During my career, leading up to becoming the CEO of Pladia, I regularly found myself in environments where my queer female identity was not represented and wasn’t reflected in the people leading the companies I worked for.
It’s an experience many share in workplaces, and one that can be further exacerbated as you ascend the leadership ladder.
But it’s always important to remember that diversity in thinking, background, and experience is good for business. McKinsey has been producing reports on the business case for diversity on executive teams for years, and their latest data is the most compelling: It shows a 39 per cent increased likelihood of outperformance for those in the top quartile of ethnic and gender representation versus the bottom quartile.
Significantly, across all industries surveyed, McKinsey shows that more diversity on boards and executive teams correlates with higher social and environmental impact scores.
But there’s an incorrect assumption that simply having diversity means an organisation is inclusive.
Hiring diverse talent is one thing—creating an environment where those diverse voices are empowered and valued is another thing altogether. I suspect this has contributed to the increased scrutiny towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and why some companies have fallen short and are starting to retreat from it entirely.
Inclusivity requires intentionality
Without real representation in the C-suite, critical perspectives for effective decision making and leadership is lost, and businesses fail to make diverse teams feel heard. Hiring for diversity is often easier than creating the supportive environment needed for diverse team members to thrive. Leaders who have lived these challenges tend to have better empathy to address them, allowing the C-suite to create better conditions for success.
Inclusion is often eluded because it requires intentionality, and it doesn’t happen by chance. Many companies make significant investments in meeting diversity targets, yet they struggle to retain talent from underrepresented groups. This is largely because inclusion is a continuous effort—it’s about more than numbers. Interactions and communication styles, company norms, and workplace practices all contribute to feelings of exclusion.
Personally, I found myself inadvertently adopting an approach to inclusion that workplace studies would characterise as a “non-verbal strategy of identity”. The blazer was my professional brand for many years, until I critically examined why. I assumed it was a simple stylistic choice. I work in the technology sector, a predominantly male industry. My co-workers typically wore hoodies, yet I donned a blazer, even in summer. As a queer woman in tech, I was aware that I already had enough obstacles to overcome professionally. If nothing else, my attire would be beyond reproach. Minority workers, regardless of their work status, are often expected to do more to receive equitable treatment. My non-verbal strategy of identity was to embody heteronormative masculinist ideals about power, knowledge, and expertise which I encoded in my attire.
These strategies go unrecognised unless leaders and managers are trained to identify them and to address the unconscious biases within themselves and their teams that lead to them in the first place.
The ‘mirrortocracy’ of opportunity
Another area that often goes overlooked is how career advancement happens.
Promotions are often based on relationships with superiors, and too often, those relationships are shaped by similarity. This is the ‘mirrortocracy’ in action, where people who look and think the same are consistently rewarded above those who do not. Venture capital uses pattern recognition to inform investments, which is why the funding for minorities has lagged and essentially stalled in terms of progress.
At a high-growth startup I worked for in Los Angeles, an investor was invited to a Q&A. A relatively young female employee raised her eager hand and asked the investor, “What do you look for in a founder and CEO to invest in them?” His response? “You gotta have balls!”. The double entendre was not lost on me, knowing companies founded exclusively by women receive just a tiny portion of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the United States.
Everyone should have access to the same opportunities, no matter how closely they resemble their leaders or investors. Opportunities should be made available, and the criteria for promotion must be clear and attainable. I challenge myself to consider: are there unwritten rules of advancement that only a subgroup is aware of or invited to learn?
Pladia’s approach to inclusivity
At Pladia, we approach inclusivity at the leadership level with candidness and vulnerability shaped by our lived experiences. Buzzwords are for the cynical, but they are guiding principles for those actively trying to transform and improve an organisation. We challenge ourselves and each other to ensure that we are not paying lip service to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion but that we are truly creating an environment where all employees—not just those who mirror the status quo of business leadership—have the opportunity to succeed. This goes beyond demographics. It extends to communication styles, neuro-divergent approaches, whether in the office or at home, and ways of working to ensure those with quiet confidence are afforded the authority and space to be heard alongside their more overtly extroverted or dominant peers.
The reality is that when people don’t feel comfortable being their authentic selves, businesses fail to leverage the full value of diverse perspectives and talents. That’s why in our team, we’ve made it a priority to create an environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, because that’s how we unleash their true potential.
I ask myself this question regularly: “Have I created the conditions for every person to contribute in their unique way, feel safe and secure, grow professionally, and be genuinely better for having been a part of the team?”
When the answer is no, I dare myself to recognise it, and then change it.