[Tech Tuesday] Facebook's Excuse for Its Lack of Workplace Diversity

Facebook is among many multi-million corporations that struggles with diversifying its workforce.

Last week, the corporation's head of diversity blamed what those inside tech refer to as "the pipeline" for the company's unimpressive percentage of Black and Hispanic employees. The numbers? Two percent and four percent respectively.

Forbes reports that Williams told the Wall Street Journal that "it has become clear that at the most fundamental level, appropriate representation in technology or any other industry will depend upon more people having the opportunity to gain necessary skills through the public education system."

Read the full story by Ebony here.

Why Diversity Programs Fail

It shouldn’t be surprising that most diversity programs aren’t increasing diversity. Despite a few new bells and whistles, courtesy of big data, companies are basically doubling down on the same approaches they’ve used since the 1960s—which often make things worse, not better. Firms have long relied on diversity training to reduce bias on the job, hiring tests and performance ratings to limit it in recruitment and promotions, and grievance systems to give employees a way to challenge managers. Those tools are designed to preempt lawsuits by policing managers’ thoughts and actions. Yet laboratory studies show that this kind of force-feeding can activate bias rather than stamp it out. As social scientists have found, people often rebel against rules to assert their autonomy. Try to coerce me to do X, Y, or Z, and I’ll do the opposite just to prove that I’m my own person.

In analyzing three decades’ worth of data from more than 800 U.S. firms and interviewing hundreds of line managers and executives at length, we’ve seen that companies get better results when they ease up on the control tactics. It’s more effective to engage managers in solving the problem, increase their on-the-job contact with female and minority workers, and promote social accountability—the desire to look fair-minded. That’s why interventions such as targeted college recruitment, mentoring programs, self-managed teams, and task forces have boosted diversity in businesses. Some of the most effective solutions aren’t even designed with diversity in mind.

Read the complete Harvard Business Review article here.

Underrepresented Minorities on the Faculty

By Audrey Williams June, The Chronicle of Higher Education

With the national spotlight focused on diversity in higher education, many institutions are still figuring out how to respond to calls to hire more underrepresented minority professors. Bernard J. Milano, president of the Ph.D. Project — a nonprofit organization committed to diversifying the faculty ranks at the nation’s business schools — talks about how the Ph.D. Project works, its track record, and why faculty diversity matters.

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Mentoring Underrepresented Senior Faculty (Inside Higher Ed)
• Where Are the Minority Faculty? (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Can I Mentor African-American Faculty? (Inside Higher Ed)
• To Be a Black Professor at Yale (The Chronicle of Higher Education - requires paid subscription)
• Experts Cite ‘Representative’ Role as Barrier to Diverse Faculty (Diverse Issues in Higher Education)
• Kerry Ann Rocquemore: Why Do Underrepresented Faculty Leave? (Inside Higher Ed)
• Kerry Ann Rocquemore: For a Diverse Faculty, Start With Retention (Inside Higher Ed)

Confederate Flags in the Workplace: How Should an Employer Respond?

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, Lexology

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken the position that Confederate flag displays in the workplace constitute evidence of a racially hostile work environment; some courts (but not all) have agreed. In light of these developments and the public debates regarding the Confederate flag and other (potentially) offensive symbols, how should an employer respond?

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Historians debate the value and place for Confederate monuments and other symbols (Inside Higher Ed)
• Removing Racist Symbols Isn’t a Denial of History (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Prospero Ano y Felicidad: Feliz Navidad and an "English Only" Policy in the Workplace

Verrill Dana LLP, Lexology

As Jose Feliciano wishes us a Merry Christmas from the bottom of his heart, it is important that we as employers recognize that in order to maintain a diverse workforce we are going to be faced with some difficult questions—including whether an “English Only” policy is necessary or appropriate to accomplish our business goals. While Title VII does not specifically protect an employee’s right to speak a language other than English in the workplace, employers must recognize that both the EEOC and the NLRB take the position that these type of “English Only” policies may be both discriminatory and may also violate the NLRA by inhibiting employees’ abilities to discuss the terms and conditions of employment.

Read the story here.

Study: Workplace Diversity Must Include Buy-In From Whites

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Associated Press , January 18, 2011

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Organizational efforts to create and maintain an inclusive multicultural environment often face resistance by Whites, says a University of Michigan researcher.
“Without the support of Whites, organizations and educational settings will fail in their attempts to navigate and manage the complexities of diverse work forces and constituencies,” says Dr. Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, an associate professor of management and organizations at Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “In the face of the dramatic projected growth in demographic diversity, such failure could have severe economic, social and political consequences.

Full Story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14628/