Innovating for Diversity Lessons from Top Companies Achieving Business Success through Inclusivity

Discover what business visionaries on the frontiers of diverse and equitable hiring are doing to drive change in their organizations

In Innovating for Diversity: Lessons from Top Companies That are Disrupting Old Practices to Achieve Inclusivity, Equity and Business Success, renowned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and tech specialists Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick reframe the DEI discussion and move it beyond a human resources issue. While it's well established that diverse teams help to advance innovation, the authors explain how principles of innovation can be applied to building highly effective and sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices embraced by executives across an organization.

You'll be inspired by leaders at top companies who identified root causes of limited DEI progress and created smart, bold solutions for increasing representation, developing future talent, and advancing the careers of people often overlooked.

In the book, you'll also find:

• Introductions to the people and companies who have innovated their approaches to diverse hiring, retention, and advancement, and enjoyed pronounced impact on their bottom lines
• Profiles of committed leaders driving the change towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce
• Strategies for breaking down the cultural and organizational barriers in companies that remain in place and prevent transformative change

A critical resource for senior-level business professionals, managers, and executives, Innovating for Diversity will also prove to be invaluable for people seeking to build their careers from the ground up.

BERTINA CECCARELLI is on a mission to advance racial and gender equity in the tech industry and disrupt the status quo to build a more inclusive workplace. As the CEO of NPower, one of the most successful non-profits in North America, she is committed to helping young adults and military-connected individuals launch tech careers and remove barriers to economic mobility. As a leader, she works to model an inclusive workplace, providing opportunities for growth at all levels.

SUSANNE TEDRICK is the author of Women of Color in Tech and is a cloud computing trainer for a Fortune 500 technology company. Fiercely committed to increasing the participation of women and people of color in STEM professional opportunities, Susanne has performed community service work for a number of non-profits, including serving as the former chair of the Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Executive Council for CompTIA and as a coalition member for NPower’s Command Shift initiative.

Foreword xxv

Introduction xxix

Chapter 1 Why Are We (Still) Here? 1

A Brief History of Diversity in the U.S. Labor Workforce 2

The Current United States Labor Workforce 2

Examining Labor Workforce Dimensions 3

The Murder of George Floyd, the Rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the Corporate Response 7

Why Haven’t We Made More Progress? 9

Fixed Practices: Reluctance to Let Go of Entrenched Formulas 13

Fixed Attitudes: Continued Pervasiveness of Ingrained Personal Ideas and Beliefs 14

The COVID- 19 Pandemic: DEI Response to Long- term Structural Impacts 15

Why Diversity Matters 18

The Business Case for Diversity 19

The Moral and Ethical Imperative for Diversity 20

What Got Us Here Won’t Get Us There: The Diversity- Innovation Paradigm 21

Conclusion 22

Summary 22

Chapter 2 Defining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 23

What Do Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Actually Mean? 23

What Is Diversity? 24

What Is Equity? 24

Equity ≠ Equality 24

Equity > Compensation 25

What Is Inclusion? 26

Inclusion, Explained Further 26

Diversity Can’t Thrive Without Equity and Inclusion 27

What Is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiative? 27

How Leaders Shortchange DEI 28

Common DEI Pitfalls 28

No Overarching Strategy 28

No Commitment from Leadership 29

DEI Work as a Checklist 29

DEI Work as a Human Resources Function Only 29

Ignoring Intersectionality 30

Not Establishing (The Right) Metrics 30

DEI as a Marketing Campaign 30

Ineffective Recruiting Practices 31

Ineffective Diversity Training 31

Ineffective Talent Development Programs 32

No Accountability 32

No or Low Compensation and Recognition for DEI Work 33

Not Listening to Employees 33

No Transparency 34

“Copying and Pasting” DEI Initiatives from Other Organizations 34

Going Alone 34

The Consequences of Ineffective DEI Initiatives 35

Conclusion 35

Summary 36

Chapter 3 The Virtuous Cycle of Innovation and Diversity 37

The Power of Innovation 38

Why Companies Get Stuck 39

Innovation Is Simply Not Prioritized 39

Inertia Is the Mortal Enemy of Original Thinking 40

The Power of Humility Is Overlooked and Undervalued 40

Diversity Drives Innovation 42

Innovation Principles 45

Chapter 4 Courage 46

Risk- Taking 48

Trust 49

Collaboration 52

Leadership 53

Conclusion 58

Summary 58

Innovating the Apprenticeship Model to Advance Diversity in Tech 59

The problem: Recruiting and retaining more tech talent from diverse and military backgrounds 60

“It’s time to get creative!” 60

“We can do better” 62

What Needed to Change? 64

The Solution 66

Adding Structure 66

Engaging Partners 68

Improving the Apprenticeship Selection Process 69

First Pilot Outcomes 70

The Importance of Consistency to a Good Start 70

The Role of Battle Buddies 71

The Citi Salutes Impact 71

Glitches Along the Way 73

Unsuccessful Recruitment Choices 73

Supervisor Limitations 74

Skill Mismatches 74

Two- Year Outcomes at Citi 78

From Pilot to Operationalizing: Expanding Irving Success across Citi 78

Conclusion 82

Summary 83

Chapter 5 Creating High-Impact Mentoring Programs 85

Coca- Cola’s Journey to DEI Success 86

The Costs of Inaction and Not Listening to Employees 87

Positivity from Turmoil 88

Measurable Results 89

Moving on from the Past 91

Mentoring Innovation at Zendesk 93

Zendesk’s Women Mentorship Program: Initial Pilot Program 95

Application and Matching Process 95

Support 96

Measurements for Success and Feedback 96

Pilot Observations: What Worked and What Didn’t 96

Chapter 6 Improving on Success 97

Measurable Results 97

Conclusion 99

Summary 99

Looking Beyond Traditional Talent Sources for “Hard to Find” Roles 101

Northrop Grumman and Tessco: Shifting Long- Standing Perceptions of Who Can Succeed 102

Northrop Grumman: Focus on Novel Thinking and New Talent 103

Roadblocks and Pathways 105

Shared Values Shaped by Common Experiences— and a “Secret Mission” 106

Selecting the Right Talent 107

Onboarding and Upskilling: “Building Software Engineers” 108

“Relentless Focus on Culture” 110

Week 12: The Beginning of a New Employment Pathway 113

How Success Ultimately Looked 114

Tessco: Reinstalling the First Rung of a Career Ladder 115

The IT Helpdesk Solution 116

A Career with Upward Mobility 117

Building a Successful Talent Incubator 118

Conclusion 123

Summary 124

Chapter 7 Innovations for DEI in Small Business 125

The Challenge for Small Businesses Implementing DEI Programs 126

DEI - Not Impossible for Small Businesses 128

Setbacks and Progress: Online Optimism’s DEI Journey 129

Turning Point: Developing a Deeper Appreciation for DEI 130

Blackout Tuesday: Paving the Road for Meaningful DEI Innovation 131

Today’s Outcomes, Leading to Future Impact 133

From Concept to Realization: Creating DEI for Small Businesses 136

Conclusion 139

Summary 140

Chapter 8 Rethinking Retention Through the Lens of DEI 141

Understanding Employee Retention and Turnover 142

Contributing Factors for Recent Turnover Trends 143

Compensation 144

Limited Career Development or Advancement 145

Inflexible Workplaces 145

Retention, Turnover, and DEI 146

Promoting Diverse, Mid- Career Talent 147

Promoting from Within: Target Engineering Manager Immersion Program 150

Retaining and Promoting Women in Engineering 151

Outcomes: Increased Representation of Women and Focus on Other Groups 152

The Positive Impact of Remote Work for DEI 153

What’s Needed for Hybrid and Remote Work Success 156

Compensation: Innovate with Employee Benefits Programs 159

Conclusion 163

Summary 163

Chapter 9 The Inescapable, Undeniable Role of Executive Leaders 165

Words and Actions: Do Behaviors Match the Script? 166

A Focus on Systems Thinking 168

National Hockey League: DEI as a Movement, Not a Moment 169

Employment: Building an NHL Talent Strategy to Reflect Local Communities 170

Youth Participation: Diversity as a Growth Mindset 172

Systems as a Movement- Making Innovation 173

World Wide Technology: The Power of Successfully Scaling Culture 174

The Story of WWT’s Culture and Values Begins with its Founders 174

Codifying and Scaling Culture at WWT 176

Key Business Concepts 177

How the Principles of WWT’s Culture Supports Innovation for Diversity 178

Training as Innovation 179

Radical Listening as an Innovation Pathway 180

Creating Career Pathways for All Employees 181

Conclusion 185

Summary 186

Chapter 10 Final Thoughts and Next Steps 187

Lessons in Innovating for Diversity 188

Revisiting the Virtuous Cycle of Innovation and Diversity 192

Applying Innovation Principles in Your Organization 194

Index 197

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