Timara (she/her)
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thread 1/19
I love it when companies produce diversity reports. I think all companies should be mandated to produce them yearly. It's also interesting to see how companies verbalize their outlook on DEI and how the raw numbers stack up. And I have thoughts...
08:15 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 2/19
Right out the bat, it's a little disingenuous to produce a diversity report for last year in Q3 of this year. Why? Because Dropbox had a layoff earlier this year. Obviously, a reduction of 16% could dramatically affect these numbers and the progress Dropbox says it wants to make.
08:18 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 3/19
Now Dropbox says they have three DEI commitments:

1. Build a diverse and inclusive team
2. Develop and advance equitably
3. Engage in personal growth
08:19 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 4/19
And that all sounds great, in theory, but there's a reason why companies struggle with DEI and it has nothing to do with those commitments.

While it's definitely rooted in white supremacy and the world's inability to truly eradicate it, I don't want to delve into that.
08:20 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 5/19
What I want to delve into is the concept of pie. People think more diversity means fewer slices of pie to go around for everyone. While people would like to say it isn't a zero-sum game, I have a different thought.

It is. And here's why.
08:21 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 6/19
When companies fail to clean house, removing those who overtly and covertly stand in the way of progress, there is a perception of diversity meaning fewer slices of pie. But that's because the people in power control who gets to eat and who doesn't.
08:23 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 7/19
I'd estimate that if companies truly cleaned house, which is something I think should be the first step in addressing DEI, at least half of the senior leadership teams would be gone. In a lot of cases, so would the CEO.
08:24 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 8/19
But companies don't care about cleaning house. They don't care about removing bad apples. They don't care if the culture is toxic.

Because it's all about the bottom line. And the problematic players are more interested in hoarding money than in making true progress.
08:26 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 9/19
The second thing I'd like to point out is that companies immediately look to TA to solve their DEI problem. They put the onus on TA to bring in more diverse candidates.

But TA never has a seat at the senior leaders' table. They hold no hiring power.
08:28 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 10/19
And they're not in charge of retention.

They're often given the horrible task of upselling candidates to buy into a dream. While they're doing this, the hiring teams are doing whatever the hell they want and, sometimes, hiring whoever the hell they want.
08:30 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 11/19
Too often companies think they can partner with a DEI org to bring in talent. However, that talent normally has less work experience or is intentionally shifted into roles that hold very little pay or power in the company's hierarchy.
08:32 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 12/19
And guess what? When the company needs to pivot in the worst direction, layoffs, who is the first to go?

So you have this neverending cycle. Diverse talent is either being forced out or laid off.
08:33 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 13/19
There's an interesting bullet I want to pull out. Dropbox said:

"We also believe it’s important to track our long-term progress. Over the last five years, we’ve seen an overall increase in representation of women (38% to 39%) and URMs (10% to 12%), company-wide."
08:34 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 14/19
You mean to tell me in FIVE years y'all could only increase women by 1%.

And the 2% URM increase isn't any better because it lumps us all together. You know what's driving that number? Asians.

At the end of last year, Asians were 34% of Dropbox.
08:38 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 15/19
As an aside, it's great to point out here that Asians were instrumental in the higher education affirmative action fiasco, which will in the long run affect every industry and facet of America.
08:39 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 16/19
But look at where the other URMs stand.
08:42 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 17/19
Now let's compare that to the US Census Bureau breakdown from 2022.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222
08:47 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 18/19
In closing, it's always interesting to see how companies spin what ultimately will always be horrible results by their own doing, or lack thereof.

The empty platitudes are just that. Empty.

It's been time for real change.
08:50 PM - Aug 31, 2023 (Edited)
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 19/19
If you'd like to read more of my DEI ramblings, here's a thread from June.
08:52 PM - Aug 31, 2023
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