Neurodiversity matters
The Allyance newsletter provides many useful references on recruitment, diversity and inclusion.
Morning everyone,
Has your company ever been audited when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
Last year, I got lucky and met Cody Dority, Talent Partner at PhotoRoom. We instantly clicked. She wanted me to support Photoroom’s path towards inclusion by leading a diversity audit and I did.
I am proud of this project. For the very first time, I saw a company openly share the results with the entire staff. It was a real and concrete step towards accountability and transparency.
True story : I did the survey and the interviews while I was pregnant and wrote the conclusions once my daughter was born. I saw Photoroom grow as much as they supported me during this key moment of my life. I will always be thankful.
I now invite you to discover what PhotoRoom did after the audit.
✅ The Allyance newsletter provides many useful references on recruitment, diversity and inclusion. What follows are some articles about neurodiversity, retaining women in tech, VCs’ obligations when it comes to diversity, about how to learn about social issues and productivity tools.
🧠 How to build a neurodiversity-friendly workplace, according to an autistic female founder
Companies and especially startups often fail at accommodating neurodivergent individuals. Zareen Ali, CEO and cofounder of Cogs AI shares key ideas and reminders about what neurodiversity is and is not. Here are key reminders about inclusion:
Champion inclusivity from the start
Simplify the application process and remove bias
Conduct inclusive interviews
Tailor solutions to individuals
Nurture a supportive environment
Allocate budget for tools, training and awareness
Commit to continuous improvement
“In the UK, 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent. There has also been a surge in diagnoses in the UK, with an 800% increase in autism diagnosis over the past two decades and a 400% increase in adults seeking an ADHD diagnosis since 2020.”
🤯 Want to hire more women?
Recruiting doesn't matter if your best hires quit. Textio often shares data and ideas about inclusive actions needed to set up to hire and retain women. Its latest research revealed that employees receiving low-quality feedback are 63% more likely to leave their organizations — so what can you do today to ensure you're building a strong feedback culture that makes your people want to stay?
Be cautious about your performance review policy and hiring process.
“Hiring bias is increasingly prevalent. Mothers see additional discrimination and mistreatment at work, with managers assuming moms are less dedicated because they have parental demands, and employers less willing to even interview them for the same reason.”
💣 American VCs must report on diversity
For too long, both VCs and the companies they invest in have suffered from a severe lack of diversity within the founding team. The California’s Governor passed a law which will force VCs in the state to report on the diversity of their portfolio companies from 2025. The new rules will see VCs publicly share key info such as the gender and ethnicity breakdowns of the founders they’ve backed.
“European VCs and policy makers should be looking closely at this news from California. Industry advocates and inclusion champions have spent years encouraging firms to change their habits, to little avail.”
🤓 It’s Not Your Coworkers’ Job to Teach You About Social Issues
Lily Zheng has always been a meaningful voice when it comes to DEI. In 2019, Lily wrote a piece about a topic I know companies often face. “If you want to learn more about thorny social issues — police brutality, sexual harassment, or LGBTQ+ issues, for example – you may be tempted to ask coworkers who are affected by these issues to help you better understand.” Yet, you should do your homework, read / watch qualified content..
If you read French, you might want to have a look at the 10 books about DEI we recommend.treprises et les institutions.
“Minorities and women don’t have the responsibility to provide social justice education.”
✨ Le guide ultime de la productivité
Je n’ai jamais caché mon adoration pour le travail de Léo Bernard et ce n’est pas cette nouvelle pépite conçue avec Robin Choy qui me fera changer d’avis.
Régulièrement, je me demande comment gagner du temps quand je prends mes notes d’entretien, quand je “source” (= cherche les candidat·es) ou réalise des tâches répétitives. Dans cette page Notion, Léo et Robin partagent leurs astuces pour gagner en organisation ou en rapidité. J’ai passé des heures à éplucher tous et j’ai testé quelques outils comme Noota. Et vous? Que testerez-vous?
🔦 The Allyance in the spotlight
I gave a conference at La Sorbonne for NeurIPS @Paris on the 7th of December 2023. I introduced the meetup I co-founded: Paris Women in Machine Learning and Data Science.
🤫 Backstage secrets
✨ Congratulations Céline! She will join DeFacto as a Fullstack Engineer.
🦄 2 coaching processes are done! Congratulations Esme for being hired at Pandora and Jean-Philippe for joining EA.
🕵🏻♀️ Belody is looking for a Senior Product Managers.
🕵🏻♀️ Caroline is hiring Machine Learning Engineer for Zalando.
🕵🏻♀️ Morgane is looking for a Senior Principal Data Engineer.
You can contact us : contact@theallyance.one
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We referenced our past editions here if you want to extend your knowledge of diversity, inclusion and recruitment.
Caroline Therwath-Chavier, The Allyance CEO
