Conference Presentation, Panel
Beyond "Brotopia": Leaders Challenging the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley
Milken InstituteEmily Chang, Bo Young Lee, Erin McPherson, Kara Nortman, Elaine Paul, Melissa Waters
- Brotopia's growth in Silicon Valley is predicted to persist as long as those in power remain unaware of its existence and maintain a belief in meritocracy and color-blindness.
- Companies that prioritize diversity from their point of origin are expected to build diverse teams more easily, whereas moving beyond a problematic origin requires seismic effort and is extremely difficult once established.
- Lyft cites its early commitment to diversity as a competitive advantage over the last several years, while Hulu's pre-existing culture of openness and respect is expected to serve as a significant asset during transformation.
- Removing hierarchy at Uber is planned to elevate more voices, facilitate cultural shifts, and allow men to articulate needs for partnership and child-rearing without being perceived as weak.
- Uber's public perception is predicted to be 180 degrees different from its internal reality, where 99.9% of employees are dedicated, kind, and inclusive; navigating cultural norms like hierarchy and emotional expression is expected to reduce the company's masculine-dominant appearance.
- Organizations are expected to move away from prototypical masculine work cultures to allow men to act in less competitive, more collaborative ways, potentially occurring once a specific difference (like gender) exceeds 30%.
- A workforce that reflects its customers is predicted to benefit the bottom line, and the absence of support for parental leave and flexibility is expected to result in leadership positions occupied by 50% of the population or less.
- Embracing 100% of the population is expected to maximize success opportunities, while celebrating men who enjoy caring is predicted to help move the industry forward.
- Significant cultural change is expected to occur only when every company evaluates its culture, permission, people, and processes, with a "be yourself" value cited as providing necessary cultural permission for individuals.
- White men with an inclination toward inclusivity are planned to be identified and upskilled to act as inclusion champions, facilitating training and coaching for other white men, even if those men have not personally experienced the sting of racism.
- Progress on diversity is expected to require daily focus, measuring real results, and making small daily gains to ensure discussion continues six months later, rather than relying on vague promises to do better.
- Aaron McPherson predicts that definitive mandates like "50-50 by 2020" may lead to unproductive actions, whereas incremental goals such as a 10% increase in women hiring over the next couple of years are suggested as more viable.
- Erin Meechan argues that a 10% growth target is insufficient and advocates for redefining goals to specific, measurable targets like "50-50 by a specific year" to avoid letting organizations off the hook.
- Fear of saying the wrong thing is expected to cause organizations to stop talking altogether, necessitating discussion environments without judgment as a necessary but difficult starting point for engagement.
- Implicit associations showing "black equals bad, white equals good" are expected to be common in the majority of people taking the Implicit Association Test, though acknowledging these biases is predicted to reduce acting on them.
- Individuals are encouraged to understand their own cultural orientation regarding expressiveness and hierarchy to acknowledge how their attributes build their teams.
- The "ground game" of diversity is expected to require successful men to ask women in their lives what they can do, alongside switching boards to challenge personal biases and ensuring deals are structured in favor of women or minorities in their first three months.
- Recruiting from traditionally all-African-American colleges is expected to bring more diverse talent into the pipeline, while individual sponsorship pushing people beyond their comfort zones is predicted to be powerful.
- Women investing in businesses is expected to train them to become future venture capitalists and increase the number of funds operating with a gender lens, particularly at the early stage.
- Diversity in leadership positions is expected to improve as organizations provide support for transitions pre-children and post-children, with advocates, mentors, and sponsors identified as crucial for moving this forward.
- Nothing is expected to change in seismic ways until organizations create policies that celebrate men who care, allowing the collective good across the sector to benefit all participants.