On Wednesday, June 22nd, we hosted #StartupChats to talk about diversity and inclusion for startups.
An incredible panel of experts joined us to share their knowledge and provide valuable advice throughout the hour:
- Dr Helen Ofosu, I/O Advisory Services Inc
- Andrea Pohlmann, Cheekbone Beauty
- Cydney Mar, Product Development Strategist
- Zoey Schvan, Disabled Entrepreneur Coach
- Harar Hall, Quake Lab
- Kai Scott, TransFocused
- Chett Bradley, Egale Canada
- Nicole Jones Crosley, Futurpreneur
- Nunzio Presta, Buy And Sell A Business
- Darrell Schuurman, the CGLCC
- Nancy Beth Guptill, Startup PEI
What are companies struggling with when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
Creating space for #DEI in every aspect of the company is important! Having a diversity and inclusion policy for all aspects of the organization, from meeting logistics to hiring to presentation delivery is a first step in embedding diversity in everything you do! #StartupChats
— Elevate (@ElevateTechCA) June 22, 2022
A1: There are so many challenges, but to echo @n_jc_ it is about intention and conversation. We get asked about this a lot as a brand, and we always say to communicate with the people you want to include; talk to communities local to you and see what they need, first and foremost
— Cheekbone Beauty 💋 (@cheekbonebeauty) June 22, 2022
We observe orgs struggle with: 1) being overwhelmed by the # and types of EDI changes needed, 2) siloing EDI work without resources, and 3) not knowing how to fit gender equity with gender diversity objectives. #StartupChats
— TransFocus Consulting, Inc. (@transfocused) June 22, 2022
How can you ensure there is diversity on your team and within your organization?
At @theCGLCC we strive to align ourselves with organizations that support diverse communities and join initiatives that keep us accountable, like signing up for the 50/30 challenge! @Startup_Canada #StartupChats #50_30Challenge
— Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce (@theCGLCC) June 22, 2022
A2: As our founder and CEO @Sharon_Okeno says in Taking action at work Part 1: Bringing folks in “Solving inclusion challenges must be structural. Don’t limit your solutions to what makes you comfortable – get messy, get complicated.”
3/4— QuakeLab (@TheQuakeLab) June 22, 2022
A2. I feel like the term ‘disabled’ in my title will hopefully make others feel comfortable to share their story #startupchats
— Zoey Schvan She/Her (@ZoeySchvan) June 22, 2022
Why does diversity matter?
A4: So let’s start by acknowledging the elephant in the room – if we didn’t have this business case for diversity, would it make it ok to create barriers to access for marginalized people?
1/7
— QuakeLab (@TheQuakeLab) June 22, 2022
A4. One reason is a reduction of confirmation bias. Diverse perspectives allow new ideas to be raised, considered and adopted #StartupChats
— LYNDON [THINK DIFFERENTLY] JOHNSON (@THINK_Lyndon) June 22, 2022
Want to keep learning about diversity and inclusion for startups? View the entire transcript of this conversation.