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Ask HN: Why we don't talk about workplace diversity figures at startups

4 points by kedargj ↗ HN
We've all heard or participated in discussions regarding the workplace diversity figures released by Google, Facebook et al. Kudos to all for taking a step in the right direction.

But, how many of you have questioned the same from startups, successful and unsuccessful. What can they do to start on the right foot?

I was inspired to ask this question after reading Indiegogo's perfect alignment of business objectives and workplace diversity.

http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/10/53854-indiegogos-danae-ringelmann-reveals-importance-diversity-in-startups/

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter of using a different data set to explore more sustainable solutions, implemented early on.

What efforts can startups implement in order create a culture of diversity while exceeding their growth objectives?

13 comments

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freddealmeida
Not sure how much diversity is achievable in a team of three. I suppose you mean here more established larger startups with 50+ employees?
zzzzz_
A startup is only concerned with one thing... survival. So an employee's gender, race or sexual preferences is secondary to their ability to deliver results for the business. A perfect environment for meritocracy. IMO startups don't need to worry about diversity because their inherent nature promotes a level playing field.
tptacek
Also, if you lose a tooth, stick it under your pillow, because fairies will come replace it with a dollar bill!
1dundundun
I'm either old as hell or we were broke (maybe both), because I only got quarters!
mtmail
What happens after the survival stage when there is sizable profit? At that point the company culture might have settled and you ended up with egomaniacs who put profit over everything else in life.
ci5er
1) At what point do you think there is sufficient/sizable profit? Most high-growth enterprises didn't have much left after spending last years profit on this years growth ... until there was an exit, at which point management wasn't their problem any more.

2) Why would investing in diversity be a detriment to profit growth for your egomaniacs? Are you saying that a diverse workforce is less profitable somehow? If not, what do you mean?

1dundundun
Putting some thought into culture helps you avoid problems down the line. First startup I worked for was fun. It was a frat house basically. Looking back, I cringe when I think about how shitty it must have been for the few women who decided to work with us. It's embarrassing actually.

It's not a "perfect environment for meritocracy" and the playing field isn't level man. The sooner we get over ourselves and that idea, the better.

JacobHarrington
While I applaud the focus on diversity and think that it is important that organizations do not discriminate based on nationality/gender/whatever, I hardly think this is a serious concern for smaller companies looking to grow. While I don't believe that discrimination never happens, to me identifying a pattern of discrimination is something that is substantively more achievable with a larger organization than it is in a company with a size under 25.

Ultimately, what I'm getting at is that your question is approaching things from the wrong angle in my opinion. Companies should be choosing whomever best fits the role while ensuring they are not discriminating against minorities (either consciously or subconsciously). Setting out from the start to focus on diversity hires sounds a little too much like trying to fill quotas for my comfort.

jagawhowho
I am outraged by your post. Look at start ups as a whole and it is full of white people. By using the "small company" excuse you are allowing an entire segment of the economy to bypass diversity!

Start ups are in desperate need of diversity training.

subsection1h
> Look at start ups as a whole and it is full of white people. [...] Start ups are in desperate need of diversity training.

1. Browse the projects hosted at GitHub[1].

2. Find photos of the creators of these projects.

3. Notice that the overwhelming majority of the creators are white.

4. Realize that startups want to hire experienced software developers (e.g., developers who have projects on GitHub).

[1] https://github.com/search?q=stars%3A%3E0&s=stars

ci5er
I was only able to glean a single "take-away" from the article on Ms. Ringelmann's presentation on the importance of diversity in startups, which is: doing diversity now helps you when you get to whatever point where you may want to do diversity later. And the immediate benefit to that in either stage as having a larger foundation and broad-based network via which one can do talent acquisition.

Is that about right, or did I miss something?

Klockan
Isn't the definition of a start up that they lack bureaucratic tendencies such as recruitment targeted at niche employees? When you are well off enough to care about tokenism you are no longer a start up.
kedargj
Some more food for thought on how startups could be the key to solving this problem for themselves and the industry at large.

The Diversity Cure: How Startups Are The Key

We’d like to show how startups benefit from a proactive strategy to enlist a wide variety of talent and experience.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2014/12/23/the-diversity-...