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Why corporate diversity programs fail — and how small tweaks can have big impact | Joan C. Williams

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Companies in the US spend billions of dollars each year on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but subtle (and not so subtle) workplace biases often cost these initiatives — and the people they’re meant to help — big time…

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Companies in the US spend billions of dollars each year on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but subtle (and not so subtle) workplace biases often cost these initiatives — and the people they’re meant to help — big time by undermining their goals. DEI expert Joan C. Williams identifies five common patterns of bias that cause these programs to fail — and offers a data-driven approach to pinpoint where things go wrong and how to make progress instead.

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Transcriber:

In 2018, two Black men
went to a Starbucks

to wait for a business associate.

But when they asked to use the bathroom,

the manager ordered them to leave.

They refused.

He called the police,

and the video went viral.

Amidst an avalanche of bad publicity,

Starbucks closed all stores
across the country

for four hours of diversity training.

And so, baristas were handed workbooks

with prompts like,
“What makes me me and you you?”

and, “Understanding our bias:
from color-blind to color brave.”

This made newspapers across the country,

and arguably, that was the goal.

“Look, everyone! We’re solving
our diversity problem!”

The assumption, though, was that you could
address structural racism

with an earnest conversation
about our feelings.

My take:

give me a break.

To address structural racism,
you need to change structures.

So in the aftermath
of George Floyd’s death,

my sense is that many companies
are feeling pressure

to actually deliver
on their diversity goals,

but they haven’t a clue what to do.

And that’s because we spent probably
close to a billion dollars on diversity.

But the basic tools of the diversity
industrial complex,

they just don’t work.

A one-shot bias training —

it doesn’t work
for a really simple reason:

doing anything once won’t change
a company’s culture.

And the other basic tools —

things like an employee resource group
or a women’s initiative —

they’re fine,

if the problem is with the women
and the people of color.

But it’s not.

If a company faces challenges
surrounding diversity,

typically, it’s because subtle
and not-so-subtle forms of bias

are constantly being transmitted
through their basic business systems —

through hiring,
through performance evaluations,

through access to opportunities.

So we need to stop trying to fix
the women and the people of color.

We need to fix the business systems.

And if you think about it,
this makes sense,

because if a company was facing
challenges with sales,

it wouldn’t respond by holding
a series of sincere conversations

about how much we all value sales

and put on programming
for “National Celebrate Sales Month”

and expect sales to improve.

But that’s a lot of what we’re doing
in the diversity context.

If we really want to tackle
diversity effectively,

we need to use the same tools businesses
use to tackle any business problem —

evidence and metrics.

And, you know, I suspect
this will come as a relief

to a lot of CEOs who feel far more
comfortable using those tools

than they do with trying to lead
a deep conversation

about the inner workings
of social inequality.

The first step

is for us to understand
what bias looks like on the ground.

And I and my team at WorkLife Law,

we have been studying how bias plays out
in everyday workplace interactions

for well over a decade.

And what we find
is that the same patterns of bias,

the same five patterns,

they emerge over and over again.

So here’s what the evidence looks like.

The first pattern we call
“prove it again.”

Some groups have to prove themselves
more than others.

This is triggered
by lots of different things.

It’s triggered by race and gender,

age, disability, LGBTQ status,

even social class.

So one study, for example,

looked at callbacks offered to white men
with identical qualifications

but different hobbies.

One résumé listed things
like sailing and polo,

and the other résumé listed things like

counseling first-generation
college students

and country music.

And, if you can believe it, Mr. Polo —

he got 12 times the number of callbacks
as Mr. Country Music.

Too often when we talk about privilege,
we forget about class.

The second pattern is called
“the tightrope,”

and it reflects the fact
that a certain in-group of white men

just need to be authoritative
and ambitious in order to succeed.

But women walk a tightrope,

where they may be seen as abrasive
if they’re authoritative

but unqualified if they’re not.

And people of color who behave assertively
often are written off

as angry if they’re Black,

even hotheaded if they’re Latinx

and sometimes as untrustworthy
if they’re Asian American.

The next pattern we call the “tug-of-war,”

and it reflects the fact
that sometimes bias against a group

fuels conflict within the group.

So, for example, if there’s room
for only one woman or person of color,

it’s entirely predictable:

women are going to be
supercompetitive with other women,

and people of color,
competitive with other people of color.

The fourth pattern of bias is actually
the strongest form of gender bias,

called “the maternal wall.”

And it reflects assumptions
that mothers aren’t committed,

probably shouldn’t be

and aren’t competent —

think “pregnancy brain.”

So mothers often find
they have to prove themselves yet again

when they return from maternity leave.

And if they do, they may be seen as
bad mothers and so as bad people

and disliked.

The final pattern consists
of racial stereotypes.

So, Asian Americans again and again report

that they’re seen as a great match
for technical skills,

but lacking in leadership potential.

And our studies show that Black
professionals, again and again,

report really high levels of isolation

and often startling forms of disrespect.

And an Asian American professional
may be seen as too emotional

in a discussion where, you know what,

a white man behaving exactly the same way

would be seen as having a career-enhancing
passion for the business.

And so what we find is that white women
report four patterns of bias.

Men of color also report four.

Women of color report all five
in very substantial proportions.

And among women of color,

Black women report
the most bias as a group.

But the bottom line, really, is that
the experience of white men as a group

differs from that of every other group.

If a white man is a first-generation
professional or LGBTQ,

he may encounter bias.

But but most aren’t.

These biases can have
really serious negative effects.

There’s a ton of research.

But here’s a story
that really says it all.

We were working with one company,
and we spoke to a woman engineer

who had found a mistake
in one of the calculations

of a male colleague,

and she pointed it out.

When she pointed it out,

she was violating an unwritten rule.

The good woman is seen as modest,
self-effacing and nice,

not a mission-driven expert.

That’s why male experts in meetings
exert more influence.

But you know what?

Female experts, they actually exert
less influence than female nonexperts do.

And so when this engineer pointed out
the mistake in calculation, she told us,

the response of her department
was so massively negative that, she said,

“Now I’m just smiling a lot
and bringing in cupcakes.”

This company, by allowing
gender bias to go unchecked,

was literally jeopardizing their mission.

So what’s the solution?

The solution is to use bias interrupters,

new tools my team has developed

that are evidence-based
and metrics-driven.

And I’ve just told you about
a lot of the evidence.

Metrics are also superimportant

because they help you pinpoint
where things are going wrong.

So if a company
has challenges with hiring,

they should be keeping track of who
is in the original pool of candidates

and who survives résumé review

and who gets called to interview

and who survives the interview.

And the reason that’s important
is because the fix,

if you have a nondiverse original pool,

is totally different than the fix
if no woman ever survives the interview

because every woman is either too witchy

or too meek.

Metrics are also superimportant
for another reason:

to establish baselines

and measure progress.

If you use evidence and metrics,

what we have found is that small tweaks
can have really big effects.

So we’ve worked with
one company, for example,

who asked us to look at
their performance evaluations.

And when we did,

we found that only 9.5 percent
of the people of color

had leadership mentioned
in their performance evaluations.

That was 70 points lower
than white women.

And that was superimportant
because, as you can imagine,

mentions of leadership
predicted advancement.

And so we worked with them
to do two simple things.

First, we redesigned
the performance evaluations form.

And second, we help them develop
a simple one-hour workshop that,

among other things,

projected actual comments from the prior
year’s performance evaluations,

and asked people a simple question:

Which of the five patterns of bias
does this represent,

or is it no bias?

Just doing that, we found in year two,

100 percent of the people of color
had leadership mentioned

in their performance evaluations.

At this company, white women,
they had a different problem.

Almost 20 percent had comments
in their performance evaluations

that they didn’t really want
to make partner —

this was a partnership.

And we suspected the women hadn’t
actually said that.

It was just assumptions.

And so in that one-hour
workshop, we told people,

“Hey, don’t say this unless
you’ve actually had a conversation,

and someone has told you
they don’t want to make partner.”

In year two, only one woman
got that comment —

one woman in the entire company.

And so what we find is that we have
helped over 100 companies

actually make progress
towards their diversity goals.

And there’s growing evidence
that these bias interrupters work.

And the best thing about them
is that they help every single group.

So in this company
I’ve been talking about,

in year two, people of color
got wildly more constructive feedback —

it was like a 30-percent jump.

But white women, they got more
constructive feedback, too,

and so did white men.

If you design your systems
based on evidence,

it’s going to help every single group.

So the bottom line, if you think about it,
your systems and your culture,

they reflect the people
you’ve already hired.

So if you want to replicate
that workforce into the future,

definitely keep on doing
exactly what you’re doing.

But if you don’t,

if you actually want to make progress

on diversity, equity
and inclusion — what we call DEI —

my message to CEOs is reassuring:

you already know what to do.

Use standard business tools,

start from the evidence,

gather metrics to establish baselines
and measure progress

and keep at it
until you achieve your goals.

That’s the new DEI playbook.

And it works.

Thank you.

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91 Comments

91 Comments

  1. Big Dee

    May 12, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    Full time professional victims …. please leave the US immediately … u have failed to launch anywhere in the world …. u contribute nothing

  2. Jeff K

    May 12, 2021 at 8:29 pm

    If by diversity program you mean harassing white people for being white. I would say they fail because people don’t like being harassed.

  3. Mehdi Baghbadran

    May 12, 2021 at 8:30 pm

    the problem is that , we have to change our language , means , instead of calling black , calling a man , and do not mention their race.s and colours , and instead of calling asian american , calling them , americans , and if we will be able to fixed this problems then all americans will be united as a human being and this will be a solution for ever .

    • Joey H

      May 12, 2021 at 8:48 pm

      IMO, that would just be a surface level change. We can’t just change our language and hope hearts and minds follow. POC and all of us really… Want to be seen as we are and not to be hated or have biases and stereotypes used as a weapon against us.

    • OneManWolfPack

      May 12, 2021 at 9:31 pm

      It would be even better if we addressed sexism too and didn’t even call them a “man”, but instead called them a “person”.
      Or for the few people who care about specie-ism we should call them a “living being”.

    • Dragon maid

      May 12, 2021 at 9:47 pm

      @Joey H absoluely we can. Laguage is your ideas and how you communicate and think. Language is everything.

    • Joey H

      May 12, 2021 at 10:34 pm

      @Dragon maid Language IS important but IMO it is not everything. Context, understanding, and empathy also play key roles. Saying.. oh, if we just start using less descriptive language and say that’s a person or just a man or woman is reductive… Doing that could erase what individuals consider part of their identity. I just don’t think language will work the miracles that’s compassion understanding and good will do.

  4. Steve B

    May 12, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    Race grifters love money and control, say no or DIE

  5. 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

    May 12, 2021 at 8:48 pm

    Diversity means no white men. Then no white women. And it’s only a religion in white countries. Isn’t that strange?

  6. tradebrah

    May 12, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    we want a stage, with crowds

  7. Big Dee

    May 12, 2021 at 9:07 pm

    I’m sorry ur self loathing has consumed u …. deal with it

  8. Andrey CR

    May 12, 2021 at 9:07 pm

    white female CEO talks about diversity? why the ceo of that organization is not black,latino or asian? XD

  9. Paraplegic Sloth

    May 12, 2021 at 9:08 pm

    In year two of your race study you said 100% of black people had leadership mentioned in their review. I’m not sure that represents success. What were the percentages of other ethnic groups such as Asian American or White that had leadership mentioned? If they are similar percentages then that would be a genuine metric for success. Otherwise you’re only switching bias right??

    • Artimis Fowl

      May 13, 2021 at 12:07 am

      I think the point is “mentioned”, not “mentioned positively”? The idea being to get people think about talent pools they were neglecting.

  10. Daniel Lerner

    May 12, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    What a bigot, all this lady does is look at immutable characteristics. There is greater diversity within groups than between groups. This lady is gross

  11. Bryan Atneosen

    May 12, 2021 at 9:46 pm

    I’m sorry so many negative knuckle draggers instantly dismiss EVIDENCE. Based on the content of their comments, they don’t appear to be experts of any kind.

  12. Shin Yoda

    May 12, 2021 at 9:55 pm

    The most important thing people dont understand is that diversity has the higher potential to get a higher achievement but also has the higher risk to totaly fail.
    For more imformation you should read: Pelled, Eisenhardt & Xin (1999) and Homan, van Knippenberg, Van Kleef, & De Dreu (2007)

    • Hassaan Maqsood

      May 12, 2021 at 10:45 pm

      Exactly, I have experienced it myself. It’s never about the diversity for higher achievement instead more of the team or as James Collins puts it “right people on the bus and wrong people off the bus”

  13. Bobby Luster

    May 12, 2021 at 10:01 pm

    You’re problem is you see racism where it doesn’t Exist. What if those guys wanting to use the Starbucks bathroom were white. It’s not Starbucks business to furnish bathrooms to everyone! You have people coming to business with one thing in mind to start trouble and trying to get a lawsuit!

  14. Bobby Luster

    May 12, 2021 at 10:04 pm

    You can study until the cows come home. If you do not start with the correct information instead of what you think is Politically correct. You’re going to get it wrong every damn time!

  15. Mia Vos

    May 12, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    The two black men wanted to go to the bathroom together? 🤔

  16. Anthony Cappel

    May 12, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    Sounds like this lady is related to Robin DiAngelo and suffers from wealthy white liberal woman guilt. She obviously must have had a traumatic experience with a white male to have that much hatred.

  17. 루비아빠

    May 12, 2021 at 10:51 pm

    Hey guys. I’m not native speaker. What is exactly DEI?

    • Steven Bradley

      May 12, 2021 at 11:01 pm

      Hi, DEI Meaning. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is the presence of differences within a given setting. Equity is the process of ensuring th…(found by google)

  18. reach communications

    May 12, 2021 at 10:54 pm

    Oh how simple. Why didn’t I think of that before.

  19. Michael Henry

    May 12, 2021 at 10:54 pm

    this bores me to the point that I don’t even care that I didn’t start this sentence with a capital letter and have no full stop

    • Artimis Fowl

      May 12, 2021 at 11:52 pm

      remember you can speed things up on the bottom right!

  20. michaele15

    May 12, 2021 at 11:07 pm

    so now corporate America just gives them jobs and promotes them because they are “diverse”

    • Artimis Fowl

      May 13, 2021 at 12:07 am

      That doesn’t seem to be the request here. Just making your promotion pipeline aware of its assumptions.

  21. D'Reil McClain

    May 12, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    Interesting TED Talk.

  22. Levi Efrauim

    May 12, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Diversity programs fail for a number of reasons but here’s the primary one. America is based on meritocracy- in the vast majority of cases, you get what you earn. Work hard and prepare properly through training, education and discipline, learn how to communicate effectively and be a team player, be respectful and things will likely work out. Seeking out individuals based on the element of ‘diversity’ eliminates all that. You’re not changing the standard to something better- you’re reducing it to fit a narrow perspective based on perceived ‘fairness’, whatever that means at the moment. That’s why it fails.

    • Kaushik Dutta

      May 12, 2021 at 11:49 pm

      I do not think that’s what DEI is about. If a pool of candidates are equally meritorious, in an equitable world, all of them would have the same chance of making it, whatever “it” may be.. a job, a promotion, leadership role, etc. This just does not happen in reality. Everyone unconsciously prefers to promote their own “kind”. This is true for white or black or brown, men or women, straight or gay, or transgender, everyone. It just so happens that an overwhelming majority of businesses are controlled by white men in the US, and the white man bias becomes the most obvious and the most talked about. If history had played out differently and gay black women were the ones overwhelmingly in charge, we would be discussing a different type of bias today. But we cannot deny that bias exists and results in skewing power and leadership further towards the “kind” that is already in charge.

    • E con

      May 13, 2021 at 12:58 am

      If we lived in a real meritocracy, how could Trump ever be a government representative or even a business owner?

  23. Gerald Miller

    May 13, 2021 at 12:11 am

    White males experience bias when they report bias

  24. ogarzabello

    May 13, 2021 at 12:24 am

    Because diversity programs are NOT necessary, quotas only bring incompetence, corporations MUST BE meritocracies, not social engeneering programs. I wouls hire a dog if the dog can do a better job that anybody elese. TED in BS propaganda.

  25. IvanAndreevich

    May 13, 2021 at 12:54 am

    LOL what? You mentioned Asian Americans who outperform whites by every metric in existence in America. What are you going on about?

  26. magottyk

    May 13, 2021 at 1:29 am

    Diversity training fails for one simple reason, it’s all based on critical race theory which is built on the soft racism of low expectations.
    It stereotypes most POC (see how we start by categorising and create a polarisation potential) as victims (the polarisation) and demands special treatment because it reasons that only non whites and women have to face adversity in life.

    Billions of dollars spent on diversity, it’s an industry in its own right that survives by perpetuating the oppressor/oppressed narrative, so that even if a company has the perfect population ratio with a good mix all the way up the hierarchy, there would still be a way that they are failing requiring diversity consultants and that’s where unconscious bias comes in.

  27. J J

    May 13, 2021 at 1:51 am

    Love this!!!

    • suffist

      May 13, 2021 at 2:32 am

      Why? Is African companies diversity hiring whites? Is China? No, it’s only white countries that have this woke nonsense pushed in them. Are you white by any chance?

  28. Rawan رَوانْ

    May 13, 2021 at 1:54 am

    Israel doesn’t exist

  29. Reem

    May 13, 2021 at 2:56 am

    I’m so glad that this is being said. A lot of companies have been doing surface-level work and not truly working to eliminate biases in the workplace!

    • mrmatalino

      May 13, 2021 at 3:36 am

      You mean they aren’t doing enough to promote socially acceptable racism and discrimination towards white people.

    • E con

      May 13, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      @mrmatalino waaah

  30. W B

    May 13, 2021 at 4:08 am

    Thank you for researching this.

  31. W

    May 13, 2021 at 4:43 am

    Usually, the diversity programs result in all women in the workplace regarded as diversity hires. The strong performing females are the real victim of this BS

  32. Jacob Vanko

    May 13, 2021 at 4:45 am

    I’d love to hear a conversation between this lady and Jordan Peterson. She’s definitely a deep thinker and respectful person. I don’t agree with all of her talk but there are some interesting data points. I’m not certain about this… But did I hear she made a pitch at the end to buy her system of “bias blocking” tactics??? Lol. I also cringed a bit when she said “Latin x”. Most Hispanic and Latino people I know think that’s a dumb term white people are trying to make a thing. I think her heart is in the right place. But at its core, she’s talking about critical race theory and I just fundamentally disagree with that approach. Meritocracy, character and cultural changes are going to be what ultimately gets us as close to egalitarianism as humanly possible.

    • fiona fiona

      May 13, 2021 at 12:48 pm

      @Jacob Vanko but if that kid at equal qualification were to apply for the same job it’s still evident that there are intersections of these issues, accumulating disadvantage

    • Adriana Lowe

      May 13, 2021 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks for your comments. Stocks are good but I’d advice you to t’ra’de and in’vest” in crypto (bt’c, et’h) & earn profits!!

    • Jacob Vanko

      May 13, 2021 at 1:03 pm

      @fiona fiona I think instances of bias are more likely to occur in a professional setting dealing with higher levels of education and income. I don’t think the poor are marginalized as much. I think if a landscaper is hiring a general laborer for $12.00 / hr. They’re focusing on employee performance first and foremost. I’ve worked these types of jobs. I can also speak from a professional musician standpoint. It’s way more performance based. There’s certainly no evil patriarchal structures controlling the entertainment market. As for a corporate setting. I have no personal experience. People are people, bias, scared… Ect. As a white guy, I may have a harder time getting through the interview process if a primarily black owed company. They maybe subconsciously draw conclusions about my work ethic lacking due to an alleged “privilege”. I think these things happen on individual levels and are almost impossible to fix. At some level it’s human nature to judge. It’s ugly…. But it’s kinda built into the programming. I’ve been judged. I’ve judged.

    • E con

      May 13, 2021 at 2:37 pm

      Why would she entertain a conversation with a misogynist?

    • Jacob Vanko

      May 13, 2021 at 2:47 pm

      @E con this thread has been a good faith conversation with well thought out discussion. Your comment/question is a vapid attempt to degrade that good faith. This leads me to a couple different conclusions.
      A. You’re not smart enough to have a conversation involving topics with nuance and complexity.
      B. You’re not mature enough to have a conversation without acting on the temptation to want to instigate a negative reaction.
      C. You’re in a foreign click farm being paid to sew discord.
      Either way. I’m not gonna bite. Bye Felicia.

    • Nicholas Bryant

      May 17, 2021 at 5:12 am

      I don’t think JP would get very far in a conversation with this woman. He would likely ask, as we all should, “are you doing a multivariate analysis when you collect your data?” and, “how are you measuring racial, gender, and LGBTQI bias, and insuring that your controlling for other factors such as years of experience, age, intelligence, etc.?” My guess is, she isn’t in either case. So her “evidence” is likely invalid. She might suggest she uses some varient of the IAT at which point JP would do his best not to dismiss her entirely. As he frequently points out those tests are basically useless.

      If the conversation did happen though. Im sure we would all be entertained as JP points out the absurdity of what im guessing she did. I admit I don’t know for sure, but it seems like she looked at results and then infered the root cause (prejudice in this case) and run with it rather than doing any sort of scientifically rigorous study.

  33. CMDR After Hours

    May 13, 2021 at 4:46 am

    More propaganda for stupid people.

  34. Nicholas Bryant

    May 13, 2021 at 5:06 am

    Is this a talk or a sales pitch for her team?

    • kiraanimerawr1

      May 13, 2021 at 11:58 am

      It’s a talk about a sensitive perspective that she needs to provide facts and evidence for & also prove herself and the worth of her voice so people like you might be more inclined to listen and hear what she has to say instead of writing her off as just another woman doing woman things.

  35. Deependu Ajish

    May 13, 2021 at 5:16 am

    Not this again..

  36. chocomalk

    May 13, 2021 at 5:21 am

    They fail because a job should be awarded to those with merit regardless of their skin color.

    • fiona fiona

      May 13, 2021 at 9:43 am

      So why is it observable that people with the same merit aren’t recognized across across the categories only in people’s minds.

      Anonymised applications result in more diverse call backs and hiring where they are tested. Even getting access to accommodations or daycare is more meritocratic when these categories of bias are only used in person.

    • Zack Fishman

      May 13, 2021 at 4:36 pm

      You and Williams agree on that point! The only difference is that she points out that candidates with merit who are women, non-white and even low-class don’t get the jobs or recognition they deserve, which requires active effort to make fair — while you appear to believe hiring processes are by-and-large purely meritocratic as they stand today, making any further help to these candidates undeserved or unfair. Extensive research (some of which Williams shares) seems to be on her side.

      Do you have a way of comprehensively demonstrating that most hiring processes are devoid of significant bias? Unless you do, I’m inclined to believe her and the work of many other researchers on this subject.

  37. Szymks

    May 13, 2021 at 5:38 am

    They fail because you can’t fix racism with more racism. It will only create more racism, not more equality.

  38. Chaitanya Tarkunde

    May 13, 2021 at 5:40 am

    1 billion dollars on diversity
    They should have just lit that money on fire and urinated on it.
    Nonetheless ,this might be one of the few liberals I don’t hate tho.
    The conclusion is still to see merit over color and races.

  39. NROS2012

    May 13, 2021 at 6:51 am

    How has this video not got 2,000,000 views?

    • Levi Efrauim

      May 13, 2021 at 9:27 am

      Because it’s based on a false premise of structural/systemic racism, just like the whole DEI argument.

  40. Mark Barsingerhorn

    May 13, 2021 at 7:22 am

    Can you name a few racist structures?

    • Levi Efrauim

      May 13, 2021 at 9:28 am

      To leftist social scientists, EVERYTHING is racist.

    • Mark Barsingerhorn

      May 13, 2021 at 10:54 am

      @Levi Efrauim yeah you’re right but she is making a compelling argument about those biases. The thing is I never met someone who could name a racist structure so I’m really curious if she could name one.

    • Levi Efrauim

      May 13, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      @Mark Barsingerhorn There’s no compelling argument. She’s spouting some of the basic tenets of marxism.

    • Zack Fishman

      May 13, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      But didn’t she actually name and describe them? Specifically, the hiring process and unwritten rules in the workplace. If your hiring process systematically turns down many qualified non-white applicants, I think that can be appropriately described as a racist structure.

  41. HI IM PIEZ

    May 13, 2021 at 7:25 am

    I’m just one of many Latin voices, but please stop using LatinX – if you want to be inclusive and respect our language and culture, please just call us Latin or Hispanic; both are non-binary, and are native to our language and culture

    • Matrick Wurse

      May 14, 2021 at 10:18 pm

      Fully agree hermano!

  42. Haline Medeiros

    May 13, 2021 at 8:14 am

    everything was fine until 6:01.
    “latinx” is disrespectful toward Latin languages and its speakers. just say “latin american” if you want to be gender neutral (which is impossible until now in Latin languages), because “latinx” is impossible for us to pronounce and make it sound like a normal term.

    • Maeglin Lossehelin

      May 13, 2021 at 12:28 pm

      Hadn’t thought of it that way. Thanks for pointing it out! 😊

    • Matrick Wurse

      May 14, 2021 at 10:16 pm

      Brava! I fully agree as a latinO

  43. ivan

    May 13, 2021 at 10:52 am

    Maybe you can change corporate culture with small tweaks, but this remains a very toxic, competitive and greedy environment anyway.

    • James Kulevich

      May 14, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      Human nature.

    • Jeremy Sanchirico

      May 14, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      that’s the point of business: to be competitive and greedy. That’s what they’re here for!

  44. kiraanimerawr1

    May 13, 2021 at 11:55 am

    Not that any company is perfect, especially on large scale operation… But I am so proud to work for Amazon, where such a large part of the culture is based around complete equality and respect with fact driven feedback.

    That being said, I came here for a different reason. One of the very important things in the hiring at Amazon is to create a highly diversified team – in terms of background and experience. This can be fantastic in a lot of ways, but in certain select areas high level externals come in with little understanding, and they don’t gain that understanding so it trickles down to our level 1 associates and creates a relatively terrible time. I was hoping this had something to do with the level of hiring (background) diverse externals actually becoming a bad thing, instead of promoting (as equally background diverse, just with Amazon experience) internals, lol.
    Guess it’s just been on my mind.

    • E con

      May 13, 2021 at 2:36 pm

      hahaha this is pathetic

    • kiraanimerawr1

      May 14, 2021 at 10:32 am

      @E con you are free to explain what you mean by that. I can see how you might see it as pathetic that I am an Amazon “boot licker” but other than that I don’t see your point.

  45. John Buckner

    May 13, 2021 at 12:27 pm

    The prove it again problem seems to be currently focused on white people trying to prove they are not racist. That poor barista.

  46. Dan Jackson

    May 13, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    I can’t believe people buy into this woke crap

    • Scotty kilmer

      May 13, 2021 at 4:40 pm

      Thank you for watching, endeavor to write as soon as soon for more enlightenment or tips
      What>spp…
      +..1=5=1=2=3=6=4=0=5=3=1

  47. Bijan Teimourian

    May 13, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    Is it true that aliens have photoelectron weapon that has an effect on brain?( x-ray laser capable of conveying electron )

  48. Jade

    May 13, 2021 at 9:39 pm

    To everyone complaining abt how affirmative actions hires unqualified poc for diversity quotas. Statistically white women benefit the most from affirmative action, just thought I’d mention it. representation is important in workplaces so it can accurately represent the population they serve, but 1. Pretending racism doesn’t exist won’t solve any problems and 2. White guilt also won’t do anything either, so feeling sorry for urself cuz ur white does nothing. Imo creating environments where you dont have a quota, but organically creating diverse workplaces ultimately is the best solution. It just comes across cringy and performative when these million dollar corporations pride themselves on being diverse but are in discrimination scandals every other month lol.

  49. Kivaras

    May 13, 2021 at 11:33 pm

    “If a company faces challenges with diversity, typically it’s because forms of bias are constantly being transmitted through their basic business systems through hiring, performance evaluations, access to opportunities”…Where is the evidence for this? It’s ironic that Williams is associated with Harvard, the very university which has debunked “analyses” like these (“women’s wage gap” myth, etc) as pseudoscience.

    • Jeremy Sanchirico

      May 14, 2021 at 6:17 pm

      would you have sources for this please? I’d love to read them (I know Jordan Peterson had debunked some of the wage gap myth, but Harvard has a bit more weight!)

  50. Claire

    May 14, 2021 at 12:39 am

    @00:47 it all puts it back on the employees across the country rather then those in charge. I wonder how many black employees had to go to diversity training with coworkers who were racist before the four hours and would be after.

  51. Edward Rawn

    May 14, 2021 at 6:17 am

    Half way in and still haven’t addressed the issue. Wasted half the time proving biases exist. We know they exist. Why do diversity programs fail? Maybe because we waste half the time allocated for solving a program waxing ad nauseum in its description. Introduction of “bias interrupters” as the solution at 10 minutes, but no clear examples. Comes across more as a marketing pitch for a company before they hash out what their product actually is. This video is more appropriate to be played as the ad before a TedTalk, not the actual TedTalk.

  52. James Kulevich

    May 14, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    Lots-o-hot air.

  53. Jeremy Sanchirico

    May 14, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    What is the actual predicting percentage of bias to life success?

  54. D T

    May 16, 2021 at 6:35 pm

    Sounds like a sales pitch for her company

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Hundreds of millions of migrant workers travel within their countries to seek out means of survival — often leaving behind all they know for months or even years. Many face poverty and exploitation, and they need a robust social safety net to protect them, says migrant advocate and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Ashif Shaikh. He shares how his grassroots organization Migrants Resilience Collaborative is making life-changing benefits like social security and health care accessible to those who need them while also amplifying migrant voices — paving the way towards a world that supports the workers actually building it. (This ambitious idea is a part of the Audacious Project, TED’s initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

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An Israeli and a Palestinian Talk Peace, Dignity and Safety | Ali Abu Awwad and Ami Dar | TED

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This conversation, hosted by TED curator Cloe Shasha Brooks, was part of a TED Membership event recorded on February 8, 2024. Visit to access exclusive benefits by becoming a TED Member today.

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