Diversity isn't Diversity when it is. Diversity is Diversity when it isn't.

Okay, if your brain exploded when you read the title and decided to read on, or if you are giving this a read because you follow me, thank you. I'll try not to disappoint. This short piece is not about cybersecurity, technology, etc. It is an introspective piece about the topic of Diversity. I decided to write it after attending a great panel discussion about the topic at a National Technology Security Coalition event in Washington, DC.

The title of this piece reflects the core concept of my view on Diversity. So before I go further, I want to explain it. I stole and paraphrased the title from a quote by Werner Erhard: "A superstition isn't a superstition when it is. A superstition is a superstition when it isn't." The original quote might not make the title clearer, so let me explain. Erhard was pointing out that once you truly acknowledge a superstition as a superstition, it stops being a superstition for you. The Google English dictionary defines "superstition" as: "a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief." That is if you truly acknowledge that black cats are not a sign of evil (we have three black cats, and I can assure you they are not) or know that when you step on a crack, you're not breaking your momma's back - these are no longer superstitions you hold. At the same time, if you avoid walking under a ladder, that is a superstition for you. Connecting this back to the title of this piece and rephrasing it for clarity: "Diversity isn't an issue when your workforce is diverse, and you don't need to set diversity goals. Diversity is an issue when your workforce isn't, and you need to set diversity goals."

My views on Diversity can also be summed up through a passage from one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, "Going Postal" by Sir Terry Pratchett. In it, one of the characters playing the role of human resources person asks her manager: "Do we embrace divertingly?" The manager responds (after the appropriate pause) - "Ah, I suspect she means embrace diversity, ... But we don't do that here because we don't know what it means. We'll employ anyone who can read and write ... Anyone who can do the job." When I look at hiring a person, I don't care about anything other than a couple of key questions:

1. Does this person have the skill/potential to do this job, and will it be challenging enough for them?
2. Will this person's personality fit into the position I am looking to hire them for? Specifically, I am considering fit with the existing organization and the role's requirements.

About 20 years ago, I was hiring for a team of security engineers. I was presented with the resume of a person who was too junior for the role with no background in cybersecurity. When I told the recruiter I was passing on the applicant, he paused and said she would be a "great diversity hire." I was confused and had to have it explained to me. It was my first time hearing that expression in my ten-year professional career (the good old days). The candidate was a young female person of color (yet another expression I have a problem with. We all are people of color, but I get it). I explained to the recruiter that I understood and that it was not my deciding factor. The resume presented a person who was too junior for the role I wanted to fill.

Some may view this point of view as naive. After all, toddlers are the perfect example of this behavior. They have not yet developed the cultural constructs that can make them racist, sexist, ageist, and other-ists. I actually see it as the more evolved and mature point of view. I have my own unconscious biases, and like superstitions, I work on making them conscious biases and then actively discard them.

I am not naive and recognize that many organizations need more diversity. I'm afraid I have to disagree with how some organizations tackle this issue - Diversity hiring targets. Artificially forcing managers to hire for diversity has several negative side effects:

• Resentment by managers toward candidates who are 'forced' on them.
• People who get hired and may then discover they were a diversity hire may feel disempowered and that they were only hired to meet a quota.
• It may engender a feeling of resentment, conscious or otherwise, in the team toward someone they view as a diversity hire.
• The organization may pass over the perfect person for the role to artificially create diversity.

Over my years as a manager, I've seen all these materialize. I recall an incident when I was at Wells Fargo. Someone had commented to me on a new hire for a management role to the effect of, "Oh, great, they hired another [age] [race] [gender] person" I omitted the specifics as they're not relevant to the remark. You can let your own biases fill those in. The person making this comment was a senior director at Wells Fargo.

Multiple studies are looking to surface these biases. The most recent study I found, published by Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), provides some interesting insights. I recommend you take a look and read it. Examine your own biases and see if they impact you.

Some may draw comparisons to affirmative action. There is a challenge there. Yes, there is significant overlap; especially when you consider that affirmative action looks to compensate for years of systematic racism and disenfranchisement of the African-American community. I will not get too deep into this comparison as it goes deeper than I want in this piece.

What's my advice? Don't let Diversity be an artificial goal because then it becomes an issue. Recognize that great organizations celebrate the power of diversity of ideas, diversity of approaches, and diversity of skills. Work to eliminate all biases in hiring decisions and be cognizant that these biases do exist. Please do not ignore the struggle or challenges the candidates may have faced, and pay more attention to how they've dealt with and risen above these challenges. 

I also recommend you look at your personal life. Do you make value judgments about the people with whom you interact? A friend recently commented that they don't mind people with sleeve tattoos but will never want their doctor or surgeon to have a sleeve tattoo. My view is very different. A person with a sleeve tattoo demonstrates, at the very least, the ability to sit still and handle pain for hours. I have no problem with my surgeon having that ability.

To conclude, I will finish with this quote from a wonderful song by En Vogue - "Free your mind, and the rest will follow."