to in the book or any such web sites or services. This book is published for strictly educational purposes only. Hence, if you wish to apply the ideas or strategies referred to in this book or eBook, you are taking complete responsibility for your actions and the author and or publisher are not liable or responsible for any resulting damage or expense. The author and or the publisher make no representations or warranties, express or implied, in fact or in law, with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this book and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. Every attempt has been made by the author to provide acknowledgment of the sources used for the material in this book. The author has put every effort to provide accurate information about Diversity and Inclusion strategies and methods at the time of publication. Neither the author nor publisher assumes any responsibility for errors and omissions, or for changes that occur after publication.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 DIVERSITY & INCLUSION.................................................................................................. 6 1.1 DIVERSITY LAW......................................................................................................................................6 1.2 DIVERSITY ON CORPORATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS...................................................................................7 1.3 WHERE TO START D&I ........................................................................................................................11 1.4 WHY, THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT DOING IT AND THE LEADERSHIP ROLE ................................................12 1.5 D&I REPORTING RELATIONSHIP ............................................................................................................14 1.6 TALENT LIFECYCLE JOURNEY IMPACTING D&I EFFORTS ...........................................................................15 1.7 TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS TO PLUG LEAKAGES IN TA LIFECYCLE .................................................................17 1.8 HOW TO GO ABOUT SETTING D&I GOALS? ...........................................................................................18 1.9 TANGIBLE METRICS TO MEASURE PROGRESS ..........................................................................................20 1.10 WHO WILL STAFF THE D&I FUNCTION .................................................................................................23 1.11 D&I BUDGET......................................................................................................................................23 CHAPTER 2 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION QUICK WINS .................................................................... 24 2.1 ESTABLISH A BASELINE FOR FLEXIBILITY FOR EVERY JOB ............................................................................24 2.2 INTERVIEW PANEL COMPOSITION ........................................................................................................25 2.3 REMOVING PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN THE RESUMES .......................................................26 2.4 SENSITIZATION AND UNCONSCIOUS BIAS TRAINING WORKSHOPS ............................................................27 2.5 INTERVIEW TRAINING ..........................................................................................................................28 2.6 OFFER LETTER MANAGEMENT...............................................................................................................29 2.7 PAST SALARY HISTORY.........................................................................................................................29 2.8 CAREER SECTION STATISTICS ...............................................................................................................30 2.9 CHATBOTS AND RPA BOTS .................................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 3 JOB DESCRIPTIONS........................................................................................................ 31 3.1 WRITING EFFECTIVE JOB DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................................................34 CHAPTER 4 TIPS TO DESIGN CORPORATE CAREER WEBSITE .......................................................... 40 CHAPTER 5 RECRUITER APPROACHES ............................................................................................. 49 5.1 INTERVIEW AND PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK NOTES ..................................................................................50

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CHAPTER 6 INCREASING TALENT PIPELINE AND ENGAGEMENT.................................................... 51 6.1 INCENTIVES ........................................................................................................................................51 6.2 PRODUCTIVITY ARRANGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................51 6.3 MATERNITY BUDDIES ..........................................................................................................................51 6.4 HIRING FELONS ..................................................................................................................................52 6.5 PROGRAMS ACCOMMODATING PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL CONDITIONS........................................................52 6.6 GAMING BASED ASSESSMENTS .............................................................................................................54 6.7 WEBSITE, MOBILE AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ACCESSIBILITY ..................................................55 6.8 HIRING VETERANS ..............................................................................................................................57 CHAPTER 7 LONGER-TERM D&I PLANS ........................................................................................... 59 7.1 BUSINESS IMPACT NETWORKS / FOCUS GROUPS ...................................................................................59 7.2 RETURNSHIP PROGRAMS .....................................................................................................................60 7.3 CONTRACT TO HIRE MODEL ................................................................................................................61 7.4 REACHABILITY AND BRANDING .............................................................................................................61 7.5 ALUMNI CONNECT ..............................................................................................................................62 7.6 CAREER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAMS ....................................................................................................62 7.7 PAY EQUALITY MEASURES ....................................................................................................................62 7.8 INTERGENERATIONAL COLLABORATION PROGRAMS................................................................................63 7.9 MENTORING PROGRAMS.....................................................................................................................63 CHAPTER 8 LIST OF DIVERSITY ASSOCIATIONS ............................................................................... 64 8.1 INTERNATIONAL ..................................................................................................................................64 8.2 NORTH AMERICA SPECIFIC ..................................................................................................................68 8.3 DIFFERENTLY ABLED............................................................................................................................69 8.4 MILITARY VETERANS ...........................................................................................................................70 8.5 BLACK ...............................................................................................................................................72 8.6 VISIBLE MINORITIES ............................................................................................................................74 8.7 LGBTQ .............................................................................................................................................76 8.8 WOMEN ............................................................................................................................................77 8.9 EUROPEAN FOCUS ..............................................................................................................................80 8.10 JOBS FOR FELONS .............................................................................................................................82 8.11 DIVERSITY PLATFORMS .......................................................................................................................82

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CHAPTER 9 DIVERSITY SOURCING ................................................................................................... 83 9.1 US/CANADA WOMEN ONLY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.....................................................................88 9.2 COMMONLY USED NAME SEARCH ........................................................................................................92 9.3 GENDER SPECIFIC STRING (INDIA) .........................................................................................................93 9.4 MEET UPS ..........................................................................................................................................96 9.5 CONFERENCE HASH TAGS ON LINKEDIN ................................................................................................98 9.6 NATURAL LANGUAGE SEARCH .............................................................................................................99 9.7 LANGUAGE SEARCH ..........................................................................................................................100 9.8 FACEBOOK GROUPS..........................................................................................................................101 9.9 TWITTER ..........................................................................................................................................103 9.10 INSTAGRAM ....................................................................................................................................105 9.11 BOOT CAMPS ..................................................................................................................................107 9.12 IMAGE SEARCH (USE THIS WITH DUE CARE) ........................................................................................109 9.13 LINKEDIN GROUPS ...........................................................................................................................110 9.14 DIVERSITY GROUPS WITHIN COMPANIES ............................................................................................111 9.15 OTHER OPTIONS .............................................................................................................................112 CHAPTER 10 REFERENCE LITERATURE ............................................................................................ 115

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Preface

Diversity and Inclusion programs and its associated policies do not have a defined end date. It is a continuous improvement process to be able to attract diverse talent, improve the existing employee‘s engagement with the company and also convey the brand value to an external audience. D&I is about encouraging diversity of thoughts, perspectives, opinions and experiences. Competency should be the foremost criteria for hiring however intentional bias should be weeded out and unconscious bias to be controlled to a large extent. Diversity is not about hiring people who look different, talk differently, and behave differently but about creating an inclusive environment where people exhibit their real persona, and not compromise on their individuality and have the courage to speak up and not feel threatened, and that they‘re not pigeon holed into a stereotype. Norway is the World's most inclusive country. Mandatory and extensive parental leaves for child birth, strong focus on education in the STEM fields, mandated 40% quota for women on the Boards of companies are some of the tools they have utilized to improve the standard of living of all their citizens. There is no one size fits all policy for D&I initiative implementation. Every organization's situation is unique, the qualitative current status data, honest discussions will reveal a path to progress, support from the top management and identifying barriers and creating sustained action plans to overcome them will navigate the company to an inclusive environment that drives innovation, competitive edge, and above all committed and happy employees. D&I efforts across many firms are mostly staffed by volunteers who have their own daily jobs to do which can affect the goals, visibility and accountability. A dedicated team of at least 3 people (for medium to large organizations) is the minimum required to handle this function and to drive awareness and adoption across the organization.

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For the D&I efforts to succeed, it needs to be integrated with talent management processes. The sourcing channels the recruitment team employs, the performance scorecard of the managers in having a D&I competency, incentives to change behaviour by linking some portion of variable compensation of the CXOs, managers for meeting D&I metrics, go a long way. D&I programs require a culture reset to obtain long-term benefits. HR/TA teams can implement specific measures with minimal changes in processes and infrastructure to derive quick wins, monitor and derive encouragement/courage to tackle the complex challenges ahead. This book is an attempt to provide some insight into how some companies are utilizing D&I Program implementation to increase their mindshare with the desired talent pool as well as some strategies to adopt to roll out a new or expand the existing D&I Program. It is by no means an exhaustive list but a start nonetheless.

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Chapter 1 Diversity & Inclusion 1.1 Diversity Law In South Africa, diversity is codified in Law, under a 2003 Act (BBEE levels where 1 is best and 8 is worst) where companies with an annual revenue above 35M Rand, had set targets for black ownership as well as the promotion and training of previously disadvantaged individuals (i.e. black workers). Private firms can improve their empowerment rankings by buying from black-owned suppliers or by helping to set them up. Since 2013, Norway has provided for 49 weeks of parental leave at full pay (or 59 weeks at 80% of earnings). Additionally, mothers and fathers must take at least 14 weeks off each after the birth of a child. It is ranked as the World's best inclusive economy according to World Economic Forum's Inclusive Development Index. From 2003, they imposed a gender quota to ensure at least 40% of board members of the companies were women. Canada mandates that all public listed companies report their D&I practices and policies. In United Kingdom, employers are required to implement ‗affirmative action‘ in their recruitment processes under the Equality Act of 2010. Finland and Sweden have reached the 40% minimum target for women‘s participation in parliament. Employers in the US finance sector are monitored by a Federal agency to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women for every company and vendor governed by Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Companies Act of 2013 in India made it mandatory for all listed companies and other large Public limited companies to appoint at least one woman director to their boards. In France, companies have to file reports about gender equality but no information is required to be reported about race, disability.

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1.2 Diversity on Corporate Board of Directors

According to report by SSE – Gender Equality on Corporate Boards in G20 Countries, Paris Stock Exchange listed firms had a 44.3% women in the Board of Directors, the highest in the G20, India had only 17% of the exchange listed firms with a Woman on the Board. According to MSCI Women on Boards Progress Report - Dec 2019 update (2765 companies worldwide), women only held 20% of MSCI ACWI Index directorships in 2019, up from 17.9% in 2018 Italy (95%) and France (80%) had the highest percentage of companies with more females than the mandatory gender quotas. The number of companies (22) with majority female boards doubled in 2019 compared with 2018. UK had the highest number of companies (83) with 3+ Women directors on Board. Information Technology steepest increase in both the average percentage of women on boards (17.9% in 2019 versus 14.8% in 2018) as well as in the portion of companies with three or more female directors (28.3% in 2019 versus 15.5% in 2018). From an Indian context, total director seats held by women increased from 14% to 15.9% but had no women as a CFO. The State of European Tech Report - 2019 brought out the following interesting data points. Women actually account for more than half of the population of scientists and engineers in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Denmark.

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For every woman executive, there are 12 men executives. Executive roles in Finance, Marketing and Operations are most likely to be filled by women. Figure: Gender composition by C-level title

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Though there is a near absence of women in technical leadership positions within European venture-backed tech companies, there is not an absence of developer talent with significant experience in either gender.

Figure: Experience and gender breakdown

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Figure: Top 5 countries for women with over 15 years of Experience

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