This is a sports analytics and news blog, but I would like to take a moment and reflect on my career before giving myself a promotion from sports fan to sports analyst. Before pursuing a Master’s of Science at American University, I spent a decade of my career advising clients in matters of finance, risk, and, most often, how to balance the two.

Here’s how it goes. I’m at an event. It might be an organized networking event, put on by an established group. It might be a toddler’s birthday party. Doesn’t matter. The first question is always the same. So *looks at nametag* Libby, What do you do? I respond with whichever version of my elevator speech feels appropriate for the crowd. One person in the group will look down at their drink. I imagine a thought bubble over their head: Oh Lord. I think she’s an insurance salesman. A second person will smile politely. To them, my elevator pitch sounded like the teacher from Peanuts’. The third, courageous soul will ask a question. Now, rest assured, I’m prepared for the question, not because I’m such an incredible, well-established, and prepared professional, but because only three questions exist. C- Level and VP level execs ask if I can tell them how to outgrow the competition. People who are working hard and getting by but don’t have much to show for it ask if I can help them avoid taxes. The rest ask if I can help them find the next (fill in whichever Seattle/Bay Area darling they just read about).

Now, if you are getting by financially but you don’t have a surplus at the end of the month, taxes are probably not the root of your problem. You likely need help writing a budget.

To the executive, I have a two-part response, Did you position yourself in the right industry? & Do you have systems of feedback to couple equity and inclusion with your diversity initiatives?

To the third I say, If a problem exists among a large group of people than a large number of people are trying to solve it. The market is about to be flooded with nearly identical startups. Instead of trying to pick the unicorn that will survive consolidation, find out if they all use the same vendors. (Hint: They usually do.) Invest in the vendor or supplier and it won’t matter which one is the unicorn. When you research the vendor, utilize something like LinkedIn or even the corporate webpage to investigate their board. See who holds VP and director-level positions. If the talent pipeline looks homogenous, they are a short term investment at best, and will likely be vulnerable to disruption.

If the problem only exists among a small group of people, then it is a niche market. That isn’t necessarily bad, but proof of concept can be timely and expensive. I wouldn’t advise a client to invest in that area unless they had a deep thorough knowledge of the industry, problem, and proposed solution. Without deep experience, it can be difficult to fully understand the risk of the investment.

Did you catch that? My answer to the last two questions is the same. 1- Pick the right industry 2- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (yes, three separate initiatives) need to exist on paper but also in practice. I also said don't take risks unless you really understand them.

Do you understand the risk you realize when your DEI fails?

Now, if this is the first time you’ve heard DEI outlined as separate but related concepts, that’s okay. Consider that; If this is new information, you might not be in a position to understand the rest of this post. Again, it’s okay. I’m a businesswoman posting about a business problem that costs businesses money. I’m not a DEI professional and the purpose of this post is to discuss SARS-2-COVID-19 as a stress test for organizations with DEI systems. The post assumes a fundamental knowledge of DEI as a collection of business processes. If you’re not up to speed, bookmark this page, do some research and come back when you’re ready. Seriously, it’s that easy. The discussion of diversity as a system of social benefit is worth understanding, but I’m staying in my lane. This is about business.

If you were caught off guard by work from home orders, you failed the Inclusion stress test.

White male supremacy is built into our systems. It is a keystone of our democracy. In the absence of intentional intervention, it lives in your systems as well. It doesn’t slowly creep in. It’s built-in. You have to remove it. I don’t care how your diversity statement reads. I don’t care if the annual survey suggests employees are mostly happy. If the vibe of your leadership is white male supremacy, your diversity hiring doesn’t matter. Your colleagues from cultures that are not well served by systems are not bringing you their best ideas. It’s not that they don’t have great ideas for new products, improved systems, or opportunities. It’s that you’ve failed them in the area of inclusion.

It is exhausting to explain to stakeholders that problems exist even when they don’t experience them. It is a unique type of vulnerability to reach out to a leader and explain how and why your family operates with a different set of rules than theirs. It is even more uncomfortable to explain when these problems are common to a specific culture. Consider these discussions often put marginalized people in a position where they have to defend themselves and their communities as a group deserving of products and services that meet their needs. I don’t care if white male leaders see themselves as allies. If your colleagues don’t see you as understanding of their culture, then bringing ideas (often requiring an extensive explanation of a problem you don’t see) is an act of courage. They have been othered nearly every step of their journey. The resistance is now built-in. Leaders must remove it.

If your organization didn’t have an idea of how to implement work from home guidelines you failed the test because female workers in I.T. don’t have a voice in the company. Women are the primary domestic caregivers and shoulder the majority of the burden when children get sick. In fact, mothers are 10 times more likely than fathers to miss work when a child is ill.

Anecdotally, I have no children but can speak intelligently to the needs of parents in the workforce. Why? Because I am connected to many women’s networks. We can’t have a conference or convention without a panel to discuss navigating work and family balance. Honestly, I might have participated in a hundred breakout sessions on the topic. It doesn’t impact me whatsoever in my personal life but professionally I know all about it. Many women, particularly those in tech roles, have a well thought out plan for how work from home could look, which technology would need to be upgraded, and how it could be rolled out. Mothers have work from home figured out. If nobody pitched a plan to work from home years ago it’s because you failed the inclusion test. Even if the plan couldn’t be implemented at the time, you would still have had it in the ‘not now’ pile. The opportunity would have been available for implementation right away. Vendors would already have been researched, limitations outlined and implementation framed. The employee who pitched it would have probably been thrilled to receive a green light for the project.

If you have a diverse employee who interviewed well and does great work but doesn’t contribute during meetings, ask if it’s because they have nothing to say, or if maybe they don’t expect to be heard. How much productivity was lost because female employees don’t have a voice?

Operations were disrupted because of SARS-2 Covid-19 but if leaders were unprepared it is because they failed to include female technologists in planning and discussions.

If you didn’t know government inaction could extend a crisis, you failed the equity stress test.

Among the value of diversity is the opportunity to have multiple experiences and perspectives in the room when plans are made. We can live in the same place and time while having vastly different experiences. Our capacity to think critically, rationalize, and weigh options is heavily influenced by our world views and exposure to ideas. Business leaders might not have known a global pandemic would occur in 2020, but consider these data points. Covid-19 is the second global pandemic I’ve faced. For the record, I’m only 39 years old. The first pandemic was GRID (now called Aids). It first presented in the United States gay community in 1978. The CDC published the results of the first official report in 1981. Ronald Reagan did not publicly acknowledge the illness until the death of his friend Rock Hudson in 1985. Even then Reagan blocked research funding. It was not until 1993 that the U.S. government confronted the AIDS crisis.

Members of the LGBT community exist in a culture with a heightened awareness that the government is ill-prepared to manage a large scale medical response. LGBT candidates with the deepest connection to these painful chapters in our history are between 40 and 65 years old. Were your LGBT candidates considered for mentorship, promotion, and growth? LGBT leaders are well-positioned to appreciate the need for a pandemic rider on business insurance. LGBT leaders are more likely to consider that an emergency response could impact business operations for an extended period. In those ways, organizations who mentored LGBT leaders into key roles are in an improved position to navigate the current crisis. If your organization is unprepared for an extended national crisis, consider that you failed to groom, mentor, and promote LGBT candidates. Consider that their experience went unheard while risk management plans were assembled. Operations were disrupted because of SARS-2 Covid-19 but if the organization was operating with inadequate risk management planning LGBT leadership was not involved in the process.

Now that we’ve highlighted a few ways your organization missed a chance to prepare for this point in history, what do we do?

I’m going to tell you. Equity

Yes, equity.

Where the rubber does truly meet the road. If you’ve made lay-offs due to COVID, examine the racial breakdown of your org before and after. Do they match? Don’t just guess. Don't just assume. Go back and check. It is uncomfortable and perhaps scary to look at the summary results. Do it anyway.

Your organization may be inadvertently funneling undervalued people into undervalued positions. What defined the roles that were deemed essential? What were the hiring profiles for those titles? Are those positions held by diverse candidates? If diverse colleagues were laid off in greater numbers than your white male colleagues ask why. Layoffs tend to be younger and more recent hires, so it does make sense that if your DEI initiatives are relatively new more diverse employees will be subjected to recent terminations. Here’s the thing.

It was the homogeny of leadership that made the problem worse. You’re setting yourself up to repeat history.

Also, it was those senior leaders who failed to prepare. Perhaps they should be held accountable? You, a well-intentioned leader in your company, fired the solution, and retained the problem. Not good. The pool of senior leaders who are suddenly finding themselves available is growing daily. Consider, just for a moment that members of communities who’ve been here before are exceptionally well qualified to structure a corporate rebuild.

If your company's goal is to return to normal you are about to miss an incredible opportunity to come out stronger.

Honestly consider what will be needed to navigate the immediate future. Who do you think makes a better candidate during a period of upheaval; someone who has existed their entire lives in a system serving their interests or someone whose survival depends on an ability to navigate the failures of the same system?

I'm not an accountant, but like most business professionals I have a solid working knowledge of accounting systems. I'm not part of a human resources team, but I have a working knowledge of HR systems.

It is time to acknowledge leaders must have at least a working knowledge of systemic racism. At least enough to identify when it is costing you and your investor's money.

So, how do you monetize the solution? By implementing it. Don’t just recruit the suddenly available talent. Include your new partners. Evaluate your systems of equity. Give it the same energy you give other expensive problems. Set benchmarks. Track indicators and do it faster and better than your competitors who probably made the same mistakes. Double down on employee resource groups, don’t cut back. Create systems of feedback so those good ideas reach your ears. Do it with honesty, good intentions and yes, do it profitably.

Photographs by JOPWELL.