Sometimes when you expose people to the same script over and over again, they become blasé. The effectiveness wears and it’s easier to ignore. I felt it happen to me with HR & AI. It happened with HR & technology. Then, to my dismay, it happened with diversity. Sometime in the middle of last year, … Continue reading Don’t let the conversation die
There are two major problems that the world faces today – (1) climate change and (2) societal inequality. I will refrain from talking about climate change at this point as it has gained significant conversational momentum since the Amazonian fires. What I will focus on is justice, equality and social mobility. I am a staunch … Continue reading Creating an equitable world
When in October 2017 the #MeToo movement grabbed all major headlines, many wondered if 2018 was going to be the ‘Year of the Woman’. With 2018 now closed and behind us, it is finally time to answer the question.
I am no clairvoyant. As much as I’d like to say I know how 2019 will turn out, it might very well chart a course unpredicted. However, there are signs of what is to come and then there is hope that HR pros follow these signs. I sat by the beach over the last week … Continue reading Three trends for 2019
When it comes to fighting discrimination at the workplace, the most popular solution that comes to mind is that of unconscious bias training. After all, if Google does it, it must work. When on April 12, 2018 a Starbucks manager called the police on two innocent men, the entire world went up in rage. Starbucks … Continue reading Does Unconscious Bias Training really work?
17 days ago, I was away on a faraway island that had no internet connectivity (hard to imagine in today’s day and age). As I sat beside the beach sipping sangria, Google employees across the globe staged a walkout. Eight days passed before I read details on what was possibly one of the biggest movement … Continue reading #GoogleWalkout
Every alternate article on the World Wide Web makes a reference to unconscious bias and discrimination in one form or another. Look hard enough and you’ll find it. There are, of course, some forms of discrimination that are referred to about more often than others are. Take for example, diversity. The words that probably come … Continue reading THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING WISER
Human beings are inherently biased. We would like to believe that we are largely rational beings but as years of research has proved, we aren’t. In fact, there is an entire field of study (behavioral economics, social psychology, call it what you may) dedicated to studying human irrationality. Organizations have begun playing their part by … Continue reading Are machines better at discrimination than human beings?
A while ago, I talked about the importance of transparency when it comes to diversity initiatives and focusing disproportionately on communication. Easier said than done, I know. After spending an entire lifetime avoiding difficult conversations around differences, it is only natural that discussions around diversity make us uncomfortable. After all, no one ever trained us on what … Continue reading What to talk about when you talk about Diversity?
How transparent should we be about diversity? I must begin with an anecdote from not long ago - It was a fine Friday morning when one of the top performers of the team walked into my colleague’s room sobbing. This gem of a person had an unbeatable record of accomplishment in academics and cracking tough … Continue reading How to Be Transparent About Diversity
