7 Things Anyone Can Do to Improve Diversity and Culture at Work  

This year, at SXSW, I’m joining leaders from LinkedIn, GetRaised.com, and Pandora for a discussion about the diversity crisis in tech called “How to Diversify Tech and Hack Our Unconscious Bias.” It’s not news that the tech industry is largely still a boys’ club – the sheer number of disappointing diversity reports and depressing studies from groups like Lean In, Catalyst, and more provide  enough evidence that we know it’s a problem. Even when armed with gourmet cafeterias, in-office rock climbing walls, and innovative diversity training, there hasn’t been a Chief Employee Enthrallment Officer who has been able to successfully build a corporate culture that draws and retains a truly diverse workforce.

So we’re starting the conversation by looking at individuals, rather than executives. You probably can’t rewrite your company’s diversity policy, but there are several things you can do to make a difference in your workplace today. Also, why shift the focus to individual workers when high-powered executive boards haven’t been able to accomplish the goal? Because even though corporate mandates and policy changes are important, it’s people, ranging from introverted developers to mid-level managers to ladder-climbing directors, who make actual changes in day-to-day office life.

If you really want to shift the culture, take a look at the man (or woman) in the mirror, and make a change. Here are some suggestions on how to make that happen:

Check Your Bias
No matter how well-read, well-traveled, or open-minded you are, unconscious bias affects your behavior in and out of the workplace. We all have beliefs that we aren’t even aware of that affect our behavior.

For example, if you associate women with passivity, and you have to pick a team for a special leadership project, the people who jump to mind first for your project will probably be dudes. It’s not like you ever thought “This project is too tough for the little ladies on my team.” You simply just think of men first, submit your list, and move on.

But if you recognize that you have a belief like this, you are more likely to take a second look at the names on your list, and then consciously check to see if there are any women who should be on that team, since you logically know that diverse teams produce better results.

Change your Perspective
Really taking the time to look at your workplace from a coworker’s perspective can help you become aware of, and find solutions to, problems you didn’t even know existed. For instance, if you look around and see a woman and/or a minority in most of your meetings, it’s easy to think that there isn’t really a need for more diversity at all. But what if you focused on what it would feel like to be the only woman or minority in almost every meeting you were in? If you aren’t the person experiencing constant aggravations like that, you might not even know they exist.

In a recent poll, PayScale found that two-thirds of men working in tech thought that there are equal opportunities for both men and women in the workplace, but only 31 percent of women felt the same. These figures illustrate just how wide the perception gap really is.

Expand your Circle
Birds of a feather flock together…and they also tend to hire each other, promote each other, and look to one another for ideas and leadership opportunities. This especially plagues start-ups and small businesses: when you are strapped for resources, reaching out to your inner circle of trusted compatriots may seem like the most efficient way to grow a team. But it also results in a generally homogenous group.

If you take the time to seek out diversity in your talent funnel, whether you’re hiring employee number five to work in your garage or recommending somebody for management at a larger company, you’ll start growing a more diverse, more effective team, naturally.

Find your Squad
Taylor Swift may have popularized #squadgoals on Instagram, but the concept is just as valuable at work. And you don’t just need to seek out a group of powerful women with whom you work to find people to support and champion you in the workplace – finding allies of different genders, job levels, and backgrounds who will help you make your voice heard (and visa versa) is more helpful than seeking out people just like you.

Find a Sponsor (or Be One)
Mentors are great, but they imply a certain passivity. If you want somebody to boost you up the career ladder, find somebody with the pull to do just that – and be clear about your goals when you are asking for their help. If you are in a position where you can help push worthy individuals into management and beyond, use your power to diversify leadership at your company (instead of just talking about it).

Speak your Mind
Finding and retaining tech talent is not easy. If you are a good performer, your employer wants you to stay. So if you think diversity deserves more attention, either tactically or on a policy level, speak up! If nobody says anything about the issue, how else is your over-burdened HR department going to know how important the issue is to current employees?

Negotiate
Even when we control for job type, experience, hours worked, job level, and more, women earn between two and six percent less than men for the exact same work. Part of the reason for this is simply because women are less likely to negotiate – in fact, men ask for raises four times as often and ask for thirty percent more than women.

So if you want to close the gap, negotiate your salary and ask to be paid fairly. My company, PayScale, offers a free salary survey that will help you find out how much you should be earning, as well as guides to help you negotiate more successfully.

If we want tech to evolve and tech employers to create corporate cultures where all employees can thrive, top-down policy change is crucial. But individuals matter just as much, and by doing any of the things on this list, you can start to make a change at your company — whether you’re a minority or simply an ally who cares about equality and wants a more effective, diverse set of coworkers.