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August 24, 2020
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How 15 Companies Are Working to Be Anti-Racist
This summer, as the extrajudicial murders of Black Americans prompted renewed focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, companies and organizations across the United States started to center the experiences of their Black employees and prioritize conversations about race in a real way.
Some companies already had robust diversity and inclusion initiatives that combated some of the systematic injustice Black workers face. Many more, though, realized they had to invest in building them. That work started with learning what it takes to be a truly anti-racist—not just non-racist—workplace. Many companies have gotten quieter about Black Lives Matter since June, so we wanted to know what companies were doing to make good on the promises they made earlier this year.
Here at PowerToFly, we're lucky enough to partner with industry-leading companies who really believe in creating equitable work environments where diverse talent can thrive. We interviewed several of our clients to learn about the ways in which they're working to build anti-racist workplaces. We hope that their answers provide some transparency to the ongoing work companies are doing to ensure that their stated commitments to DEI translate into meaningful action, and inspire other companies to follow suit.
Mindbody empowers employees to act
"It is not effective to be 'not racist.' It hinders change and slows the momentum needed to break down long standing barriers individuals experience. Mindbody believes we must be 'anti-racist' and lean into this topic and lead by example. We have focused our attention on educating our team, through formal education such as small group trainings and larger webinars teaching us about our Unconscious Bias, How to be an Inclusive Leader, How to Cope with Civil Unrest, and Raising Diversity in the Home, and through informal education such as fireside-like conversations with our team members, hearing their specific experiences with racism. One key learning we have had recently at Mindbody is around a word we commonly used to use, 'ally.' We have had to shift the meaning of being an ally, as something active vs. something passive. We have asked our employees to be active allies and stand up and share their thoughts and experiences on these topics. We have given our employees a new volunteer day off to be used July-September 2020 to volunteer for an organization of their choice and focus on a way they can actively create change. If all 1,200 employees give 8 hours, this will give almost 10,000 hours of active work to create the change we need in this world."
Learn more about MINDBODY here.
Moody's invests in community-building events
"Moody's is committed to a diverse and inclusive culture. We aspire for Moody's to be a place where everyone feels comfortable being their true selves, where we demonstrate empathy and civility – and where we celebrate the differences that make us stronger. To further our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion at Moody's and racial justice in the communities where we live and work, we proudly share an array of events we held in June and July 2020.
Thousands of employees attended one or a mix of 43 events we've held across the world on racial justice, including our racial justice town hall, signature Juneteenth event, learning sessions from our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and Moody's Courageous Conversations and Moments That Matter series.
The reach and success of these events was made possible through strong employee leadership and participation – especially from our Diversity and Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility teams and employee-led Multicultural ERG and Black Inclusion Group."
Learn more about Moody's here.
T. Rowe Price drives awareness through conversation
"Although the pandemic continues to separate associates physically, the firm's collaborative culture and united stance on racial equity has galvanized employees to use their voices to promote equality. Bill Stromberg, President and CEO, issued a public statement on June 4 that reflects our commitment to fighting racial injustice. In addition to the T. Rowe Price Foundation committing $2 million to organizations working to fight racial injustice, the matching gift program is available to employees who are interested in financially supporting racial equity causes.
To ensure the cultural conversation continues, the firm has held dozens of Diversity Dialogues across the company. These sessions are facilitated by thought leaders and experts in diversity and inclusion and provide employees with a safe space to speak candidly about their experiences to leadership and colleagues. This comes on the heels of T. Rowe Price evolving its business resource group, MOSAIC, which helps drive multicultural awareness at the firm, into three heritage communities – Black/African American, Latinx, and Asian – to promote an even greater sense of belonging. T. Rowe Price is encouraging employees to tap into resources available on TRPConnects, an internal social media site which offers mental health and wellness information, personal accounts and stories from colleagues about their experiences with racism, and educational resources on systemic racism."
Learn more about T. Rowe Price here.
PwC supports direct action in their community
"PwC stands against racism in the workplace, in our communities and in our country and is taking six actions to combat racial justice. The firm is taking steps to support its Black professionals, to improve diversity and inclusion efforts within the organization, and to contribute to the efforts of those who are fighting for racial justice and equality on the front lines. Specifically, this includes donating time to social justice organizations, giving employees one week of utilized time each year to volunteer with nonprofits, and supporting students and teachers in underserved communities to build a more diverse, tech-skilled future workforce, among other commitments. PwC people are encouraged to support each other and speak out against bias and stigma, to join one of our inclusion networks and to participate in blindspots training. The firm is also offering free racial trauma counseling for PwCers and their families."
Learn more about PwC here.
Invesco prioritizes listening and accountability
"After the senseless killing of George Floyd ignited protests against police brutality and racial inequity, Invesco was quick to speak out and take action. In an open letter to clients and employees from President & CEO Marty Flanagan we said forcefully that Black lives matter. Our zero-tolerance approach to racism of any kind is embedded in our existing programs, such as unconscious bias training for all managers. We implemented a series of listening sessions with clients, the Invesco Black Professionals Network, and other internal Business Resource Groups. Communications kits for managers encouraged dialogue within teams and Juneteenth was established as a paid holiday for US employees. We continue to build anti-racism programs and will hold ourselves accountable by measuring our ability to increase hiring, promotion and retention of diverse colleagues. Our CEO joined over 500 business leaders to urge Georgia lawmakers to sign the Hate Crimes legislation into law."
Learn more about Invesco here.
Snap strengthens allyship
"At Snap, creating a fairer, more inclusive, and truly anti-racist culture is everyone's job. Above all, this problem is not for underrepresented groups — or a DEI team — to solve. And so, to create a truly inclusive and anti-racist culture at Snap, we need our team members to become skilled allies.
We launched our Allyship Program in February 2020, with the objective to support Snap team members and turn goodwill into good action. The Allyship Program combines bold personal storytelling and frank conversations to inspire empathy and build awareness with formal workshops to equip team members with the knowledge, resources, skills and inspiration to be good allies in the workplace."
Learn more about Snap here.
S&P Global makes D&I a core part of business
S&P Global has most recently committed to accelerating progress through the following actions: leading courageous conversations with employees across teams to develop greater understanding around issues of racial justice; expanding our full-time staff devoted to advancing Diversity & Inclusion; doubling our financial investments in D&I initiatives and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs); expanding existing inclusion training globally to address bias and microaggressions; and contributing USD $1M via the S&P Global Foundation to non-profit organizations that support equity and racial justice. In 2018, the Company added a D&I metric to its strategic goals to track performance, and the global D&I Council leads and governs all such efforts across the enterprise.
Learn more about S&P Global here.
VideoAmp prioritizes education for their entire team
"The inflection point for us began the week of George Floyd's murder.
As a young and rapidly growing ad tech company, we paused and looked at where we could improve and grow from the Black Lives Matter movement. The VideoAmp executive leadership team spoke openly about the events during an All-Hands and from that meeting, the People Team took some immediate actions like the observation of Black Out Tuesday and making Juneteenth an annual company holiday. We felt these actions provided time and space for reflection and increased awareness of racial injustice in our country. And instead of having a purely top-down approach, we quickly launched our Employee-led Advisory Group (EAG) to create actionable, sustainable and meaningful ways to grow as an organization, ensuring all employees could be seen and heard. Over 100 employees quickly rallied together - the EAG now meets twice a week and has already formed actionable initiatives in three categories: 1.) Learn through self-education 2.) Participate in community outreach and 3.) Give Back through time and financial contributions. The group not only brings plans to life but also measures what success will look like with KPIs around specific initiatives to drive accountability for VideoAmp.
We continue to explore ways to educate our organization on the specific needs of the Black community and how to combat racism through proactive and ongoing learning and resource-sharing. We recognize that we still have a lot to learn. We formed a thought-leader speaker series with Dionna Smith from the PowertoFly team as our inaugural presenter. She spoke on power, privilege and how to be an ally for change. This first presentation drew an audience of over 100 employees which was 61% of the VideoAmp employee base. We've also launched a book club, featuring Black authors with physical books purchased from Black-owned bookstores, and have scheduled film and TV viewing events to further increase our knowledge and awareness of Black history and racial injustices in America. In addition, we share timely content related to the Black Lives Matter movement through a weekly company-wide newsletter and we have offered the opportunity to be part of Allyship Healing Circles through our partnership with Modern Health, among other mental health support at no cost to our employees and their dependents.
Lastly, through our partnership with PowerToFly, we're continuing to implement more assertive diversity hiring and recruitment practices, making VideoAmp a place where anyone can feel valued and inspired to thrive. We're on a mission to further diversify our workforce and drive a culture where all people feel they belong and are educated on how to be an ally for change in our organization and our communities."
Learn more about VideoAmp here.
Lattice partners with employees and customers to drive change
"To ensure an anti-racist work environment and help combat racism, Lattice took to company-wide crowdsourcing for different ways to help. Once we gathered a substantial list, ERG groups worked with our Leadership team to prioritize and assign items to individuals and teams. Examples include donation & support opportunities, company-wide allyship/anti-racist training, and we're finding/building ways to support our customers' DE&I efforts through our people management platform."
Learn more about Lattice here.
Kensho keeps the conversation going via continuous education
"Kensho is committed to educating our employees and fostering an anti-racist culture. Kensho employees recently attended The Adaway Group's Whiteness at Work virtual summer series. This was a four- part series addressing: Whiteness at Work, White Dominant Culture, Building Anti-Racist Skills and Operationalizing Racial Equity. After each session our Head of DEI, Shea Kerr, lead a debrief discussion to give employees the opportunity to discuss what they learned, as well as share their own experiences. This was a great way to bring these issues to the forefront and keep the conversation going with our employees. Kensho's DEI Committee is also working on bringing in additional DEI focused training that will take place throughout the year."
Learn more about Kensho here.
CarGurus creates a welcoming work environment
"At CarGurus, we strive to build and nurture a global culture where inclusiveness is a reflex, not an initiative. We are all responsible for fostering an anti-racist workplace by proactively centering diverse perspectives, amplifying underrepresented voices and deeply engaging in learning, dialogue, and action to drive forward systematic change. For us, that means investing in targeted and accessible programming and learning opportunities that enhance cultural humility, encourage growth, and promote inclusive leadership at every level. We are also striving to create more equity in our practices and policies so that everyone feels they can bring the ultimate expression of themselves to work every day despite their race, gender, or background."
Learn more about CarGurus here.
MongoDB shares resources in their team and in their community
"At MongoDB, we are committed to learning about and combating racism in the workplace. Here are some of the educational programming we have that promotes anti-racism: On August 13th, 2020, we had an internal event 'Decoding Inclusion Conversation on Race: Driving Impact with Power and Privilege' featuring Netta Jenkins (Forbes Top 7 Anti-Racism Educator), and sponsored by our CEO, Dev Ittycheria. During this session, Netta discussed the murder of George Floyd and the impact on Black people and the global community. She also discussed racial trauma and symptoms of race-based injustices
in the workplace. Members of our employee affinity group, The Underrepresented People of Color Network, shared resources for people looking to learn how to be anti-racist to support the current racial justice movement, and during our annual event, MongoDB World, we launched the MongoDB for Justice fund, in order to raise funds to enable organizations advancing anti-racism work."
Learn more about MongoDB here.
Quip centers anti-racism training across their work
"Quip believes that we have a moral responsibility to help lead the fight for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive tech industry. We acknowledge that this is a challenging and ever-changing area, and takes ongoing work. We believe that diverse and inclusive teams are essential to build the best product, to meet our business goals, and to create a work environment where people from all backgrounds can feel like they belong, which will ultimately make our entire team more successful. Quip has been actively teaching and educating team members on how to build a more anti-racist workplace through various methods:
- Hosting a book club on the book How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Creating a central repository to encourage folks to support organizations fighting racism and police brutality
- Developing a dos and don'ts messaging guide centered around racial equality
- Doing a virtual volunteering event by reading Anti-Racism Children's Book for the kids at UCSF"
Learn more about Quip here.
Relativity explores diversity within its community
"We are committed to ongoing efforts to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging at Relativity. We are proud of our new internal learning series, 'Culture Collective,' where we explore the rich diversity of identities and cultures that make up our company and the communities we serve. This is a monthly series sponsored by one of our Community Resource Groups (CRGs) called Faces of Relativity in partnership with our entire CRG community. These sessions allow us to explore cultural mindfulness and establish actionable steps for how we can make an impact as allies. In addition to the 'Culture Collective,' we host monthly deep dive conversations and learning sessions with our CRG leadership, an anti-racism toolkit curated in partnership with the CRG community, and have built out a robust internal learning curriculum for 2021 that will aim to educate Relativians on culture, unconscious bias, power/privilege, and more."
Learn more about Relativity here.
Smartsheet builds anti-racist environments, including coding ones
"A group of Smartsheet employees has been actively working to remove offensive terminology from our engineering coding language. Just like many everyday terms and figures of speech have racist roots, so too do many of the standard terms used in coding. Although this is anti-racist work that is far less visible than more common organizational initiatives (like unconscious bias and inclusion trainings, both of which Smartsheet is launching this year), it is no less important and only further highlights how ingrained racism is in our world."
Learn more about Smartsheet here.
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Interested in discussing what it takes to build anti-racist workplaces in real time? We're hosting Allyship to Impact, a two-day free virtual conference focused on providing resources and practical guidance to combat racism at work, this September 10-11. We hope you can join us.
From Your Site Articles
September 21, 2020
T Rowe Price Group Inc
Preparing for the Unexpected: How Maria Fava Found Her Confidence as a Bicultural, Bilingual Woman at T. Rowe Price
Born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara, Maria Fava never would have predicted that she'd have a career in financial services. And certainly not in Maryland.
Over two decades ago, when Maria moved to the U.S. to study psychology at the University of Texas at Arlington, she'd planned on moving back to Mexico to study law after graduation. Instead, she fell in love with an unassuming Italian-American her senior year. She married him and moved to Maryland, his home state.
<p>Now, some twenty-five years later, she's still in Maryland, and working at investment firm <a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/t-rowe-price-group-inc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">T. Rowe Price</a>—the same company where she started her career. But she hasn't been at T. Rowe Price all those years. Having joined the firm as a broker, she left to start a family and help her husband run his business. Fifteen years later, she knew she wanted to return to the company that had helped her launch her career, so she rejoined the firm in a totally new capacity a year and a half ago. </p>
<p>Now a Corporate Events Lead Manager, the unpredictability of her own life has taught her a lesson close to any event planner's heart: always plan for the unexpected.</p>
<p>We sat down with Maria over Zoom to talk about her decision to join (and rejoin) T. Rowe Price, the challenges and opportunities she's had from being bilingual and bicultural, and her advice for other women looking to become more confident in their careers. </p>
<h2>Adapting to new environments and learning to see insecurities as assets</h2><p>Maria's commitment to helping those around her uncover their strengths stems largely from her own early-career experiences of learning how to fit in. Having moved from Guadalajara to Texas, and later from Texas to Maryland, she knows a thing or two about feeling out of place. </p><p>In her first few years in the States, for instance, she worked on her accent. "I noticed that by learning English in Mexico, I had more of a British accent, and when I got to Texas, that was a little awkward," she laughs. She eventually did such a good job adopting a Texan accent that she worked to change it all over again upon moving to Maryland. But that came with its own challenges, especially early in her career. </p>
<p>"Sometimes I would use a word that was incorrect and I had this anxiety of sounding dumb. I thought it might've been better if I <em>did</em> have an accent so that [coworkers] could understand that English was not my first language," says Maria.</p><p>She also had to learn to deal with often being not just the only Hispanic woman in the room, but sometimes the only woman, period. And on top of navigating the workplace in her second language and learning a new culture, she had to contend with the voice inside her head that told her she didn't really have the experience she needed to do the job: "I felt that I didn't quite have the qualifications that I needed to be able to compete."</p><p>It was the support she received from T. Rowe Price to build her finance expertise, coupled with her own realization that "being bicultural and bilingual enabled me to do my job better," that helped her move past this and develop confidence in herself and the unique skills she brought to the table. Maria hopes other women reach the same realization, and offered some advice to start building that confidence in yourself:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Don't exclude yourself from anything.</strong> "Don't look at the qualifications that you need and right off the bat think you don't have them. Give yourself a break, apply for the job that speaks to you, and find out if you need to have continuing education or other training later," she says.</li><li><strong>Always have a backup plan. </strong>In the world of event planning, says Maria, one adage is truer than all the rest: nothing is perfect. "What sets you apart from being an okay planner to a really good planner is anticipating all the things that could go wrong and having backup plans for the backup plan."</li><li><strong>Get there early. </strong>Almost <em>too </em>early, says Maria, who's taken this on as a personal goal after getting lost en route to one of her first-ever big client meetings and showing up an hour late. "I never did that again!" she says. "I'm always early now."</li><li><strong>Find opportunities and act on them.</strong> Maria's career has seen her take on finance, accounting, marketing, events, and legal work, all because she's not been afraid to raise her hand and volunteer to work on new opportunities. </li></ul><h2>From broker to small business owner to events manager: coming full circle </h2><p>Maria first joined T. Rowe Price by chance. Having just relocated to Maryland, she needed a job and a friend told her T. Rowe Price was looking for bilingual speakers as they expanded into Latin American markets. She was hesitant at first, "I'd never even taken a finance class. I had no idea how I was going to do it," explains Maria, "but I went to the interview and I got the job." </p>
<p>T. Rowe Price supported her as she got her brokerage license and Maria found that she loved the work. "I'm a lifelong learner. If you give me a book, I'll try to learn from it. It really was exciting to me," she says.</p><p>Her career took off from there. She traveled often, presenting to clients, and took on more and more responsibility. "When I started, I was 22 years old, right out of college, scared to death of everything I was asked to do," she says. "But I got completely out of my comfort zone. It was an incredible experience that allowed me to be basically fearless."</p>
<p>She would've kept going, but she and her husband also wanted to start a family, so Maria went part-time and consulted for T. Rowe Price for a few years, then transitioned to working with her husband to start and manage their wholesale produce business. She learned a different set of skills and handled the accounting there for 15 years, while consulting for clients, including T. Rowe Price, on the side.</p>
<p>Maria's career has seen her take on finance, accounting, marketing, events, and legal work, all because she's not been afraid to raise her hand and ask for opportunities. She first got involved with translation work at T. Rowe Price after she caught an error in some of the firm's Spanish marketing materials and flagged it to their legal department. That turned into regular contract work down the line and opportunities to learn about different parts of the business. "If I voiced an interest in wanting to do something, [my managers] always gave me the tools to get that education and continue to learn," says Maria. "Be sure to speak up and ask for the learning tools, education, or leadership opportunities that you want."</p>
<p>A couple years ago, when Maria's kids were headed off to college, she felt ready for a career change—and she wanted T. Rowe Price to be a part of it. "I knew I didn't want to be a broker again, but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to pay it forward at T. Rowe Price and do something for other people like it had been done for me," says Maria.</p><p>In her new role as Corporate Events Lead Manager, she's responsible for executing meetings hosted by the company's C-suite and management community, but she's also set a personal goal for herself: to mentor and support the women around her, the way her own T. Rowe Price mentors supported her when she began her career. "I wanted to see if there was anything that I could do to help some of the up-and-coming talent to feel the way that [my first managers] made me feel," she says.</p>
<p>That was part of her rationale for joining Mosaic, T. Rowe Price's employee diversity resource group. She appreciates all that the company is doing to make people feel included and wants to be a part of that. "There's more engagement, more opportunities, even just to collaborate with each other and find each other within the firm," she says.</p><p>She also looks for opportunities to remind those around her that they can achieve anything they want to if they're willing to stretch their comfort zones. Not long ago, she encouraged a co-worker who was struggling to get advancement opportunities to advocate for herself, and she's since been promoted. "Now I ask <em>her</em> to review things for <em>me</em>!" Maria says, smiling.</p>
<h2>Preparing for the unexpected: planning through a pandemic</h2><p>In a career built on her ability to adapt and navigate between different environments, it's a little ironic that Maria's second year back at T. Rowe Price has seen her adapting to a completely different version of event planning. When offices shuttered and events were canceled because of COVID-19, Maria had to figure out how to put on events completely virtually.</p><p>"It was a hundred miles an hour, searching for virtual platforms, learning terms, taking webcasts, just trying to get trained and educated on how best to support my clients," she says. "But I'm all about the experience. I spent a lot of time learning about best practices—lengths of meetings, camera versus no camera, lighting—just how to create the proper environment for the objective not to be missed."</p><p>It's been stressful, says Maria, but not impossible, and the opportunity to completely transform her role has been an interesting one. "I always believe that you sell yourself short if you run away from an opportunity to learn. I would have never learned all these new technologies, but I've learned so much, and I appreciate that," she says. "Being adaptable has been the key to succeeding in this environment."</p><p>And she's been able to see the silver lining, too. "I don't want to say that there's a lot of positive things about COVID," says Maria. "Everybody is going through so many different things in their personal lives and people have all learned to be a little more understanding."</p><p><em>Interested in growing your career (and your confidence) at </em><a href="https://www.troweprice.com/corporate/en/careers.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>T. Rowe Price</em></a><em>? Learn more about the company and open roles </em><a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/t-rowe-price-group-inc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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September 24, 2020
Remote
How to Succeed as a (Remote) Quip Intern: Advice from Mai Sha and Leslie Carr
When the pandemic began in spring and her friends (and fellow Carnegie Mellon master's students) started to find out that their offers for summer internships were canceled, Mai Sha held her breath.
<p>But then she got an email from the intern recruitment team at mobile productivity suite<a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/quip" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Quip</a> and let out a sigh of relief. Her software engineering internship would still happen, albeit remotely, and she would still get a chance to be a part of the Quip team.</p><p>We interviewed Mai and her summer manager, Leslie Carr, a Senior Director of Engineering at Quip, to learn how Quip successfully took their internship program remote, how the Salesforce-owned cloud-based word processing app is maintaining its culture despite not working in the same building together, and what future interns can do to succeed.</p><h2>Why Quip?</h2><p>Mai was first introduced to Quip at a Grace Hopper conference. "I thought it was impressive how they were bringing their customers a new way to work together," she remembers. She interviewed for a summer internship and during the process really connected with what she was seeing of Quip's company culture. "I could tell every interviewer was top-notch. They seemed pretty humble and extremely nice, and it felt like working with teammates at university, not like an interview," she says.</p><p>She liked the team, she liked the culture, and once she did her research, it turned out she liked the product, too: "I had some previous experience in version management in spreadsheets, so I know how much it can help, and Quip's product is an open workspace that also values privacy. It's a good balance."</p><p>Mai's summer boss, Leslie, joined Quip a couple of years prior for similar reasons. She'd actually first talked to the company three years before joining and remembers the team feeling "really, really welcoming," but she wasn't looking to make a move then. When she did, she did more due diligence and loved what she found. "I was actually pretty impressed by the number of women in the engineering management team," remembers Leslie. "It was really important to me to be at a place where I saw faces like mine. I also really liked their engineer-focused mindset; that aligned well with my values."</p><h2>Getting to know a company remotely</h2><p>It was tough for Leslie to transition that mindset and the culture she'd built on the engineering team to a remote environment. In the pre-pandemic times, she'd relied on informal social activities like boba runs, hallway check-ins, and walks around the park to check in on her team, including her summer interns. Without those touchpoints, she had to be much more deliberate about how to keep everyone engaged—particularly the interns, who would have only a couple of months to complete their projects and understand what it meant to work at Quip.</p><p>Leslie adapted her management style, moving from biweekly 1:1s that lasted an hour to weekly 30-minute check-ins with each person on her team and proactively setting up mentors and pairing sessions for interns like Mai.</p><p>And while those changes allowed Leslie to keep an eye on everyone and do her job, she notes that it was really Mai's proactive approach to remote work that allowed Mai to succeed even past her expectations.</p><p>"A lot of Mai's success was because she had such a good learning and growth mindset," explains Leslie. "She wasn't afraid to ask questions."</p><p>Mai kept a Quip document full of project updates that provided real-time transparency on where she was and what she was planning to do next. She reached out to her team members for help when she needed it and made sure to connect with people on projects unrelated to her own to learn more about the company culture. She worked with a small group of about 10 people and notes that she always felt part of the team. "I felt like I had a voice. The team always cultivated an environment that let us speak out and show off our work to everyone," she says.</p><p>"At Quip, it's a constructive process. Not only my manager and my mentor, but everyone else on the team helped me out. They didn't just teach me how to debug, but made sure that I totally understood it," explains Mai. That helpfulness extended to non-project tasks, too, she notes, like working on her interview or presentation skills.</p><p>While Mai ended up adapting quite well to a remote internship, she was nervous at first. "It was my first software engineering internship, and it's remote! I felt slow during the ramp-up period, and I doubted myself a bit, because sometimes I couldn't figure it out," she says. "But luckily, with work and help, by the end, I could even unblock others." By the end of the internship, she was even looking forward to Monday, she says, so that she could get back to work.</p><h2>Advice for future interns</h2><p>Leslie hopes Quip is back to in-person work and internships next year, but no matter where and how future internships happen, she's learned a few lessons from this summer's all-remote internship that she will apply in the future—and is happy to share with future Quip interns now.</p><p>"Don't be afraid to ask," she says. "There's still plenty of stuff that I have no idea about in engineering. But that's how we learn and grow." Mai, she notes, did a great job of asking for help when she needed it: "A couple of other interns who were afraid to ask questions were blocked for much longer than needed. Instead of being blocked for an hour, they were blocked for two days."</p><p>Mai takes that advice a step farther, sharing what worked for her. Aside from her doc of project updates, she had a separate doc of questions where she would tag her mentor so that they could go in and help her whenever they were free. She also made good use of the engineering team's chat channel, with its in-depth documentation of historical questions asked and answered, and stayed active in the intern chat room, too. She joined all the social events she could—from weekly coffee chats hosted by Salesforce to virtual escape room team events—to keep meeting new people, learning about different projects and ways of working at Quip, and practicing her communication skills.</p><p>"One of the biggest things I learned from this internship is to never stop learning!" says Mai, smiling. "There are so many things I don't understand, and I have a long way to go to become a great software engineer."</p><p>Leslie notes that it's that desire to constantly be learning that set Mai apart and that would serve future interns well, too. "Not only did Mai do a great job on her project and finish it ahead of schedule, but I was even more impressed with how she sort of joined like a normal team member afterward!" says Leslie, who explained that Mai jumped in to help another engineer write tests for his project. "We'd given her some feedback on getting better at testing before, and she took an area for improvement and turned it into a strength through being willing to just dive right in and explore that area. That was awesome."</p><p>Mai's final advice for future interns is simple: soak up as much as you can. "Stay curious," she says. "You can learn anything you want to here."</p>
<p><em>If you're interested in learning more about Quip, check out their PowerToFly profile </em><a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/quip" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><em></em>
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June 25, 2020
For Employers
How Leaders Can Support Their Black Employees
A five-step framework for addressing systematic racism at work
The world has changed in the past few weeks.
We're watching corporations and organizations across the world come out in support of Black lives in droves. Many of those organizations are doing so for the first time in their history.
<p>But supporting Black people goes beyond sharing a mission statement or putting out a press release. It requires dedicated, ongoing work and resources.</p><p>As leaders in the Diversity and Inclusion space, PowerToFly has been getting questions from business leaders on what else they can do. How can they make Black employees feel supported at work? What kind of analysis should they be doing on their own processes and policies to root out systematic racism they may be perpetuating? And how can they keep these conversations about race and racism going even after the media coverage has died down? </p><p>A few weeks ago, in my role as PowerToFly's Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion, I held a chat-and-learn two weeks ago focused on how individuals could be better allies to their Black colleagues and friends. (You can watch a recording of our conversation <a href="https://powertofly.com/career/live-chats/276535-being-an-ally-to-black-colleagues-and-peers" target="_blank">here</a> and read my summary of takeaways <a href="https://powertofly.com/career/webinars/277594-how-leaders-can-support-their-black-employees" target="_blank">here</a>.) Two weeks ago, I held another webinar, this time focused specifically on what leaders—whether CEOs, executives, HR managers, or frontline team leads—can do to support their Black employees. You can<a href="https://powertofly.com/career/webinars/277594-how-leaders-can-support-their-black-employees" target="_blank"> watch a replay</a> or read on for my summary of key points and advice on the subject. </p><p>A reminder: none of what's going on right now is a Black problem. This is an American problem and even a global problem. Black people cannot end systematic racism or white supremacy, and we need white Americans and other allies to work together to end it. We need everyone in the boat with us, rowing together, if we're to see any real change. I know that fighting for that change isn't always comfortable or easy, but it's vital that we do it. It's especially important that all of you leaders, who have seats at the table to change policy and be actively anti-racist in your organizations, do it. </p><p>Thank you for joining the fight.</p><h2>A five-step framework for addressing systematic racism at work</h2><p>Most of us were taught not to discuss race, politics, or religion at work. But times are different now, and ignoring how race and racism impact work is the wrong thing to do. It's vital to address racism in the workplace not just for your employees, but also for the general public, who are noticing which companies are speaking up for what's right and which companies aren't. It'll be increasingly important in the future for leaders to commit to this change as workers and consumers alike seek to align themselves with organizations that share their values. </p><p>To aid you as you start doing that work, here are five steps you can take to start addressing racism at the workplace.</p><h3>1. Get comfortable with having candid conversations about race.</h3><p>There's no such thing as being colorblind. Saying so is problematic. We can't address the things that need to be fixed if we don't see color. Start by acknowledging that there are certain groups of people who are treated differently or haven't had the same opportunities. Start by accepting that you don't have all (or even any) of the answers, but that you're committed to working towards them.</p><h3>2. Do regular, mandatory training on inclusivity, sensitivity, and other race-related topics.</h3><p>Most workplaces have certain courses that are required, at least for managers and leaders, like sexual harassment courses or compliance training. If you want to make it clear that race is important and that racism won't be tolerated at your workplace, you need to invest in mandatory inclusivity training.</p><p>It has to be more than just a check-the-box activity. Your approach can't be, "Oh, everybody took unconscious bias training, we're good to go."</p><p>Just like anything else in your business that you really care about, you'll need to devote money and time to actively dismantling systematic oppression. That looks like monthly or quarterly workshops, having a speaker series where you invite SMEs to take on diversity topics, and investing in a D&I leader or in a resource group and partnering with them to regularly train and educate your workforce.</p><h3>3. Address systemic issues in how you hire, pay, and promote employees.</h3><p>A Black Lives Matter press statement is necessary but not sufficient when it comes to addressing racism at your company. It's a great first step, but if you don't start addressing and making changes beyond the company values section of your website, it's all for naught.</p><p>Start by looking at your salaries. Is there equity in what you're paying Black employees compared to white employees? Don't assume that there is without taking the time to analyze the situation.</p><p>Do the same for employee promotion rates. Who is moving up into bigger management jobs—and who isn't?</p><p>Look at project allocation, too. Are the same people getting the same chances to appear and present in front of executives? Are your Black employees getting opportunities to work on stretch projects?</p><p>Once you understand where the inequities are in your business, address them. These issues have deep-rooted causes and won't go away overnight. You'll need to come up with an action plan and start working against it.</p><h3>4. Review your employee referral program.</h3><p>While employee referral programs can be great, they are often not the best way to attract diverse candidates. If you have a mostly male white workforce, then your employee referrals are going to reflect that. The majority of companies don't have diverse workforces, which warrants a closer look at how these programs are implemented.</p><p>Consider running specialized referral programs through employee resource groups for underrepresented minorities. If you have a Black or Latinx group, for instance, work with your HR or Recruiting teams to source referrals from those pools.</p><h3>5. Create executive sponsorship opportunities for Black employees.</h3><p>Sponsors can make or break a career path. They can fast-track someone to a leadership role, create opportunities, and give an employee cover to try something new. But if Black employees haven't had a chance to get in front of executives—if they aren't playing golf with them, going out to dinners and lunches with them, or working with them on high-priority projects—they won't get those benefits. Add an explicit diversity focus to current sponsorship initiatives, and if none exist, create them in partnership with ERGs.</p><h3>Tips and guidance to inform your approach</h3><p>In implementing the above five steps, you may find yourself feeling unsure or uncomfortable. That's natural, especially if discussing race is something you haven't done before. Remember that to do this work well, you need to be willing to listen and to learn. Below, I've provided answers to some community-sourced questions on how exactly to do that.</p><p><strong>How can I navigate a conversation with Black employees in a way that makes them feel supported?</strong></p><p>As business and HR leaders, you might be wired to be very solution-oriented and to want to fix things for your employees. But you can't immediately fix racism or fix an employee's experience with it at work.</p><p>When talking about race with employees, do not make it about you. If an employee is talking to you about what they're feeling or going through, you can say things like, "I'm so sorry you're going through that" or "I hate that you're feeling that way" or "I care about you." Do not say "I know what you're going through" if you don't. Do not apologize on behalf of the white race or in any other way make it about what you're feeling, whether that's guilt or frustration or anything else. Just listen.</p><p><strong>How can I—or should I—check on Black employees without disrupting their privacy?</strong></p><p>Keep in mind that Black people have been taught to assimilate and blend in as much as possible, especially at work. Being called out at work specifically for being Black is not going to be a comfortable thing for many people. Do not zero in on the one Black person on your team in a meeting, for instance, and ask them how they're doing with everything that's going on.</p><p>If you are going to do a check-in, do it in a one-on-one setting. Give your employee an opportunity to give you cues. Are they bringing up what's happening in the news? Are they sharing that they went to a protest? If not, maybe they don't want to talk about it.</p><p>If you decide to check in anyway, don't direct the conversation. Tell them that you're there to help if they want to talk and that you want to know how they're feeling. But if they don't want to engage, let it go. Remember, this is not about you and what you think you need to do to be a good or inclusive leader. This is about your Black employees and what they are feeling.</p><p><strong>How can I address colleagues who have implied or explicitly stated that they are not allies?</strong></p><p>Be conscious of your energy. There are policies to create at work. There are protests to attend in your neighborhood. There are kids to raise and jobs to do. Investing time in someone who does not care or opposes who you are or what you believe in is not good for you, so minimize those debates and focus on what you can change.</p><p>That being said, don't change your message to make people comfortable. Now is a time to take a stance. If your colleagues aren't willing to do that, it might be time to leave them behind. </p><p><strong>How can a primarily white team or organization support the Black community right now, especially if financial levers like expanding hiring aren't available?</strong></p><p>It's important to move towards creating a more equitable workplace and culture even if you don't have a Black employee on your team. It's the right thing to do. Remember that allyship is essential, and that white allies can have huge influence within organizations and communities. So start with the five steps above. If you have a budget beyond that, invest it in additional D&I training. Provide resources for doing anti-racist work in-house. Dedicate time every week in your team meeting to talk on topics relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement, whether that's defining what being an ally is, learning about systemic oppression, or brainstorming ways to get involved in your local community.</p><p><strong>How can I use levers to make sure my internal and external recruiting is as diverse as possible without being discriminatory?</strong></p><p>First of all, there's nothing discriminatory about asking for a diverse slate of candidates, whether you're asking an external recruiter or an internal team. You're not promising anyone a job based on their identity; you just want to make an effort to see a range of candidates. Hiring diversely doesn't happen by chance. You don't post a job and then just see a flood of resumes that perfectly represent all races and identities. That's called the "post and pray" approach and it's destined to fail.</p><p>If you're hiring internally, start by going to employee groups and encouraging group members to apply. Ask if they have anyone they'd recommend for the position. Make an effort to ensure that people know about open opportunities and what you're looking for.</p><p>If you have a recruiter or sourcer working with you, tell them that you want to look at a diverse pool of candidates.</p><h3>Going forward</h3><p>These are tough subjects to tackle and doing so will require sustained focus and resources. Thank you for doing this work. If there's anything we at PowerToFly can do to help as you continue down the path towards becoming an actively anti-racist organization, please feel free to reach out to me and my team at answers@powertofly.com!</p>
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September 24, 2020
Clyde
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Caitlyn Campbell, Director of Product at Clyde, shares a few tips to keep in mind when applying to Clyde.
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