Diverse from day one: why it’s critical for startups

When it comes to diversity, startups face a common conundrum. Founders tend to hire from within their own networks on a who-we-know basis. They want proven talent and outsourced recruitment is expensive. The result: they hire other people who look and sound like them.

Elina Ashimbayeva – founder of online diversity resource Storyo, and a facilitator with AllySkills NZ – says diversity only breeds diversity if you start early.

“It’s going to be a lot harder when you’re a mostly white male team of 20 or 100 and you suddenly say ‘hey, let’s get more diversity on the team’. When you try to do it late, it can feel jarring to those communities.” 

Taking the retrofit approach won’t cut it with the very people you’re wanting to attract.

“The community is small in New Zealand, and word spreads. People will be wary about joining your company if you haven’t been authentic, or other people from marginalised communities have felt unsafe,” she says.

Unlike bigger companies, startups have the freedom to write their own diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rules from day one, and have carte blanche to create an inclusive environment, says Ashimbayeva. 

“Marginalised people want to be with companies that have meaningful, actionable policies. It’s not just about spending money on rainbow flags for Pride month.”

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How to connect 

What if you don’t have networks in diverse communities or friends who can introduce you personally. How do you go about it?

Ashimbayeva says it can feel intimidating but the important thing is to just start.

“There are lots of ways to start lite. Read a book, go to a play, join an online conference for people from different communities. Even as a passive observer, you’ll learn so much.”

Even better, find ways for your startup to actively engage with those communities – sponsor a club, join a network, volunteer to support their mahi. 

You can also engage advisors and businesses who specialise in diversity training and immersion (see list below). 

Whoever you approach for advice, make sure you pay appropriately for their expertise; not everybody does, says Ashimbayeva.

“Corporates will often say, ‘come and talk to us and educate us on diversity … we’ll give you a bottle of wine’. This happens all the time! Just like you wouldn’t expect someone to provide tax advice for free, recognise that you’re asking for someone’s expertise and time.”

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Diversity-test your product or service

It goes without saying: having a diverse team around your table builds a better product. Yet even the biggest brands fail at this – like Apple Watch, recently challenged for scanning less effectively on dark skin. 

“If everyone around your product building and testing table all come from similar backgrounds, it probably never occurs to them what other groups might experience,” she says. “That’s why you need people who feel safe to tell you, ‘hey wait, that’s not our experience’.”

Ashimbayeva recommends using the red-team technique: “As a team, explore all the ways your product could be misused, not used, or even negatively impact different communities.”

And while it’s impossible to meet every market need, at least you know where you sit. If your tech product will be inaccessible to 13 percent of New Zealand households that don’t have high-speed internet, for example, it’s better to know that. If you’re aware that one in 12 men are affected by colour-blindness, you might consider some design tweaks. 

“You can’t do everything. But if you pick one thing per quarter, and focus on it for three months, you’ll be way further along than most companies.” 

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Resources to help you upskill

• AllySkills NZ offers talks, workshops and consulting on diversity and inclusion. 
• Storyo provides 180-plus stories and videos from people across diverse communities.
• Multitudes aims to make the tech space more inclusive and equitable.
• The Ministry for Ethnic Minorities provides free online learning resources.
• Colabcohorts’ Equitable Product programme helps companies design more inclusive products.
• All is for All connects businesses with people living with disability.
• DivergenThinking works with New Zealand businesses on neurodiversity.
• Rainbow Tick provides certification and resources on gender diversity.
• Diversity Works New Zealand offers accreditation and training for workplace diversity.
• Digital Equity NZ is a hub for the digital inclusion community in Aotearoa.
• Hello Access links businesses with people with disabilities who can test their products.

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