Answering the Questions "No Org Would Ever Answer"

A few weeks ago I wrote a comment on someone else's LinkedIn post about the extra questions minorities should ask employers.

I was told by three separate white men that no one would answer such questions and that they'd assume a future employee was a "troublemaker" if they asked them.

Obviously, the reason for this abysmal attitude is racism, but to prove that any decent organization would have no problem answering these questions, I've decided to answer them for Dweebs Global, a nonprofit I've led for two and a half years.

How do you handle allegations of racism, sexism, and discrimination?

We immediately treat the accusation as serious. Whether it's true or not, that is a serious allegation. We listen to all sides of the story. We ask if other people were on the meeting and for any evidence if there's a question of fact. We ask other people who have worked with both parties. Sometimes a racist accuses others of being racist and that can be thorny. We have to explain that there are cultural differences in a global org and that everyone needs to be able to take criticism.

One time, we found out that a man in senior leadership was accused of making women uncomfortable in virtual meetings (we are completely online and an all-volunteer org). We met him along with the rest of the Executive Team, asked for anonymous reports, talked to women across the org, found out it was bad, and fired him with the full story sent to every single volunteer.

It took a week.

How many other people of color are on the team?

Almost all of us are people of color: Black, brown, Asian, Hispanic, and Indigenous. (Some day I'll share the long story, but in fact it's white men we have trouble retaining.)

If my subordinates struggle with respecting me, do you empower me with your authority?

Yes. We have experienced this a few times and I immediately step in myself and make it clear that leadership roles are important and that leads' instructions have to be followed. No one is more valuable than anyone else or more "important," but project management itself is a skill that has to be utilized and project managers decide how to...manage projects. I continue deferring my authority to the lead (such as by saying things like, "I know Emily has the answer to that; ask Emily") until things smooth out.

Do you have an anonymous reporting process?

Yes.

How do you accommodate neurodivergence?

We don't see neurodivergence as a disability. It is an incredible strength of our organization that we have people who think differently and view the world in unique ways. Like with all different cultures in a global organization, we require patience, kindness, and understanding. We grant all requests for information to be shared in a certain way, for certain phrases to be avoided, and for personal discomfort to be accommodated in certain situations. There are many ways to communicate from meetings to Slack to emails. It's never been an issue before and if it is, we'd find a solution together.

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These are only a few questions that are relevant for minorities to ask. You may also want to ask if family leave includes unmarried couples, if queer partnerships are treated like straight ones (especially if you're in a country where gay marriage isn't legal), if you can talk to their diversity committee, if their DEI leadership is all white, and more.

But suffice it to say that any decent org will very much answer you.

And from hard-earned experience, I can tell you this: if they don't answer, you really, really, really don't want to work with them.

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