Creating a More Inclusive Culture: Ways to Eliminate Bias in Negotiations
While women are slowly climbing the corporate ladder, barriers still exist for many women in the workplace. There is still a shortage of women in leadership positions and for women of color, the numbers are even smaller. As many companies strive to create a more inclusive culture for women, core to this issue is the unconscious bias that occurs throughout the hiring (and promotion) process.
There’s a troubling pattern where women’s and minority’s competencies and experiences are consistently being overlooked. Efforts to diversify workforces has proven to be difficult.
We sat down with Dr. Cherise Bernard, the Campus Team Lead at Spotify, to uncover what other companies can do in order to help eliminate bias and create a more inclusive culture. Bernard started out her career as a scientist, researching cancer and then pivoted into business development and academic relations. She now works closely with Spotify’s Black employee resource group to influence diversity within the company and is in the process of beginning her own consultancy, Modern Work, which helps create curriculum, talks, and workshops to look at different ideas and concepts within diversity, belonging, and inclusion.
Based on your background, it is clear you have a strong commitment to helping bring about greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Tell us about that journey? What inspired you to lead in this space?
Within my graduate program, I was one of the very few black women, and it continued into my professional experience. I started to really think about opportunities and advancement and creating the career that I wanted. I realized the importance of representation: you can’t be what you can not see. Meaning, if I don’t normally see Black women leading, that visual is not going to be something that stands out in my mind. When I started considering this, I really started to become an advocate for diversity, and inclusion, and representation at high leadership levels. It was a very personal shift, because you really start to limit yourself when you don’t see yourself in those high positions. I realized that the best way to change the workplace may be to be an advocate for those that don’t necessarily get the opportunity to advocate for themselves.
Have you ever experienced explicit or implicit bias during an interview or negotiation? And if so how did you handle it? What, if anything, do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
Honestly, I don’t think that I can put my finger on one or two experiences because it’s so woven into the culture of society that sometimes you can’t avoid the implicit bias. When I talk about my background, and how I have a Ph.D. in Drug Design, the level of shock that I see from people is its own form of implicit bias because it’s so unimaginable.
The way I deal with it now, is that I just expect it. If you have an expectation for something, you don’t get as disappointed. By knowing that implicit and explicit bias still exist, it relaxes me from expecting anything different, and really puts into the forefront what I can and cannot control. I can control myself, how I respond, the level of stress that I feel. We have a long way to go and knowing that I am fighting to be on the right side of that change, makes me feel great to know that I’m doing all that I can do to level the playing field, not just for me but for Black men and women who are my peers. I just feel my ability to understand the expectation that I have of the world and society right now, helps me to be able to put things into perspective and really continue to fight for change.
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Even the best of intentioned people can and often do bring some form of bias or assumption into a situation — what can we all do to sensitize ourselves to this?
Keeping the momentum going for a movement or a fight is proving very difficult. It’s easy to become desensitized. I’ve learned there is always going to be something that surprises me from history when it comes to gender parity or racial parity. There’s always going to be something to learn. When you really lean into learning about these issues, it’s hard for you to become desensitized because you are always learning something new - either about someone or something. There is an unlimited amount of learning that we can all do. To truly begin to shift your perspective, get varied and diverse arrays of information from different forms: watch documentaries, listen to podcasts, do informational interviews with professionals who are in higher positions that you want to get to know. All of these things will help you to understand history and what you need to do to move forward.
Is there anything specifically that HR recruiters and hiring managers can do to overcome biases?
HR professionals are regular people. Even with a certain expertise, we’re all open to biases just as everyone else is. But as HR professionals, we have a higher standard to make sure that we’re educated just as much as any leader in the organization because we are gatekeepers in companies and within organizations so there must be a higher standard of education. Look at the metics. Look at how your organization is doing in terms of numbers and the attrition rate. I’m always going to be a big fan of data, I get excited about analytics, and the numbers tell us what we don’t know. They also don’t lie. Every number has a reason. HR professionals have a duty and a responsibility to dive into those numbers, look at the metrics, understand them, and then figure out plans, frameworks, and strategies to address them. But be mindful of the contextual reasons for those numbers, and how it relates to what’s happening socially in our communities and in our society. You cannot separate metrics within an organization from society. There is a reason the numbers are the way they are and understanding the “why” is critical.
What role can negotiation play in Black women overcoming obstacles in the workplace?
It comes down to how prepared we are coming to the table for negotiations. Part of the solution for being successful is how prepared we are, how much data we have, and how much research we have done. That’s really going to inform the organization as well. Standing firm in that data and standing firm in what you know as a Black woman - that you know you’re worth the ask. Don’t budge from your worth. If you nudge, make sure that something else is being restored or offered in the process.
Do you have a favorite negotiation story?
I don’t, to be quite honest! Since the last time I’ve negotiated (compensation), I learned so much more about the process. I have not been the best at it in the past and I’m learning myself - because it takes a while to even build up your confidence to counteroffer. I think a lot of women have that experience.
How would you describe your negotiation style?
Moving forward my negotiation style is going to be firm, rooted in data. I’m not going to just pick a number from the clouds and say this is what I want. I think one of the things about being confident in your abilities and confident in your skills is that you feel a real sense of worthiness and a sense of “I deserve to be here”. Which is something that, historically, Black women don’t feel often in the workplace. We have to build up to it, and right now there’s some real shifts going on in society where we are really taking stock of who we are as women, as Black women, understanding that we may have more people with us than against us, and really allowing ourselves to be worthy and deserving. I think the next time I have to negotiate, it will come from a place of worthiness.
What programs have you found to be effective ways to promote equity and diversity?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all for programmatic education within a company. One thing I have noticed is that when you start to build a strong foundation in your workforce for early career professionals (interns, cohorts, or those out of college for 2, 3, or 4 years) that is rooted in diversity, you build a strong organization. Focusing on diversity for that career level makes a huge difference.
Second, is creating opportunities for people to develop their leadership skills right. It’s not a particular program, but I think every company should want to make sure that the people displaying potential have their leadership skills grown and nurtured. This can be done through a leadership academy or coaching such as executive coaching to really hone in on their skills.
What can leaders and allies do to increase diversity and inclusion in their organizations?
I’m a big fan of sponsorship. A lot of people focus on mentors, and mentors are amazing, but sponsors are those that are leaders and they allow a person to be more visible. Sponsors can do this by giving you more visible projects or allowing you to take the lead on new initiatives. They put you on working groups or task forces to initiative different types of work within the organization. They will give you opportunities to speak to the company or a large audience. Sponsors are mentors on steroids. Not only will they give advice, but they will put their money where their mouth is and give you opportunities to lead. As a leader, sponsorship can allow you to see leadership in other people. Escalating people’s opportunities to contribute and confidence is something all leaders and allies should be thinking about.
What is your biggest “WIN?”
I think the biggest win for me is the changes and the growth that I’ve seen in myself over the past few years. To be quite honest, your position can change, your title can change, you can change companies - you can change a lot of things, but if you don’t change the way you see yourself, if you don’t grow your own confidence, and if you don’t know that you’re worthy, then none of those things actually matter. It’s a win for me that I’m finally able to be sure about myself and be confident about what I bring to the table. I’m certain of what my purpose is, and I think that’s huge. My driver is knowing that in any way I can, I am doing the work to level the playing field for underrepresented groups. And that is the best win I could ever ask for.
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About Dr. Cherise Bernard
Dr. Cherise Bernard leverages a rich background as a scientist, woman in technology, strategist and Diversity champion to drive early career recruitment at Spotify. Overseeing the outreach strategy and management of all undergraduate business, MBA and PhD Research internships in the U.S. Canada and South America, Cherise amplifies diversity initiatives and is passionate about building inclusive workplaces. Cherise also leads Spotify’s global Employee Resource Group, BLK, that serves to build programmatic strategy and community within Spotify’s Black and African-American population. In this role, Cherise collaborates with leadership in policy-setting for the Diversity & Inclusion ecosystem at Spotify. In addition to her work at Spotify, Cherise is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Modern Work, LLC, a Diversity + Inclusion consultancy that provides in-person and virtual workshops, trainings, and coaching to teams and forward-thinking organizations looking to develop and grow inclusive workplaces.
Cherise holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology where she worked on cell cycle regulation in cancer cells and a Mini-MBA certification focused on BioPharma Innovation, both from Rutgers University. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
She enjoys travel, learning about different cultures, engaging in self-care and is a self-proclaimed foodie.