16 Effective Ways Tech Businesses Can Build Truly Inclusive Teams

By Jeremy Duvall, for the Forbes Technology Council
This story was originally published on Forbes.com on April 8th, 2022.

Developing an effective diversity, equity and inclusion program is about more than checking off boxes, and its impact goes beyond the hiring process. An inclusive tech team is one that can better serve a diverse customer base and support each other. Leaders of tech companies who do all they can to ensure they build teams whose members have varied backgrounds and experiences are making a smart business decision.

Developing and maintaining a truly inclusive tech team takes dedication and effort, but the results are well worth it. Below, 16 members of Forbes Technology Council share keys to building an inclusive tech space.

1. Develop An Intersectionality Lens

One of the essential keys to building an inclusive tech space is developing an intersectionality lens—an approach recognizing that every person has their own unique experiences of discrimination or disadvantages. Understanding this will help you create the framework for a more inclusive work culture, increase retention and increase your reach. – Tal Frankfurt, Cloud for Good

2. Be Aware Of Unconscious Bias

Develop awareness of the prevalence of unconscious bias. Access at any level to an inclusive tech ecosystem and an inclusive tech product only follows from awareness of the need for change. This means awareness on the part of every stakeholder in the tech ecosystem of how unconscious bias and privilege lead to biased decision making. The sharing of knowledge and facts is the only thing that will expose the unconscious bias inherent in the system. – Willemijn Schneyder, SwipeGuide.

3. Develop Partnerships With Educational Institutions

Work with educational institutions to create a diverse workforce at the source. Encourage cross-disciplinary knowledge, select deep skills and a learning mindset through curricular engagement, internships and outreach. Companies often focus on hiring the “finished product,” which, given the talent pool constraints, forces them to make compromises or poach talent from each other. Nurture diversity. – Mayank Sharma, Vyntelligence

4. Open Up Access To Leadership

Open up the leadership environment. Create open access to certain leadership gatherings, and invite comments and input from all who attend. Set up different mediums for feedback, allowing more introverted colleagues to express a view. – Mark Moffat, PwC

5. Seek Your Team’s Feedback

Listen to your team. An employee’s experience in the office is the most telling data point in this regard. Provide opportunities for open and honest communication. You must create safe places for feedback to be received. – Thomas McElroy, Level-1 Global Solutions, LLC

6. Empower All Voices

Building an inclusive team is about more than respecting diverse thoughts and voices; it’s empowering them. Building good software requires a functioning social network, which benefits greatly from diverse thought patterns and viewpoints. Creating that network is far more than “hiring the right people”; it’s allowing everyone to ideate and innovate in a space designed to give all ideas equal weight. – Jeremy Duvall, 7Factor Software

7. Reach Out To The Communities You Serve

A DEI program needs to be rooted in the communities it’s trying to serve. For example, our undergraduate recruitment program utilizes career fairs and job boards that are primarily focused on schools with diverse student bodies. We also provide nontraditional learning routes for entry-level roles to create more equitable access to opportunities in tech for underrepresented communities. – Milin Desai, Sentry

8. Learn What Motivates New Team Members

As you hire people with diverse backgrounds, also take the time to learn what is important to them and what motivates them to perform at their highest levels. It is important to build that environment so that they feel comfortable bringing their true selves, and their diverse ideas to the workplace. – Archana Jain, Verizon

9. Accommodate A Broad Spectrum Of Needs

Empathy is key. Think through different scenarios from the employee’s perspective. Evaluate how your office can potentially be modified to make tools more accessible or how rooms can be customized to accommodate team members in different stages of life. Inclusivity is about addressing and accommodating a broad spectrum of needs. – Jim Xiao, Mason

10. Strive For More Than Just Demographic Diversity

The essential key to diversity is to define diversity by psychographics, not just demographics. Seek out those who have different behaviors, different life experiences and more differences than similarities in their lived experiences. – Amanda Richardson, CoderPad

11. Become Radically Transparent

Inclusivity is a cultural and operational struggle, not a recruiting one. To enable and empower team members, become radically transparent. Insist on written communication in a shared environment (we use Slack and Slite), and let everyone contribute, no matter their team or identity. Ideas bubble to the surface, and we can recognize and champion talent with no filter for who gets the credit. – Fahim ul Haq, Educative Inc.

12. Leverage Expert Help

Get help. There are good business reasons for building diverse tech teams in addition to good social ones. Lean in and engage with organizations that have a mission to improve the professional lives of women and underrepresented groups in tech. This can be a rich source of talent! – Ed Adams, Security Innovation

13. Provide Context For Decisions

Providing context for the decisions we make is key. Setting the context for a discussion helps the team to be open and think creatively about addressing problems. It makes the team feel more inclusive, helps foster better engagement, establishes a higher level of trust and, most importantly, helps us make the right decisions to serve customers’ needs. – Anandh Asokan, Thrivent

14. Be Wary Of Affinity Bias

Learn to overcome your cognitive biases during the recruitment process. One of the most common is affinity bias—having a more positive perception of someone who is similar to ourselves. Always selecting a candidate who is of our own color, gender or background takes a devastating toll on the inclusiveness and diversity of a team, heavily limiting the influx of different experiences and points of view. – Pawel Rzeszucinski, CentralNic Group PLC

15. Understand The Ongoing Work Of Creating Safe Spaces

An essential component of creating inclusive spaces is recognizing that human behavior moves on a spectrum, and workers will require different techniques at different times to feel psychologically safe in their workspace. A good team leader recognizes that fluidity and is continually working to improve safe spaces to help each team member thrive according to their individual needs. – Bilal Aijazi, Polly

16. Bring On Team Members Who Have Walked In Your Users’ Shoes

When creating a product that serves a diverse population, it is an advantage to have a diverse product, design and engineering team. It enhances your user research, and it is incredible to ideate with those who really know your customer and user demographic. I have seen designs turned on their head in meaningful ways with the addition of a team member who has walked in the consumer’s or user’s shoes. – Shawna Koch Mishael, SenecaGlobal