By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

Companies today are focusing more heavily on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives for a variety of reasons, some perhaps more virtuous than others.  Motivators can include repercussions of not being seen as a diverse employer, a tactic to try and combat the labor shortages, but the best motivator is the understanding that DEI truly matters. These companies embrace DEI not because they feel they “have to,” but because they recognize that a more diverse and inclusive organization leads to more creativity, innovation, and better results. 

While DEI is often mentioned as an acronym, the three components require quite distinct focus and effort to achieve. Perhaps the hardest of the three is inclusion, because it is in many ways more ambiguous than diversity (which you can set targets for) or equity (which can be assessed). Inclusion is very tied to company culture and leadership, leaving plenty of room for bias and even toxicity to creep in and exist in a manner than can be very challenging to pinpoint, address, and rectify. 

This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that many leaders and organizations would prefer not to dive into some of the realities that can cause a hard look in the mirror. So, I was excited to hear of the book Mita Mallick is writing, Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace. Mita was first a guest on the Future of Field Service podcast in episode 68 and I’ve been a fan of her work ever since. 

Mita is the Chief Diversity Officer at Carta, co-host of the podcast Brown Table Talk, and a top LinkedIn Voice. She is passionate about DEI work and related topics and outspoken on social media about things many remain quiet on. In fact, her mission in writing this book is to “say all the quiet parts out loud of what holds us back from making meaningful progress in inclusivity work."

On last week’s podcast, Mita came to give a sneak peek into some of the myths covered in her upcoming book – a conversation I believe is important for everyone to listen to and reflect on. No matter what industry your company is in, what role you have in the organization, or where you are today with your efforts around inclusion, doing better is going to be imperative when it comes to not only attracting and retaining top talent but also for achieving the diversity of thought that is essential for innovation. 

Here's a partial synopsis of the myths Mita and I discussed on last week’s episode:

• I'm all for diverse talent as long as they're good. “That myth really goes to how we have different standards for different people. A lot of companies have systems and processes in place to help with creating inclusive and equitable cultures. And yet, at the end of the day, it's all about the leader. It's all about Mita and how she shows up to work. And if I can't interrupt my bias, it's going to be a different result that actually might go against the system or the process,” she explains. “And so, when we say things like, ‘I'm all for diverse talent, as long as they're good,’ would we ever say, ‘I'm all for non-diverse talent as long as they're good? These are the things we have to ask ourselves. And then, as a result of questioning it, what I say next and what I do next will be different because I interrogated it.”
• We protect the A-holes because our businesses wouldn't run without them. “A lot of companies, especially big public companies, private companies, have systems and processes in place. But we make exceptions,” Mita says. “You have a toxic leader on your team. How many people need to leave? How much hurt or harm does this person have to cause for you to say, ‘I'm walking away.’ How much is your personal relationship more important to you than the impact on the company? Are you really listening to all the feedback? Are you going to protect this one person versus protecting the company? Because here's the thing: We always set up in our mind, it's the employee versus the company. Employees are the company. They're one and the same. The company doesn't exist with those employees.”
• We need more people of color in leadership. Let's launch a mentorship program. “I have been over-mentored and under-sponsored in my career. I have had so many amazing mentors. But here's the thing: Mentors are not the same as sponsors,” cautions Mita. “When you think about a mentor, they could give me career advice. Sponsors are typically going to be someone who's two levels above you in an organization. They have access to big budget, P&L, they're in the room when the doors are closed and people are talking about your career. They have access to the C-suite. They might be in the C-suite. They know about roles that are coming up that haven't been listed, special projects, assignments. Sponsorship is people with power and privilege in the organization taking an interest in other individuals and actively saying they're going to help them advance their career.”
• Of course, we support women. We just extended maternity leave. “This is the notion that all women want to become mothers, and it actually ties back to a lot of the cultural stereotypes, the gender norms we grew up with in our homes. This idea that we extended maternity leave is enough for mothers that we check the box,” says Mita. “Also, in this myth, I talk about gendered ageism. Women are never the right age. We're too young or we're too old. It's like that one year where we had the perfect moment, right? But gendered ageism shows up at the workplace a lot.”
• These DEI efforts don't benefit me. My voice as a white man doesn't count anymore. “The white men that I've worked with in my life, many of them do express that they have at some point feel shamed, named, blamed, demonized,” explains Mita. “So, in my role as the Chief Diversity Officer, if white men come to me asking questions, I have the space to answer those questions with grace and kindness, and to help educate and teach. And at the same time, white men listening need to understand that they do have a place in this work, because the world of work for everyone can't change without them. There’s a very, very long action list of things that men can be doing to show up. Interrupting bias in the moment, taking parental leave, if you're on a panel and it's all white men, give up your spot, make recommendations. Are you paying your teams fairly and equitably? There are so many ways.”

The full conversation is well worth a listen, and you can pre-order Mita’s book now on Amazon.