Slides for my talk at the Rosalind Franklin Society on effective advocacy in a corporate setting.

1. Advocacy in the Enterprise
What Works, What Doesn’t
Chris Dwan (chris@dwan.org)
Board Meeting & Colloquium of the Rosalind Franklin Society
November 20, 2019

2. What works: Leadership
Leaders at all levels who make
safety, inclusion, equity, and
access part of their job can
have substantial, near term
impacts.
Without personal buy-in from
leaders, even best practices
have limited impact, and
mistakes are amplified.

3. “There is a point in your leadership journey where culture
becomes part of the job.”
Samantha Singer (@sgraysinger)

7. What doesn’t work: Doing Nothing
• Not being sexist
• Talking about how you’re not
sexist
• Having a wife / daughter
• Talking about your wife /
daughter
• Whining about how hard it is
to build a team / business.
• Assuming something is
unbiased because a woman
said it.
• Assuming that teams led by
women are bias-free.
• ... Etc …

8. Harmful Things
• Quotas: Without careful
management, quotas often
lead to dual standards,
lingering resentment, and
limited retention / promotion.
• Public shame: Exquisitely
worded blog posts and snarky
tweets about friends /
colleagues can drive potential
allies away, rather than
encouraging them to engage.

9. What Works: Hiring
Job Requirements: Remove everything not
actually required for the job.
Leverage recruiters: Insist on non-homogenous
batches of applicants, even if it takes longer.
Blind auditions: Mask signals of gender, race, and
socioeconomic status, especially during triage.
Structured interviews: Evaluate candidates
against job requirements, not “fit.”
Fight confirmation bias: Listen before speaking.
Avoid “what does the boss think?”

11. What Works: The Workplace
Sponsors for new team members: Review successes and
challenges as part of the sponsor’s performance
evaluation.
Tear down barriers: The modern workspace includes many
barriers to access and inclusion. Make this part of the
conversation, including anonymous feedback.
Reporting: Transparent, consistent reporting on recruiting,
retention, promotion, and compensation (not quotas).
Broaden the converstaion: “Nothing about us without us.”
Coach the managers: “The Talk” for new (and old)
managers (transference, retaliation, human nature)

12. “There is a point in your leadership journey where culture
becomes part of the job.”
Samantha Singer (@sgraysinger)

13. The future is already here – it’s just not very well
distributed
William Gibson

14. Thank You
• Sadiya Akasha (@akashaSadiya)
• Bruce Birren
• Cathleen Bonner (@piesie23)
• Michele Busby (@michelebusby)
• Tanya Cashorali (@tanyacash21 / @tcbanalytics)
• Ruth Coxeter (@ruthcoxeter)
• Roxanne Diaz (@roxndiaz)
• Kathy Dooly (@katedevil)
• Emily Dresner (@multiplexer)
• Eleanor Howe (@eleanorahowe /
@diamondagedatas)
• Nancy J. Kelley (@nancyjkelley)
• Dave Lahr (@dllahr)
• Corry Lee (@corry_lee)
• Julianna LeMieux (@juliemieux1)
• Greg Martin
• Marieke Nijkamp (@mariekeyn)
• Shikha O’Brien (@shikhaobrien)
• Carolyn Pointer (@carolynapointer)
• Karla Shepard Rubinger
• J.T. Scott (@jtforward2)
• Samantha Singer (@sgraysinger)
• Karen Taggart (@TheCrazyDogLady)
• Geraldine Van der Auwera (@VdaGeraldine)
• Joseph Vitti (@josephvitti)
• Carol Webb (@crollah9)
• Samantha Zeitlin (@samanthazeitlin)