As first-generation Black tech workers, we have excelled in positions in a field once obscured for many who look like us. However, recent events have reminded us that no matter the success we obtain personally, we still exist in a culture where our bodies threaten and make others feel uncomfortable. We refuse to let this go by unaddressed in the tech community. We do not proclaim to have all the answers. Frankly, it was exhausting for us to sit down under the weight of oppression and still muster the energy to research and write to educate others. However, when we think about why we created Black Code Collective we remember that this community has recognized and empowered our Black voices and we want to contribute to building a world where the next generation of Black and Brown tech workers have respect our ancestors deeply desired. We don't write these words to educate every white person in tech, but as a reminder to our community on what we deserve.
-Black Code Collective Founders
To hire a diverse workforce requires a lot more effort than what has currently been done in most tech companies. Recruiting diverse candidates will require a holistic and serious reform in hiring practices. Below are some of the ways we can challenge assertions that companies have made.
Recruiting from colleges and universities is a common practice amongst most major tech companies. One of the things we have noticed is the large difference in recruitment from “elite” universities where - because of economic and institutional racism - it is harder for Black students to attend and graduate from. One way to expand the pipeline is by recruiting and investing in hiring from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Another way to expand the pipeline is to recruit through conferences and groups focused on uplifting diverse candidates like the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
The first thing a lot of candidates will be judging a company on is their job posting. Through the language provided in the job descriptions, it could cause a lot of candidates who are qualified to not even bother applying. Make sure that the job descriptions are gender-neutral and qualifications that reflect what the actual job will need to be done. Including in job descriptions that candidates are not expected to know 100% of the things listed. It should state that the organization values growth and the ability to learn. These changes will increase the likelihood of diverse candidates applying.
Studies have also found that Grade Point Averages (GPAs) are ineffective in predicting an applicant's performance on the job. GPAs create barriers for people who may not have had the economic wealth/support to maintain or even earn "good grades". As universities and schools become more expensive a lot of Black and Brown students have had to work more jobs outside of school to pay for their education. As they try to balance work/school GPAs tend to decrease. We challenge companies to look beyond GPAs and test these students through their skills rather than completely discarding them based on GPA.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2018/12/18/5-reasons-why-the-pipeline-problem-is-just-a-myth/#5e58ed18227a
- https://www.fastcompany.com/90225190/4-diversity-recruiting-challenges-for-tech
- https://hr.fas.harvard.edu/files/fas-hr/files/recruiting_for_diversity_9.17.13_0.pdf
- https://www.hrdive.com/news/should-employers-care-about-gpa-anymore/528430/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285040780_College_Grade_Point_Average_as_a_Predictor_of_Adult_Success_A_Meta-Analytic_Review_and_Some_Additional_Evidence
Acquiring a diverse workforce is only step one of the processes. Once you have hired the candidates, you should work to make sure these candidates feel included within your workplace. Every company will have slightly different needs, but below are some helpful ways you can make sure your Black employees feel welcome.
Leadership should lead the charge in signaling how valued diverse voices are. This can be verbally stated, but the action is the most important part here. For example, if leadership notices minority employees are being ignored in meetings or their ideas are quickly dismissed, they should swiftly speak up and clear the floor for the employee to speak again. This can be as simple as “I’m sorry Taylor, what was that you were saying?”. This signals to everyone in the room that this behavior will not be tolerated, and will hopefully lead to everyone’s voices being equally valued.
We want to live in a world that recognizes and celebrates the rich cultures that are around us. Organizations should strive to see the differences in their employees and celebrate them. Celebrating these differences can include recognizing various holidays such as Black History Month, Pride Month, and having spaces like meditation or prayer rooms. Acknowledging when certain work tragedies are affecting a particular subset of our population such as police brutality as well as protests are important to support the personal aspect of employees. Refusing to stay silent in these moments can help send a strong message to your Black and Brown employees that they are seen and their lives are relevant.
It’s no secret that Black employees struggle to rise through the ranks of companies. Part of this is because systemic racism has made it more difficult for Black employees to have connections in senior roles to help them learn and network. That’s why it’s highly effective to partner new Black employees with experienced hires. The experienced hire should not only help the new employee settle into the job but serve as an advocate for the employee. Harvard Business Review has found “that women of color who say they have sponsors are 81% more likely to be satisfied with their career progression than those without sponsors”.
We all have unconscious biases. Minorities - especially Black tech workers (since we are often the smallest demographic in organizations) feel these are weaponized against us. Black employees may feel nervous or out of place joining predominantly white organizations. Some may read their nervous or shy behavior as not being “a team player” or being “so independent “. It’s important to remember and respect the differences in various relationships at work. Furthermore, if an employee receives feedback from one co-worker, this increases the chances of unconscious bias taking place. Alternatively, organizations should make it easy for anyone to provide praise to fellow employees. Thus, elevating everyday work that employees do and removing the chance for one point of failure.
Having all-Black security, and Latino janitorial staff does not constitute a diverse workforce. A truly diverse organization has space at every level of the organization for those of different race-ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, and other human traits that have been used to categorize people. We believe it's vitally important that organizations begin to reflect on how they make space for diverse talent to exceed within their organization and overcome routine and oppressive biases.
From being singled out and forced by non-security staff to show your badge to prove you work at a company, to focusing on negative comments, Black workers face a bombardment of unfair practices that discourage them from feeling like their workplace is supportive. Tech organizations need to recognize and validate that workplace racism is real and it appears in various forms, covertly and overtly. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are fundamental to the success of organizations.
For many Black tech workers, we did not grow up having people in our community who worked in tech or even corporate America. Skills like advocating for one's career (that may seem second nature to many white colleagues) can be foreign notions to people of color. Many Black tech workers suffer from Imposter Syndrome which often inhibits them from advocating for themselves because they do not feel like they are smart or worthy enough to be in certain positions. We often do not know how to ask for positions, salaries, and the responsibilities we deserve. And when we try, we could be made to feel as if it is inappropriate to ask. Coincidentally, the company’s leadership may not have awareness of individual contributors' struggles. This gap often leads to Black workers feeling unsupported by their organization. Combating these feelings can be done by providing coaching on how to communicate contributions, as well as training for management on how to evaluate talent equitably.
There is an important and complex relationship between race and career advancement that is predicated on social capital [1]. One study showed that “blacks suffer a social capital deficit relative to whites and that men and whites’ career advantages accumulate over time, whereas blacks’ disadvantages accumulate, as well” [2]. Study after study shows that "being white" is perceived to be an attribute of someone characterized as a leader. To open avenues for Black tech workers to advance, more diverse voices need to be a part of the conversation of a candidate’s promotion. And those voices need to be treated with weight and respect. A variety of perspectives help to paint a more vivid picture of an individual contributors' impact on the organization. Leaders must also recognize and hold with the respect that seeing Black leaders in higher positions within an organization communicates to Black workers in lower ranks the possibility of advancement within the organization. It’s empowering and important for minorities to have minority leaders to look up to.
Stepping into many tech organizations can feel like a wild jungle. With so much going on (especially for startups) tech workers can often be focused on putting out fires. And without a clear path that connects the work a person does to their status within the organization, advancement can seem out of reach. The notion that if “you work hard, you’ll be rewarded” is often not true for Black tech workers. These ambiguous guidelines for career advancement, lead to resentment and frustration as Black employees feel unsure of how their impact will be measured at their workplaces. For this reason, it is important to have a clear objective path to promotion. Black tech employees deserve to know how and what it takes to succeed within an organization.
- Race-Related Differences in Promotions and Support: Underlying Effects of Human and Social Capital
- The Effects of Social Group Membership and Social Capital Resources on Careers
- The role of social capital in the relationship between human capital and career mobility: Moderator or mediator?
- Linking Mentoring and Social Capital: Implications for Career and Organization Development
- The Effect of Group Mentoring on Career Outcomes
Doing the work to recruit and hire Black employees is futile if those employees will ultimately be paid inequitably. One of the biggest reasons underrepresented minorities leave the tech industry (not just their current organizations or professions) is feeling undervalued. There are many ways to value an employee, however, fair compensation is the most impactful means. And while many companies have strategies for increasing the likelihood that their employees are paid fairly, salary transparency is one of the best ways to ensure equitable pay.
Pay Transparency is a term that encompasses a wide array of practices. It can be applied to organizations with a documented and research-based salary system that makes it easy to gauge the salary band of a given position within an organization and in comparison to the job market at large, even if they don’t share individual salaries. More commonly it’s applied to the practice of making individual employee salary data accessible either publicly or internally. No matter where an organization falls on the pay transparency scale, what is required is there is a data-driven salary structure that is competitive with the market and commensurate with experience, skill sets, organization contributions, or any other defined metrics.
Implicit biases, which we all have, can adversely impact how a prospective or current employee is perceived and evaluated. In an organization with pay transparency, the adverse impact these biases have can be reduced or even eliminated. An employee’s salary is based on how they measure against a predefined set of objectives dictated by their position, not unrelated factors like shared experiences or background with leadership, negotiating skills, or worse race. Additionally, all employees know what is required to increase their pay and elevate within the organization.
While the idea of openly sharing salary data may seem awkward or even radical, the truth is salary sharing is already happening. Many underrepresented minorities in tech are sharing salary and compensation data widely within their networks, and in some cases publicly (via Glassdoor or even Twitter), as a means to prevent pay disparities and avoid companies with existing pay equity issues. Besides, many younger workers simply don’t believe open salary conversations are taboo. Salary data will be shared regardless of whether organizations implement salary transparency measures.
- What is Pay Transparency & Why Does It Matter?
- Does Pay Transparency Close the Gender Wage Gap
- Negotiating Alone Won’t Fix the Wage Gap
- Like It or Not, Pay Transparency Is Coming (So Better Get Ready)
Too often organizations like to boast about their diversity initiatives as a solution to racial bias when those solutions can be used to cover up systemic issues. The context and presumptions about race are within everyone. This is why it is important to have conversations and training about discrimination and bias in the workplace. These dialogues help illuminate the small microaggressions minorities feel constantly. Instances like asking to touch a person of color's hair, telling a person of color that they look off because they decide to change hairstyles and wear their hair naturally, or even the use of informal slang (e.g., "What’s up dog?") by a white person specifically towards a person of color, all demonstrate unconscious bias and treatment we are constantly subjected to. Diversity training has been shown to help encourage more pro-diversity behavior among employees, especially when tailored to an organization. If organizations want to help their employees acknowledge their own racial biases, provide informal mentorship to racial minorities, and recognize the excellent work of their peers who were racial minorities, it’s important they first see these issues in a safe space like in a diversity training. Let us be clear, this is not a one-off exercise just to check a training box. This should be a constant dialogue that is coached and facilitated so that employees may become more aware of their unconscious bias. As this training becomes embedded within an organization, employees will feel empowered to personally speak up against the problems they witness.