For the past year, I worked at a company that grew from a small startup to a respectable mid-sized (100+) organization. The company had a positive culture at the beginning, which created a solid foundation for us. As we grew, however, we also had to put a lot of thought into growing and expanding that culture, and adding more inclusive elements. Here are a couple of the challenges we faced, and some of my thoughts as we went through them.
♀️ Women in Tech ♀️
Our company was very diverse overall, but still only had ~5 female developers when I left. I was asked several times by our recruiters for tips on how they could attract more female developers. I don't have a lot of advice here! I'm just a normal person. Things that are important to me in a company are things that I want to believe everyone wants: plenty of paid sick days and vacation, good medical benefits, an inclusive company culture, great people to work with.
That being said, I loved working with other women in tech. We had a women in developer monthly lunch club, and a slack channel where we could support each other. We also had a company-wide women's channel and another monthly meet-up for that group. Those events were sometimes the highlight of my month, and made me feel much closer and connected to my colleagues, especially in a remote workplace.
🏳️🌈 Pride & Diversity 🏳️🌈
Many of your colleagues may identify with a minority community, but they are not responsible for educating you or the rest of the company about it. Asking people to tell their story publicly is an extraordinarily personal, and in some case invasive, request.
If you would like someone to talk to your company about inclusivity, consider options such as specifically reaching out to colleagues who regularly talk openly about the topic; paying a speaker; or even asking all employees to share related experiences and resources (YMMV).
Lastly, remember that not everyone wants to talk about their gender, sexuality or culture at work. Make assumptions as little as possible. You don't need to express an opinion on everything. And listen to your colleagues if they are telling you that the way you're trying to help is actually harming.
I wrote this post to contribute to dev.to's Nevertheless, She Coded initiative for 2022. My opinions are my own.
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