Diversity at Startups

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Hiring Process

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Diversity and inclusion in your sourcing efforts.

Diversity and inclusion in your sourcing efforts.

It’s tempting for people to build out their teams exclusively with people from their existing networks, people that they already know and trust. It’s the easy thing to do and there’s a lot of pressure to execute quickly. The problem is that people’s social networks tend to be homogeneous and relying on referrals therefore tends to produce homogenous teams. The top of the recruiting funnel has to be diverse for the bottom of the funnel to have any chance of being diverse.

Getting candidates for the top of the funnel involves both generating inbound applications and doing outbound sourcing. Inbounds are likely to skew non-diverse. Amongst other reasons, women are both less inclined to leave current employment after a certain tenure [

Entrepreneur⁠

], and less likely to apply for new jobs if they feel that they don’t meet 100% of the criteria [

HBR⁠

]. So disproportionate effort may have to go into outbound sourcing: finding more diverse talent, actively reaching out and convincing them to apply.

Job descriptions themselves can heavily bias who applies [

Huffington Post⁠

]. Be mindful of the

words⁠

you use in job descriptions. Get feedback from people of different backgrounds and potentially from outside your network. Tools like

Textio⁠

and

Uinclude⁠

can also help you scan for hidden bias that may be discouraging women or underrepresented minorities from applying. Beyond job listings, survey the materials representing your company and make sure you’re putting forth a diverse and inclusive image via your website, your LinkedIn page, marketing materials, etc.

To generate more inbound interest, post to networks and job boards that have the types of candidates you’re looking for. Here are some resources:

⁠

Anita Borg Institute⁠

- digital community for women in computing.

⁠

Hackbright⁠

- software engineering school for women.

⁠

YouAretechY⁠

- helps mothers get hired in tech jobs.

⁠

Blendoor⁠

- mobile job matching app that facilitates diversity recruiting in tech by circumventing unconscious bias.

⁠

Women in Technology⁠

- Organization that promotes increasing # of women participating in NY Tech Industry.

⁠

Hire Tech Ladies ⁠

- Connecting women with the best jobs in tech.

⁠

Vets In Tech⁠

- Helps veterans and their spouses find tech jobs.

⁠

Shift⁠

- a recruiting pipeline that gives companies direct access to exceptional military veterans.

⁠

Operation Code -⁠

helping fill our nation's technical talent shortage though our veteran network.

⁠

Power to Fly -⁠

Changing the way you connect to and hire women

⁠

Apres Group⁠

- Redefining how women return to work.

⁠

Power to Fly⁠

- Connects women to startups and Fortune 500 companies who value Diversity and Inclusion

⁠

Jopwell⁠

is a highly curated career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals. Jopwell assists companies with diversity recruiting, marketing, and retention efforts

⁠

Women in Product⁠

- a site empowering women in product management.

⁠

The Second Shift⁠

- a talent marketplace for women.

New Grad Hiring:

⁠

UC Berkeley Society of Women Engineers⁠

⁠

Caltech Society of Women Engineers⁠

⁠

Stanford Society of Women Engineers⁠

⁠

MIT Society of Women Engineers⁠

⁠

Girls in Tech USC⁠

⁠

UCLA ACM⁠

⁠

HBCU 20x20⁠

⁠

Programs for High School Students (may be good for internships and potential mentorship opportunities):

⁠

American Indian Science and Engineering Society⁠

⁠

Howard University - College of Engineering ...⁠

⁠

Purdue School of Engineering⁠

⁠

Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science⁠

⁠

Start to build your network by getting engaged with the community. Even if it’s not feasible to provide financial sponsorship, you can be present as mentors, volunteers and resources for diversity-focused organizations and events, such as:

⁠

Lesbians Who Tech⁠

⁠

CODE2040⁠

⁠

All Star Code⁠

⁠

Hack the Hood⁠

⁠

Black Girls Code⁠

⁠

Coalition for Queens⁠

⁠

Girls Who Code⁠

⁠

DreamTech⁠

⁠

GirlsInTechNY⁠

⁠

For additional resources, please visit:

⁠

Want diverse applicants? Post your job openings here.⁠

⁠

Job Listings That Are Too "Feminine" for Men⁠

– The New York Times

⁠

https://textio.com/blog/avoiding-harmful-language-in-hiring-content/34152146534⁠

⁠

Next up:
`Interviewing`⁠
⁠

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SourcingSourcing

Next up: Interviewing⁠⁠

Sourcing
Sourcing

Next up:
`Interviewing`⁠
⁠