Your diverse hire wasn't progress - it was just a polished PR move.They say '
show gender equity'...
but then scream sex discrimination.
Feels like a game you're going to lose, right?
Here's the truth-Hiring a woman doesn't fix gender inequality.
Hiring an ethnic minority doesn't fix racism.
Hiring a man into a "woman’s job" to show balance doesn't fix bias.
That's just a toxen hire.
And guess what?
That's discrimination. If the hire is about how things look, not what the person brings -
You’re just keeping the power where it’s always been.
And it starts with the stories leaders tell themselves:
“It’ll be good to have a woman here.”“We should mix things up, let a disabled person have a chance”
“We’ve never had someone like that before.”
If you hire someone for the message, not their value -
You’re not fixing the system.
You’re just papering over the cracks.
In the UK, you are encouraged to apply
'positive action'.If two candidates are equally qualified, and one is from an underrepresented group, you can select them to help address the gap.
But only if it’s proportionate, and always based on merit.
That’s not tokenism.
That’s a step towards equity.
What’s not allowed?
Positive discrimination - hiring only for a protected characteristic, not merit.
That’s unlawful.
It’s a fine line. Lots of businesses cross it - most don’t realise until it’s too late.
What do I tell my clients?1. Write job descriptions that tackle bias head-on.
2. Check who actually has power after they join - not just a seat at the table.
3. Train managers to spot performative inclusion, so hiring is driven by value, not guilt or PR.
You don’t build equity by ticking boxes.
You build it by changing who’s actually heard
who actually leads
and who gets real chances to succeed.
If you’re honest....
which hires in your business were made for optics - and which for impact?
👋🏽 𝗛𝗶, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁.
𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗥 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.
𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 - 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲.
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