supporting diversity in technical workspaces
TRANSCRIPT
Supporting Diversity in Technical
Workspaces
Lee Kear, Solutions Architect, AWS
Azalea Miller, Software Development Engineer, AWS
Overview
Why do we want to grow Diversity?
What is a Diversity Circle?
“How Tos” of a Circle
Benefits of Participating in a Circle
Measuring Success
Why is diversity Important?
Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the
Business Case for Diversity
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Low (<10%) Medium (10-24%) High (25%+)
Average Revenue (in Millions of Dollars)
Gender Diversity Racial Diversity
Source: American Sociological Review, Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity Cedric Herring April 2009
The flywheel for growth
AWS —unleashing untapped potential
What is a Diversity Circle?
AWS S3 Women’s Circle Origin
One Woman’s Inspiration
AWS Platform Women’s Circle Origin
Organic Growth
AWS Platform Women’s Circle
Phase 1: Mentor-Mentee Relationships
AWS Platform Women’s Circle
Phase 1: Mentor-Mentee Relationships
Phase 2: Evolved into a Circle
AWS Platform Women’s Circle
Phase 1: Mentor-Mentee Relationships
Phase 2: Evolved into a Circle
Phase 3: Learning from the Success of the Amazon S3
Circle
Sponsoring
• Identify
Membership Selection
Common
• All women (inherent)
• All part of the Organization (acquired)
Diverse
• Diverse levels of experience (acquired)
• Diverse roles: managers, product managers, software
engineers, systems engineers (acquired)
• Diverse cultural backgrounds (inherent)
Sponsoring
• Identify
• Time/budget
Sponsoring
• Identify
• Time/budget
• Coaching
Sponsoring
• Identify
• Time/budget
• Coaching
• Facilitating
Facilitating Trust
Safe environment for learning
Strong relationships keep circles
together
Facilitating Trust
Safe environment for learning
Strong relationships keep circles
together
Make it fun!
• Blackberry picking
• Happy hour
• Lunches
Facilitating a Structure
Regular meetings
Facilitating a Structure
Regular meetings
Leverage existing resources
Facilitating a Structure
Regular meetings
Leverage existing resources
Establish role models
Facilitating a Structure
Regular meetings
Leverage existing resources
Establish role models
Provide feedback, encouragement
Logistics – Do
Stay connected
Advocate for each other
Make time for retrospectives
Logistics – Avoid
Expanding circle churn
Limiting to women
Replacing all other mentoring
Knowledge Sharing
Inspiration
Practice
Retrospective
Four Flavors of Learning Activities
Sample Meeting – Knowledge Sharing
10 minutes: Grab lunch & greet/mingle
30 minutes: Video on “Leveling the Playing Field”
40 minutes: Interactive worksheets, open discussion
10 minutes: Planning next session
Sample Meeting – Experience Sharing
10 minutes: Grab lunch & greet/mingle
5 minutes: Introduction of guest expert on “Confidence”
60 minutes: Pre-prepared Q&A with guest product manager
10 minutes: Planning next session
Our Experiences and Learnings
Practice Skills Example
Background:
Design Reviews
What We Did:
Technical Presentation Practice
Technical Presentation PracticeSummit Service
Design Doc
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Technical Skill Practice
Technical Presentation Practice
Technical Skill Practice
Learning Confidence
Summit Service
Design Doc
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Key ideas
Driven by Circle MembersSummit Service
Design Doc
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Key ideas
Driven by Circle Members
Practice
Summit Service
Design Doc
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Key Ideas
Driven by Circle Members
Practice
Trust
Summit Service
Design Doc
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Experience Sharing Example
Background:
New Hires
What We Did:
Review tips and share
experiences
Tips for Graduates Review
Knowledge share: Translate
tips into actionable behavior
Tips for Graduates Review
Knowledge share: Translate
tips into actionable behavior
Inspiration: Personal
examples for specific
situations
Key Learnings
Safe Environment
Diversity of Experience
Leveraging Resources
Examples of Learnings
Experience Sharing = Inspiring Stories
Knowledge Sharing = Learning and Growing
Leveraging Resources
My favorite:
“Communicating with
Confidence”
A Story
What is Confidence?
Strategies
Communication changes
impact perceptions
Remove Lessing Language:
- Just
- Sorry
Measuring Success
Career path
Growing influence
Start Your Own Circle
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