Inclusion on Purpose - Snippet #9

WIT Updates the Culture Code

Inclusion on Purpose Snippet #9

We’re now starting the final third of the book Inclusion on Purpose: an intersectional approach to creating a culture of belonging at work, by Ruchika Tulshyan (2022, MIT Press). Chapter 9 is titled: A Future Powered by Inclusive Technology. This summary below was the result of my AI prompt:

• Risk awareness: Tech can encode bias (datasets, models, access); inclusion requires intentional design and governance.
• Practices: Diverse product teams, bias testing, and user research with marginalized communities.
• Goal: Build tools that broaden opportunity rather than scale inequity. [direct.mit.edu]

As usual Tulshyan starts with a personal story. Ifeoma Ozoma ran up against frequent racist and discriminatory practices in her work at Pinterest in 2019 and 2020. She was their public policy and social impact manager, so her eye was on how their external messaging was crafted and received, and worked to protect the brand’s reputation. Brand reputation can easily be destroyed if the internal practices don't match the external promotions, and Ozomo noticed a lot of daylight between those two. These practices included discriminatory salaries, coworker online harassment, negative performance reviews for bringing up concerns, and a managerial focus more on how concerns were presented rather than the substantive concerns that were raised. Ozoma and another black woman left the company in May of 2020 but in June of 2020 they both observed Pinterest making public statements in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Eventually they spoke out publicly to draw attention to the disparity between the public stance Pinterest was taking and the internal racism and sexism that they had experienced. As usual this particular story serves to illustrate a broader concern. Because of their scope of integration and ubiquity in our everyday activities, bias and discriminatory practices in technology companies have an outsized impact on all of us.

Tulshyan reminds us (p. 201) that technology arises from computer science which arises from mathematics, and that mathematics has long institutionalized sexism and racism. The belief that women and non Asian people of color were unable to excel in these fields, resulted in their exclusion from the early days of development, and in the western world- most of the technology we use was developed initially by white men. And the impact is that these technologies work best for white men. Hearing aids that can't hear women’s voice pitches, facial recognition that can't read dark skin, medical devices that don’t work for people of color, and all kinds of tech that doesn't work for people with disabilities. Tulshyan provides numerous statistics from the American Mathematical Society , the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Science Foundation all documenting the small percentage of women in STEM, and women of color in STEM.

The rest of the chapter is divided into the following sections, which I will summarize for you. Note that these summaries necessarily leave out much of the chapter's detail. I hope that some of you will read the text itself if this topic catches your attention.

Why bias in the industry is bad for society

When technology is created with a limited perspective, tested with limited data sets, and checked against only mainstream concerns and guidelines, the gaps in its capabilities might not even be noticed until after that tech is already deployed and in a position to cause harm. None of this has to be intentional, but the design itself causes the tech to fail to serve its purpose equitably. If algorithms don't identify women as skilled mathematicians and don't steer job advertisements their way, we won't ever have the mathematicians our society needs. If self-driving cars can't effectively recognize dark skinned faces, they will not work properly to identify pedestrians, drivers, or law enforcement. And when this failure keeps getting repeated, it’s our design failure that needs to change.

Technology companies must immediately regulate harassment and misinformation

“Women of color face severe and sustained online harassment. It’s unacceptable morally, but has far reaching consequences too, like the risk to free speech and a country’s democracy.” (p. 205)

Tulshyan writes about women journalists, technologists, social media content creators, and venture capitalists who have been driven out of their work because of this relentless abuse. Online abuse is not protected free speech when it crosses the line into hate and harm with real consequences.

An exclusionary ecosystem for women of color entrepreneurs

Funding is a critical area for any entrepreneur, but raising capital, getting taken seriously, and meeting with potential investors without being either harassed or having your ideas stolen, were all identified as extremely difficult by the technology entrepreneurs Tulshayan interviewed. If investors are only confident in the ideas of people who look like them, and wealth is still concentrated in the majority, it’s harder for others to get funding for a new idea. She cites data (p. 209) from a 2018 Entrepreneur article on the 2017 figures that only 2.2% of venture capital funding went to women founders in that year, and that only 0.2 % of venture capital funding goes to Black women technology founders.

A call to action to inclusive tech leaders

“First, more women of color must be recruited in and advanced across the industry, whether as technology company employees or entrepreneurs.” (p.210)

Tulshyan stresses that we need to be improving the current workplace environment at the same time we are reinforcing the educational pipelines, and addressing the threats that work against women’s participation in STEM programs. She reminds us that data repeatedly shows that there is no basis for believing in any aptitude or ability gap- it’s the social stereotypes and expectations that create our consistent exclusions of women and women of color from success. Technology leaders can actively work to partner with programs designed to counter these stereotypes to improve the pipeline, while they work within their organizations to make changes.

A quick blueprint for creating ethical inclusive technology products

In this section Tulshyan covers 5 specific actions that matter:

1. Hire and advance women of color to make sure that technology is designed with the necessary diversity of perspectives.
2. Ensure that a diversity of testing data is used when building technology and include diverse technologists in the groups who select any data sets for use.
3. Make sure that “diverse and traditionally underestimated groups” are included in all testing and feedback gathering done on a product before it’s completed.
4. “Intentionally look for biases that may otherwise go undetected.”
5. Mentor, fund, and sponsor women of color entrepreneurs.

Your role in creative and creating inclusive tech as a user

The chapter ends (p 215-216) with suggestions that all of us can use as we navigate a technology driven world. We can all take some of the following steps to help promote more inclusive technology when we make choices of tech to buy and use. We get to decide which social media platforms we participate in, whether we only buy robotics kits for boys and not for girls, whether we call out online harassment or let it pass, whether we seek out diversity in our reading, writing, and media use, whether we engage with our political representative on technology equity issues, and whether or not we ensure accessibility in our technology tools and our online content. That’s it for Chapter 9, be well and keep learning!

Hello all,

This week I'm sharing a cartoon that really made me think and a note about future posts.

You can see the cartoon online if you use Instagram, or find it on page 40 of the August 3rd, 2026 New Yorker Magazine at or through your local library.

It's an image of a father and his young, wary looking son, staring down at a rug pulled over a heaping pile of invisible stuff, with a caption that reads, "One day son, everything I swept under this rug will be yours."

Yup. I can just imagine the response..."Gee Dad...uh...thanks?"

Because most of us sweep things under the rug. What this cartoon points out is that eventually, things come out from under the rug!

And those things that we don't deal with, that we try to hide away, can get passed on as someone else's problem, likely becoming a problem for someone we don't intend to burden.

So, think about the issues, sticky problems, lingering frustrations, unsaid worries, or unfinished projects that you've been sweeping under the rug. Most of us will think of several.

And if any of those include issues caused by a discriminatory or less than inclusive workplace environment, pulling them out into the light is the only way to prevent them from getting passed on to others.

Yes, sometimes our perceptions don't reflect the full reality of a situation, we can make our own erroneous assumptions, and we need to be careful to check our perceptions before raising issues. Asking a colleague if they've noticed the same thing you've noticed can help. However, if you're an "only" (the only woman, the only woman of a specific ethnicity, the only person of any given religion, the only young person, or any other "only"), be aware that others may not ever see or feel what you are seeing or feeling unless you make them aware.

According to this resource on Workplace toxicity: What is it and five tips to cope with it from the University of Alabama at Birmingham:

"The United States surgeon general has acknowledged workplace toxicity as a major threat to public health because toxic workplaces are associated with chronic illnesses such as depression, heart disease and cancer, among others....

“If you see something, say something,” Gorman said. “Sometimes mistreatment gets swept under the rug, and abusive managers can lead with fear and intimidation that can make employees afraid to say anything. But the odds are that, if you feel mistreated, others in your workplace will too.”

“It is important that, if we find ourselves in a toxic work environment, we do not contribute to it,” Gorman said. “If your co-workers are talking about other co-workers, don’t engage in the gossip. If disrespect is the norm, break the mold by not piling on because, if you do so, your complaints of a toxic workplace may not be taken seriously.”

Sweeping things under the rug creates a lot of tripping hazards my friends.
I'd love to hear about ways you've found to bring things out into the light.

---

And, this important note about future WIT Wisdom posts:

Now that we have some SUNY WIT Campus Chapters across the state, we are changing the regular WIT Weekly Wisdom posts into a monthly SUNY WIT Program Newsletter. The newsletter will feature regular updates from our chapters, information relevant to the community and connected to a monthly theme, upcoming professional development opportunities, and a little bit of WIT Wisdom from me. I'm excited about this new format and hope that you will all stay subscribed to the list and keep encouraging others to join!

All the best,
Holly

Speak Her Name in Rooms She Isn’t In

Hello All,

This week's wisdom comes from Kae Harrison, Program Support Specialist with the SUNY Center for Professional Development.

Kae is a thoughtful, values-driven professional who cares about people, cares about doing good work, and is always trying to learn and grow. Skilled at seeing the bigger system behind a problem while still paying attention to the people affected by it, she’s passionate about removing barriers for people who need support, especially any marginalized or historically under-represented groups.

---

Speak Her Name in Rooms She Isn’t In

One of the simplest and most powerful forms of professional advocacy requires no budget, no committee, and no formal authority. It requires only a moment. It’s practical without being transactional.

When an opportunity arises, speak positively about a woman who isn’t in the room.
Recommend her.
Mention her expertise.
Share her accomplishments.
Connect her name to the opportunity before she has to advocate for herself or before she has to ask someone to be a reference.

Too often, professional conversations happen behind closed doors. Someone asks, “Do you know anyone who would be good for this project?” or “who should we ask to lead this” or “who has experience with this topic?”

Those moments matter. Careers can change because someone replies “Oh, you should talk to Sarah”, or “Aaliyah would be excellent at that” or “I’ve worked with Anh before. She’s incredibly capable”.

Those recommendations often last only a second or two. The impact can last for years.

The beautiful part about advocating for others is that it costs us almost nothing. We lose nothing by acknowledging someone else’s talent, hard work, or expertise. In fact, we strengthen our professional communities when we become known as women who notice excellence and are willing to point it out.

It’s positive without being performative. It gives us something concrete to do. First, you notice the moment, then you speak up. You can do it, starting today. Small actions can create ripples we never get to see. You may never know how much your comments mattered.

Professional advocacy doesn’t require perfection. It simply requires us to pay attention. Who do you know who consistently does excellent work? Who solves problems quietly? Who deserves more visibility? Who would benefit from someone else recognizing her strengths?

Then, when the opportunity comes – speak her name.

---

Great advice from one of our SUNY colleagues! Thanks Kae!

All the best,
Holly

Short Anchor Lines: Why a "Rising Tide" Isn't Enough

Hello all,

Are you seeing headlines like this one: Schools are Cutting Women's Scholarships Even When They Don't Have To and wondering what's happening? I certainly am!

I'm not a proponent of the zero-sum game type of thinking. I'm more of a rising tide lifts all boats type of thinker... that is assuming that some of the boats aren't tied to a shorter anchor line, and therefore unable to rise! And assuming that all the boats are equally seaworthy, and none of the boats are carrying more passengers along than others. But wait... that's exactly how it is...

Even with a rising tide, some boats can rise faster and easier than others because of their structural differences.

So there is still work to be done even in a rising tide.

And WIT is here to help!

WIT is for everyone interested in making sure the rising tides (the training, promotions, projects, mentoring, raises, visibility, access to new technologies...) aren't only lifting the employees who are already floating well. That's what WIT is for. Not exclusionary, because this is an "all hands on deck" situation.

• If you see a colleague with a short anchor line, see what you can do to help.
• If you notice a colleague who isn't getting to training and conferences, see what you can do to help.
• If you observe the same colleagues on high-visibility projects or committees while others are left out, see what you can do to help.

And don't stop doing equity and inclusion work, because you don't have to!

All the best,
Holly

Building Critical Thinkers: Translating Parenting Wisdom into Workplace Coaching

Hello All,

I had a conversation recently about the difference between rules and guidance, and realized that my thinking on this was quite different from the thinking of the other person's.
I see these as distinct, they were seeing these as the same, just dressed up with different words. One pretending not to be a rule.

But I truly think that these are different. And that reminded me of some of the common sayings we use at home and at work with children and with colleagues.
With children, I've certainly used this phrase "be careful" without providing any useful details that could help a child actually be safe, until I learned better phrases such as the ones covered in this image.
I saved this image years ago, but still go back to it as a reminder regularly.

And then I wondered, what would this look like in the workplace? I put that very question to Google in AI mode, and here is the result:

My prompt: "locate a workplace example for a supervisor or coworker that corresponds to this image of language instructions for parents." and then my followup " provide the source for your response" gave me the following information to share with you.

"Instead of telling a team member to "be careful" or "don't make a mistake," supervisors and coworkers can use language that builds situational awareness and prompts proactive problem-solving.

Help Your Team Foster Situational Awareness by Saying:

• Notice how... the client reacts to that pricing, the system logs spike during deployment.
• Do you see... the conflict in these project requirements, the bottleneck in this workflow?
• Try adjusting... your presentation speed, the testing parameters, the communication frequency.
• Try leveraging your... data analysis, past campaign templates, cross-functional partners.
• Can you track... the shifting market trends, the negative user feedback, the scope creep?
• Do you feel... confident in this timeline, aligned with the broader stakeholder group?

Help Your Team Problem-Solve by Saying:

• What's your plan... if the vendor misses the deadline, if the server goes offline?
• What can you use... to automate this manual process, to back up your hypothesis?
• Where will you... document these compliance risks, allocate the remaining budget?
• How will you... address the executive pushback, scale this feature next quarter?
• Who will... sign off on the final budget, support you if you hit a roadblock?

The workplace examples provided in the previous response are an original, direct adaptation of the parenting framework shown in your image.

Framework Source
The original graphic and language framework, "What to Say to Kids Instead of 'Be Careful!'", was created by author and blogger Linda Akeson McGurk for the website Backwoods Mama. Her guide focuses on fostering risk-awareness, physical competence, and autonomous problem-solving in children during outdoor play.

Workplace Adaptation
Because there is no official corporate version of this exact infographic, the previous response translated McGurk's core structural categories directly into professional management equivalents:

• "Foster Awareness" was mapped to "Situational Awareness & Risk Assessment" in the workplace (monitoring workflows, deployment logs, and client reactions instead of slippery rocks or poison ivy).
• "Problem Solve" was mapped to "Proactive Contingency Planning" (planning for missed vendor deadlines or feature scaling instead of navigating climbing boulders or crossing logs).

This translation aligns with modern agile management, coaching methodologies, and psychological safety practices where leaders are encouraged to ask open-ended, active-learning questions rather than issuing vague, anxiety-inducing warnings like "don't mess up."

I hope this is useful information, and would love to hear from you if you think it is...and if you think it isn't!

All the best,
Holly