What do you think?
Rate this book
Getting to Diversity: What Works and What Doesn’t
“Too many companies don’t know how to walk the walk of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Getting to Diversity shows them how.”
―Lori George Billingsley, former Global Chief DEI Officer, Coca-Cola Company
In an authoritative, data-driven account, two of the world’s leading management experts challenge dominant approaches to increasing workplace diversity and provide a comprehensive account of what really works.
Every year America becomes more diverse, but change in the makeup of the management ranks has stalled. The problem has become an urgent matter of national debate. How do we fix it? Bestselling books preach moral reformation. Employers, however well intentioned, follow guesswork and whatever their peers happen to be doing. Arguing that it’s time to focus on changing systems rather than individuals, two of the world’s leading experts on workplace diversity show us a better way in the first comprehensive, data-driven analysis of what succeeds and what fails. The surprising results will change how America works.
Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev draw on more than thirty years of data from eight hundred companies as well as in-depth interviews with managers. The research shows just how little companies gain from standard sending managers to diversity training to reveal their biases, then following up with hiring and promotion rules, and sanctions, to shape their behavior. Almost nothing changes. It’s time, Dobbin and Kalev argue, to focus on changing the management systems that make it hard for women and people of color to succeed. They show us how the best firms are pioneering new recruitment, mentoring, and skill training systems, and implementing strategies for mixing segregated work groups to increase diversity. They explain what a difference ambitious work–life programs make. And they argue that as firms adopt new systems, the key to making them work is to make them accessible to all―not just the favored few.
Powerful, authoritative, and driven by a commitment to change, Getting to Diversity is the book we need now to address constructively one of the most fraught challenges in American life.
―Lori George Billingsley, former Global Chief DEI Officer, Coca-Cola Company
In an authoritative, data-driven account, two of the world’s leading management experts challenge dominant approaches to increasing workplace diversity and provide a comprehensive account of what really works.
Every year America becomes more diverse, but change in the makeup of the management ranks has stalled. The problem has become an urgent matter of national debate. How do we fix it? Bestselling books preach moral reformation. Employers, however well intentioned, follow guesswork and whatever their peers happen to be doing. Arguing that it’s time to focus on changing systems rather than individuals, two of the world’s leading experts on workplace diversity show us a better way in the first comprehensive, data-driven analysis of what succeeds and what fails. The surprising results will change how America works.
Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev draw on more than thirty years of data from eight hundred companies as well as in-depth interviews with managers. The research shows just how little companies gain from standard sending managers to diversity training to reveal their biases, then following up with hiring and promotion rules, and sanctions, to shape their behavior. Almost nothing changes. It’s time, Dobbin and Kalev argue, to focus on changing the management systems that make it hard for women and people of color to succeed. They show us how the best firms are pioneering new recruitment, mentoring, and skill training systems, and implementing strategies for mixing segregated work groups to increase diversity. They explain what a difference ambitious work–life programs make. And they argue that as firms adopt new systems, the key to making them work is to make them accessible to all―not just the favored few.
Powerful, authoritative, and driven by a commitment to change, Getting to Diversity is the book we need now to address constructively one of the most fraught challenges in American life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2022
27 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 17, 2023
Interessant. Eigenlijk boekversie van een wetenschappelijk artikel. Voelde echt alsof ik weer ff op de uni zat (negatief). Wel veel van geleerd, niet alles is per se toepasbaar op elke organisatie maar het is goed om te lezen welke interventies wel/niet werken. Zeker omdat dit soms tegen je eigen verwachtingen in gaat.
July 3, 2023
This book goes beyond moral arguments and provides data driven practices that have & haven’t worked. The diversity area is a subject matter ripe for emotional charged, moral rhetoric - so this book was a refreshing departure.
Below are take home summary points
- Anti-bias & harassment work must be strategic, collaborative, and multi-tiered. In isolation, punishment programs (mandatory bias training) and blaming individuals sparks backlash, double down on beliefs, and victim blame - even among those open to training and it ultimately doesn’t change representation. Similarly grievance systems don’t usually work bc often low reporting for retribution fears and perpetrator backlash, victim blame, and doubles down or isolates - ombudsman can work better.
- Cultural inclusion training that focus on collaboration, crucial communication & skills training, and provides concrete tools for workers and managers are helpful and works better than mandated legal / compliance training. Bystander training has shown effectiveness as it provided tools for handling situations as a bystander. Skills training need to be available to every employee as well as cross training managers and workers which breaks down silos.
- Competence/Standardized testing exacerbate disparity as those w more resources do better and rarely predict job performance. Performance ratings similarly exacerbate women & URM disparity possibly bc these subjective systems rely on interpersonal social connections which out women and URM at disadvantage for predominantly white managers and contributes to an objective facade to inherently biased process.
- Recruitment needs broad, expanded search pool (hbcu, minority orgs (SNMA, NMA), send managers to recruitment events, incentivize referrals - esp minority recruits (gift cards, small funds, counterintuitive but smaller works better than bigger)
- Mentoring and social networks promote diversity 1) formal > informal since informal often inadvertently excludes women and UiM 2) accessible for all otherwise risk losing women and UiM 3) match on interests not race/sex/ethnicity as it’ll minority tax (1 black women might have 15 mentees). Sponsorship is different, an advocate on your behalf, can do without much mentorship. Employee resource groups are ok but cannot silo at expense of cross cultural relationships. Self-managed teams (I.e. working groups) w/o official manager/supervisor lack hierarchy but help junior members outshine and translate into promotions - it’s a proving group.
- Work life policies including childcare, parental leave, flexibility, time off tend to keep parents and urm at jobs (data supports). Disparities exist bc 1) harder to offer for low wage jobs which exacerbate minority disparities 2) usually only offered to hard to replace, highly valuable workers. Need support at top, promoted, valued, and actually performed by top leaders. FMLA for parental leave federal law as of ‘93, 12 weeks women & men, but <10% low wage workers have access. Childcare on-site and voucher systems increase women managers & UiM workforce that increase retention.
- Diversity tasks force & managers increase diversity (evidence based) 1) keeps CEO & upper level management accountable, highlights inequities, use data, close collab w HR data, empower grassroots 2) task forces best evidence for increasing diversity (second to mentoring programs), regular brainstorming, collaborate w HR, MUST USE DATA 3) transparent goal and metric setting - UiM/women applicants, hires, promotions, exit interviews (high emphasis!), upper level managers need to know data, share during exec meetings
Below are take home summary points
- Anti-bias & harassment work must be strategic, collaborative, and multi-tiered. In isolation, punishment programs (mandatory bias training) and blaming individuals sparks backlash, double down on beliefs, and victim blame - even among those open to training and it ultimately doesn’t change representation. Similarly grievance systems don’t usually work bc often low reporting for retribution fears and perpetrator backlash, victim blame, and doubles down or isolates - ombudsman can work better.
- Cultural inclusion training that focus on collaboration, crucial communication & skills training, and provides concrete tools for workers and managers are helpful and works better than mandated legal / compliance training. Bystander training has shown effectiveness as it provided tools for handling situations as a bystander. Skills training need to be available to every employee as well as cross training managers and workers which breaks down silos.
- Competence/Standardized testing exacerbate disparity as those w more resources do better and rarely predict job performance. Performance ratings similarly exacerbate women & URM disparity possibly bc these subjective systems rely on interpersonal social connections which out women and URM at disadvantage for predominantly white managers and contributes to an objective facade to inherently biased process.
- Recruitment needs broad, expanded search pool (hbcu, minority orgs (SNMA, NMA), send managers to recruitment events, incentivize referrals - esp minority recruits (gift cards, small funds, counterintuitive but smaller works better than bigger)
- Mentoring and social networks promote diversity 1) formal > informal since informal often inadvertently excludes women and UiM 2) accessible for all otherwise risk losing women and UiM 3) match on interests not race/sex/ethnicity as it’ll minority tax (1 black women might have 15 mentees). Sponsorship is different, an advocate on your behalf, can do without much mentorship. Employee resource groups are ok but cannot silo at expense of cross cultural relationships. Self-managed teams (I.e. working groups) w/o official manager/supervisor lack hierarchy but help junior members outshine and translate into promotions - it’s a proving group.
- Work life policies including childcare, parental leave, flexibility, time off tend to keep parents and urm at jobs (data supports). Disparities exist bc 1) harder to offer for low wage jobs which exacerbate minority disparities 2) usually only offered to hard to replace, highly valuable workers. Need support at top, promoted, valued, and actually performed by top leaders. FMLA for parental leave federal law as of ‘93, 12 weeks women & men, but <10% low wage workers have access. Childcare on-site and voucher systems increase women managers & UiM workforce that increase retention.
- Diversity tasks force & managers increase diversity (evidence based) 1) keeps CEO & upper level management accountable, highlights inequities, use data, close collab w HR data, empower grassroots 2) task forces best evidence for increasing diversity (second to mentoring programs), regular brainstorming, collaborate w HR, MUST USE DATA 3) transparent goal and metric setting - UiM/women applicants, hires, promotions, exit interviews (high emphasis!), upper level managers need to know data, share during exec meetings
September 2, 2023
Clear and precise pointers for those who want to design strategies that work to accomplish more diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Diversity training and anti-harrassment training don't work, for example. Social justice training and cultural inclusion training probably work better. But strategies that engage management to do better and policies that democratize mentoring do.
February 21, 2023
read for grad class / interesting but definitely more corporation focused and not education focused.
October 14, 2024
In Organizational Development, we often receive requests for training to solve problems that are actually rooted in systems. There’s a common belief that changing people’s attitudes will lead to changed behaviors, but the reality is, people fall to the level of the systems they operate in.
This book was an eye-opener. While some of the research is more US-centric, the key takeaways reaffirmed that DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) isn’t about “fixing” managers through training. As long as we continue using outdated systems that need democratizing, any training program could actually backfire, worsening the issues for the very groups we aim to support.
It’s a must-read. Even in my own OD practice, I found it incredibly relevant, highlighting the biases we need to avoid when designing and supporting change interventions. Definitely worth the purchase—a lot of great recommendations I’m already rethinking for my day job!
This book was an eye-opener. While some of the research is more US-centric, the key takeaways reaffirmed that DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) isn’t about “fixing” managers through training. As long as we continue using outdated systems that need democratizing, any training program could actually backfire, worsening the issues for the very groups we aim to support.
It’s a must-read. Even in my own OD practice, I found it incredibly relevant, highlighting the biases we need to avoid when designing and supporting change interventions. Definitely worth the purchase—a lot of great recommendations I’m already rethinking for my day job!
July 15, 2023
4.5 stars. A really good overview of corporate diversity: what works and what doesn't. A lot of this I knew/am already doing professionally, but some of it was new and provided interesting solutions to equity especially in management level positions. Geared towards larger corporations, there were still a lot of great tips and ideas to consider for equity and diversity at a firm my size.
I selected this for the BSA HR Network summer reading book - every summer we try to read one book and then discuss in the fall. There were a couple other contenders, and I just picked those up at the library too.
I selected this for the BSA HR Network summer reading book - every summer we try to read one book and then discuss in the fall. There were a couple other contenders, and I just picked those up at the library too.
October 15, 2022
This book is an excellent resource based on real data and surveys of how to effectively implement DEI into companies.
January 23, 2025
Remind me the research I did with my supervisor by using the same methods to research social science issues.
Read
February 17, 2025I read this for grad school.
April 7, 2025
Quick read and good summary but many things were presented in ways that oversimplified organizational efforts around training and other processes.
December 22, 2022
This was a really eye-opening book. I liked the data-driven approach for analyzing what worked at improving diversity and what didn't. Although it is more broadly designed for those who influence company policy, as an individual contributor and technical leader it gave me some tools for how I can help increase diversity as well (mentoring diverse mentees, participating in recruiting, encouraging ERGs to focus on recruiting, leading by example on taking flex time and encouraging others to do likewise.
I tried to capture the actionable items for individual contributors in this blog post for others.
I tried to capture the actionable items for individual contributors in this blog post for others.
December 3, 2022
Some good suggestions but I was hoping for some more suggestions and steps organizations can do to identify systemic racism and get rid of it at work.
February 16, 2023
Loved this book - great insight on what works vs doesn’t in the DEI space. Some very surprising results!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews