Hello blog readers! Having lived in Singapore for many years opened up new dimensions of awareness and awesomeness + helped me forge a special bond (that's now lifelong!!) with the Chinese culture, people, food and especially getting into the habit of celebrating
new year twice over! Wishing you all a happy, prosperous and successful Year Of The Pig 🐷
In Chinese culture, a red lantern is a symbol of prosperity, purposefulness, and enlightenment. That is exactly how I wish this year to be for me. With this positive note, I have lots to cover. I have full 1 month of updates to be precise!
Gillette
Most noteworthy I believe is definitely Gillette's, The Best Men Can Be campaign and the backlash it received on account of calling out on toxic masculinity.
Why is Sexual Harassment Policy not Gender-Neutral?
Second is my own initiative for policy making for organizations. Because of MeToo a lot of chatter is around framing sexual harassment policies focused only on women. However, I have been relentlessly working on a more inclusive agenda i.e. framing policies for sure, but also ensuring they are gender-neutral.
Google Darling
Third, Cheering to Google for launching a free and a new accessibility service built by them to tackle hearing impairment (complete/partial) allowing real-time captioning of in-person conversations. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 466 million people globally that are deaf and hard of hearing. So launching a crucial technology in empowering communication and inclusive access to the world's information to this population is commendable.
Biases Oh Biases! And Ass Boss!
I will also talk about biases in the workplace. How to deal with them. The need also stems from my own personal experiences as I have come across many hiring managers, leaders and decision-makers to have narcissistic personalities and an inflated sense of self. Heck, I have even worked with a few in the recent past! It's not just difficult to work with this type but also detrimental to one's mental health, well-being, and self-esteem. Sometimes a tight slap (figuratively) and a walk-out is just sufficient! No matter what's the prevailing job climate, do not let such egomaniacs disintegrate your dignity.
More on Diversity and the AI conundrum. Can AI really solve Diversity challenges?
On Emerging Tech like AI, there has been mass adoption of AI-based recruiting systems by organizations the world over. Sadly the emphasis is on replacing human interaction and not on amplifying human capabilities.
I was unfortunately associated with some organizations that wanted to replace human intervention altogether in the guise of objective-oriented recruiting methodology. I realized their folly and was quick to dump them.
An interesting insight on Hiring bias: AI system in job boards, professional & social networking integrators are promoting all sorts of hiring discrimination. The insight states that employers deliberately use the emerging Tech intending to do micro-targeting i.e. essentially accessing /getting into the feeds of only a select few and making the job invisible to a few based on their differences and the inability to have all ticks in their proverbial boxes.
To me personally, A.I. is bringing an idea synthesis - where innovation happens at the points of intersection of humanity and technology, leading to rapid adaptability. We can either use AI to amplify our abilities or our limitations - which points to a rigid dichotomy between technology and humanity!
Oracle's Sad Scene
Oracle was recently accused of underpaying Women, Black and Asian employees. Such disclosures are very likely trending in 2019. The classic invalidation of pinning pay gap to market forces isn't going to work now.
Lush Makes Us Fall in Love!
Also a cheerful Lush’s new ‘naked’ store, where the products are packaging free. This is my absolute favorite piece of news.
Ageism is thriving in 2019?
Employers and recruiting agencies always claim it's a "pipeline" problem when hunting for diverse talent and again going back to their tried and tested as well, a flawed recruiting process which is about finding a cultural fit but not a culture contributor.
Many just conveniently overlook other channels, dimensions, and cohorts because of a monomaniacal focus on hiring what's easily available, making the most noise, hireable or just ticking the right boxes i.e. Millennial, Young and hence presumed more productive.
Ageism in the recruiting process is real and thriving. Being a diversity recruiter I'm routinely asked why the diverse talent I represent has masked details like dates when a candidate completed their education or their date of birth. There is an absolute disregard for regulations like the Employment Act etc.
Age discrimination is alive despite all the chatter to limit it.
The lens of Exclusion in the Bias Movie!
My own personal experience in dealing with errant companies. I have faced exclusion challenges not just as a Diversity Recruiter, but also as a candidate. I've been in the starring role in the bias movie myself. Believe me, it's frustrating to be perpetually "ignored" almost to a point of feeling invisible despite being the protagonist :)
There are many more reflective conversations I will have as I have to cover a full month of happening stuff in the world of Diversity and its related faculties!
Stick around you'll!
Stick around you'll!
-Amit Anand
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