Black IT leaders weigh in on what DEI means for IT

Jackson recounts the time he gave a talk on inclusivity, equality, belonging, parity, and justice at a manufacturer, where he sought to break down assumptions.

“I said, ‘At the end of the day it doesn’t mean if you’re white, you’re wealthy, or if you’re Black, you’re a Democrat, or that if you have friends who are part of the LGBTQ community that you’re exploring. It’s just people are people,’” Jackson explains.

He spoke to the uniqueness of all individuals and the inclusivity being a culture where everyone belongs. He adds, “Diversity for me just means people.”

Jackson says a man approached him afterward first confiding that he only attended the talk because it was mandatory and then saying, “I didn’t think you and I could have anything in common. But you opened my mind.”

“He seemed to take away the ability to be more collaborative with people who didn’t share his identity,” he says.

‘Inclusive excellence’ advances careers, organizational success

Robert Scott, ITSMF vice president and dean of its Global Institute for Professional Development, defines “diversity” as “having a robust mix of people from all different backgrounds that brings diversity of thought and capabilities.”

He acknowledges that diversity “does include things that are flashpoints today such as gender, race, and orientation, but it’s also diversity of thought and educational diversity.”

He adds, “Diversity is just having a mix. Equity is all about treating those folks on a level playing field. And inclusion is about making people feel like they belong and that they’re treated equitably.”

As for the benefits produced by those concepts, he points to research from University of Michigan professor social scientist Scott Page that shows diverse teams operating in an equitable and inclusive environment routinely outperform homogenous teams in terms of business results, creativity, and innovation.

Scott knows it takes work to create equitable and inclusive environments where diverse individuals can succeed.

He mentored a Black woman whom he says thought hard work alone would get her ahead. Like others who have historically been shut out of the executive ranks, she didn’t realize that she needed more to advance. Scott advocated for her and she eventually became a CIO.

Scott coached her on the fact that image and exposure are also needed to progress into management and executive tiers; hard work, how you do that hard work, and who sees it all matter.

But image and exposure involve mentoring and sponsorship, which is where many people — particularly first-generation professionals and those from underrepresented groups — can be shut out.

If you don’t have access to potential mentors and sponsors “because you’re not included and you don’t feel like you belong, if people don’t engage you, if you’re not invited to the weekend golf outing or out with the group because you’re not welcome there, then you won’t advance,” Scott explains.

ITSMF programs such as corporate workshops help show companies those obstacles and give them strategies for removing them, he says.

“That’s the power of DEI,” he says, noting he uses the term “inclusive excellence” to describe such work.

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