Business Transformation Requires Transformational Leaders

This piece by Viola Maxwell-Thompson outlines a clear case for diversity, equity, and inclusion as a strategic priority. The author begins with a declarative proposition as she describes the next decade’s horizon and the expected growth in computer and mathematical occupations. She acknowledges the committed efforts of corporations that have recommitted themselves toward gender and ethnic diversity, yet demonstrates the lagging percentage of women, the lesser percentage of women of color, and, further still, the stagnant representation of Black and Brown professionals in senior roles.

Michael A. Tennant unapologetically shares hard truths about white supremacy in the US. He generously shares his personal experiences as a “striving and high-achieving” Black professional and the shared experiences among people of color more broadly. He holds nothing back as he counts down 10 common phrases that reinforce inequities, micro­aggressions, and racism.

Samin Saadat and Jim Brosseau take us into their workshops and their research. The authors provide meaningful context to describe the barriers to inclusion, such as the history of management and leadership, communication technologies, and the effects of addictive social media platforms. They offer practical steps for companies to include on their way to becoming a more transparent culture and also outline the costs companies will inevitably pay for failed attempts and a lack of inclusion.

This Cutter Business Technology Journal issue dives deep and looks at diversity, equity, and inclusion from different angles with the help of seven stellar voices who lend their expertise to educate, examine, enumerate, and offer solutions.

Nicole D. Price focuses on technical professionals and their underused skills, knowledge, and insights when tackling diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She offers seven specific attributes of technical professionals and discusses how those attributes are well suited for this challenging work. Among them are logic and reason, reliance on evidence-based research for problem solving, the ability to imagine a better future, and healthy conflict.

Ebonye Gussine Wilkins challenges us to do the work. Wilkins goes beyond the data that may have us enjoy a false sense of progress and unpacks what the numbers mean when parsed by marginalized groups and their lived experiences. She goes deeper still and offers historical perspectives that further explain racial divisions and spells out why data without insight tells a partial story. Her premise focuses on knowledge, education, insight, and wisdom as necessary, yet missing, elements to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

3 November 2020

Welcome to The Cutter Edge. In each free issue, you'll find research, insight, and advice crucial to helping you navigate the spectrum of challenges technology change brings.

A decade ago, social media was broadly perceived as driving innovation, enabling social inclusion, and — in some loosely defined sense — as a force for good. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become something of a pariah, at least in the eyes of those who propose or long for rational, balanced, and successful campaigns to manage and control the disease. What went wrong?