HP Innovation Journal Issue 09: Spring 2018 | Page 40

HR Innovation
impressions our brains make based on race, gender, sexual
orientation, religion, nationality, generational nuances
and many other characteristics. We’re usually not even
aware we’ve made an assumption about a person, let alone
how these perceptions drive our behavior and decisions.
But we all do it. The good news is, once we’re made aware
of these biases, we can take concrete steps to reverse or
neutralize them.
As a woman of color, I have experienced these biases
firsthand. As a leader, my innovation goal is to use those
experiences to further HP’s investment in diversity.
Diversity and bias for some can be uncomfortable to
talk about. But the reality is that the conversation is criti-
cal to our future. HR professionals, leaders, and managers
have to get comfortable talking about it. More importantly,
we must all become comfortable acting on it. HP is exer-
cising a bold voice at the table, sharing the opportunities
that arise when we bring this issue to the forefront and
address it.
Action and Progress on HP’s Diversity Scorecard
Diversity is essential to a successful global business.
From HP’s earliest days, the company recognized that
encouraging different points of view (inherent to a diverse
workforce) will yield better products and a more success-
ful company overall. It helps drive innovation and attract
top talent.
We were very intentional about creating a diverse
board and we’ve continued our momentum since our com-
pany split in 2015. We currently have 40% women, 50%
total minorities, and 30% under-represented minorities
sharing their perspectives with our leaders and company
as a whole. Since our split, we have increased women in
executive roles by over 6%. Our goal was to continue to
increase those numbers year over year, and we have. We’re
very excited about the increases, and as a result, we’re
seeing greater innovation companywide.
HP is also taking action with our recent campaign,
“Reinvent Mindsets.” The campaign is meant to wake
people up to human biases, and get them talking and
taking action to disrupt any systemic issues that may
exist. HP’s message is clear: We believe in an open and
inclusive environment where everyone can come as they
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are, and feel a genuine sense of belonging. We’re hiring,
and talent is our only criteria.
In alignment with “Reinvent Mindsets,” HP part-
nered with the National Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Business Deans Roundtable to announce a
competition available to over 80 historically black col-
leges and universities. Participating teams were invited
to submit a written business plan, vying for a chance to
present their plan to senior leadership at HP. The winning
teams earned visits to HP campuses in Boise, ID, Vancou-
ver, WA, and Palo Alto, CA. In addition, they met with and
presented their projects to senior leaders, toured HP Labs,
visited the original offices of HP’s founders and some were
offered internship opportunities.
Another effort we’ve made to increase diversity and
inclusion is providing unconscious bias training at all
levels of the company. It began with the global talent
acquisition organization and leaders and has expanded
into our hiring managers across the company. When we
end each session, we do action planning around how
we will bring these learnings into our everyday actions,
including hiring, talent reviews, and promotions.
Garbage in, Garbage out: Diversity’s Role in Artifi-
cial Intelligence. If we’re not making diversity a priority
at this point in time, what are we going to do when AI is
fully ingrained in our workplaces? It’s essential that we get
a handle on this now.
There are several questions we need to answer, but a
couple that keep me up at night: When we start to rely on
facial recognition, eye imprints, and more, how will AI
handle these? As humans, we sometimes fail to recognize
cultural and societal nuances. How is AI going to recog-
nize those? We must challenge assumptions and maintain
a spirit of curiosity and inquiry in order to meet these
challenges head-on.
It’s also important that the people developing these AI
tools are diverse. You must be very intentional when you
create an AI and diversity strategy. Thanks to changing
demographics, we’re experiencing a shift in the tapestry of
our society. Today’s customers are global, so you must take
into account consumers from different backgrounds and
unique experiences when developing diversity and AI tools.