How can I tell if a company “cares” about DEI?
The fact is, there are very few new questions under the sun, and this one gets asked a lot. We’ve heard more than we need to about the Great Resignation (which is mostly just the Great Getting A New Job Because My Current Workplace is Abusive AF), and more employees than ever are demanding that they be treated with equity and respect. Candidates—especially those from Gen Z that are making up a greater and greater share of the workforce—are getting more critical about a company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and they’re asking questions of their hiring teams accordingly.
But in my experience, there are a lot of folks who want answers, but aren’t necessarily asking the right questions to learn what they need to about the environment they may be about to enter. I can’t tell you how many candidates I’ve had ask me “Does your company care about DEI?” . So let’s talk about how you tell whether a company “cares” about DEI, because the absolute worst possible way to find out if they do is by asking whether they “care”.
Let’s just be honest. Everyone knows the “right” answer to that question and people lie. In the best of circumstances, most people—especially White people—will think their companies are doing fine because there is a stated commitment, they’ve brought in a few speakers, and they have a couple of employee resource groups (ERGs). While those things can be a part of an overall strategy to create an equitable workplace, if those initiatives are the beginning and end of efforts, that workplace does not truly care enough to build a structurally equitable workplace. Full stop.
Here’s what to ask to really get at whether the company is not only actually committed to building an equitable workplace, but likely actually making progress on it.
Start with representation, but go further
One of the most common questions I see is asking about representation in senior leadership (of any underrepresented demographic), and it makes sense. On a basic level, folks want to see themselves represented not just at the organization, but also in the rooms where things happen. But just asking this question can give you an incomplete picture as to both the type of investment a company is making, and what it might mean for you. The fact is, while the “pipeline problem” is often used by companies to shirk their responsibility for equitable hiring and reinforces mostly bullshit “qualification” bars, there is a scarcity of marginalized people qualified for some (and I emphasize some) roles because of historical gatekeeping and discrimination. Now, is the scarcity as bad as many companies make it out to be? Absolutely, vehemently not.
This is not meant to discourage you from asking about representation. Definitely do that. But if you’re ready to just go beyond representation, here’s what you can ask:
What programs or approaches is the team taking to rectify existing representation gaps from a recruiting perspective? Here, I’d look to see that they’re not just sending cold emails on LinkedIn, but working to ensure that each open leadership role includes a candidate slate with more than one (there’s science for this) underrepresented person. Bonus points if they work with executive search firms (or have an in house team) that specifically focuses on placing people from marginalized backgrounds.
What investments is the company making to accelerate the leadership trajectory of existing underrepresented employees? This may look like providing additional programs to underrepresented people, or ensuring their equitable representation in existing leadership programs. Ideally, there is a sponsorship component to efforts, or plans to build one. Even better if they can speak to how they’re training employees from majority groups to be inclusive and take up space so the climb isn’t as steep and hostile for underrepresented people.
What support might be in place so that I might be one of the leaders of tomorrow? A good answer here will depend on what you personally need in order to thrive. Is it mentorship? A learning and development budget? Know what you want to receive, and if it it’s a standard offer, consider adding this to the pile of things you negotiate upon entry (benefits are often much easier to grant than salary or equity increases).
Focus on individual action
If you’re a candidate in the market, you have a unique chance to uncover how well DEI efforts at the company have succeeded. But be careful about asking about individual programs, or the overall strategy from your interviewers and/or hiring manager. The average employee or manager likely can’t rattle off the details of the DEI strategy (that’s not, well, their job), but they should be able to tell you what they personally have done on their journey of inclusion, or how they’ve contributed to the overall effort. Think about asking questions that allow them to show how they’ve grown, and how the company has helped them do that. Try:
What does your personal journey of inclusion look like? Everyone is on their own journey, so the point here is to be able to point to progress, or something that they now know that they didn’t before. If there isn’t an answer, or one that directs you to corporate programs without being able to speak to their personal, concrete actions, that tells you everything you need to know.
What education have you done to learn and grow your capacity? Normally, this won’t include formal education. I generally look for someone to have read or watched materials, or to have taken an active part in what’s been offered to them. A lot of folks will say “Unconscious Bias Training” here, which can be a reasonable start to awakening, but should always be followed with “And what practices have you implemented on a regular basis that you learned from that training?”
How has your company helped you on this journey? Here I would be looking for initiative to have taken part in what’s been offered. This can include ally sessions from ERGs as well as formal learning initiatives. The point is that people have taken the opportunity when it’s been presented to them.
What are the biggest equity & inclusion gaps you see on your team, and how are you working on addressing them? Most leaders hate talking about what doesn’t work, but critical analysis and gap identification are required skills to keep growing in inclusion (and there is always growing to do). The strongest answers include indications that the manager is thoughtful and curious, and that they are willing to experiment to see what works for their team.
These questions, focused on someone’s progress and their capacity to grow, not only tell you where a manager is, but how likely they are to be able to rectify situations when things get out of whack. Absolutely anyone at a company that says they prioritize DEI should be able to answer these questions.
Ask about institutional investment
But the last set of questions is the best way to get an idea of whether a company truly “cares”, and tells you exactly how much a company is invested in cultural change. This speaks to much more than just a bit of performative DEI (you know, where they add more Black people to the Careers site but don’t make sure they’re paid and advanced equitably?). There are a couple of metrics that speak to whether a company is serious about investing in building and evolving to be more equitable:
What is the non-recruiting, non-marketing, per-headcount DEI budget? To fundamentally shift a company to be more equitable, it’s imperative that resources are dedicated to re-designing and auditing processes (this is mostly a time investment!) and educating people so that they reinforce, rather than fight against, the change the company is seeking. Most companies focus nearly exclusively on recruiting, which means that they’re likely throwing marginalized people into hostile or toxic work environments (not a good strategy or an ethical thing to do). Asking for this info on a per-headcount basis normalizes for company size. Not sure what’s a good amount? If the answer is $12 (and I’ve seen companies with $1 billion in revenue invest this much) it’s likely not doing much. Ideally that number is at least $250-$500.
What percentage of the overall DEI budget is spent on events and marketing? Most companies spend a huge amount of money on events (mostly tied to getting the attendee list emails) and branding themselves as “committed to equality”. Let’s just be honest: those things are fun and can build some community. But they will not and cannot structurally realign a company to produce equitable outcomes. And in most cases, they’re initiatives that executive put in place to make themselves feel like they “care” without actually requiring they make change.
At what cadence do you audit your performance, promotion, and pay processes for equity? What groups do you consider in these audits? Auditing core processes is absolutely, hands down, the most important thing that any company can do for a DEI program. It’s more important than education, ERGs, or building fair recruiting processes. Because without audits, you cannot ensure that people are treated fairly when they are employed, and you cannot guarantee that your company isn’t discriminating. Full stop. Ideally, these audits happen in every cycle, but once a year is a good sign. It’s also good to ask whether they’re done proactively (during a cycle) or retroactively (once the cycle is closed and outcomes have already been determined), and whether those audits have ever resulted in changes or corrections.
Let’s be clear: there’s very few people (even recruiters) who will be prepared to answer these on the spot. But it’s data that can be calculated, and they tell you whether the company thinks that their challenges are a recruiting problem (they probably aren’t) or a cultural one (this is almost always the root of the problem). It’s absolutely OK if the person who you ask these questions needs to get back to you, but they absolutely should be able to speak to these issues.
You’re entitled to interview the companies interviewing you
The fact is, most companies won’t come out shining if you ask these questions, but that’s kind of the point. If you truly care about working for a company that’s invested in doing better (because let’s be real, nobody thinks that any company is even in the solar system of perfect on this), you need to get more specific, and ask questions about the credible signs and signals that their “care” is turned into concrete action.
