(spot208) how to sponsor a diversity circle in a tech workplace
TRANSCRIPT
© 2015, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Susan Chan, Senior Product Manager, AWS
Lee Kear, Systems Engineer, AWS
Divya Patruni, Software Development Engineer, AWS
Amy Therrien, Senior Software Development Manager, AWS
October 2015
SPOT208
Supporting Diversity
How to Sponsor a “Diversity Circle”
in a Technical Workspace
Diversity Circle Sponsorship
The Flywheel for Growth
Amazon S3 – Unleashing Untapped Potential
Growth of
Amazon S3
innovators
Career
development for
innovators from
innovators
Innovation
leaders
Role models
attract more
innovators
Amazon S3 Women’s Circle
Membership selection (17 members)
• Common
• All women (inherent)
• All part of the Amazon S3 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
• Coaching
• Facilitating
Facilitating Trust
Safe environment for learning
Strong relationships keep circles
together
Make it fun!
• Blackberry picking
• Happy hour
• Lunches
Facilitating a Structure
• Monthly meetings on topics covering experiences and
knowledge
• Amazon S3 topics are defined by the circle: negotiation,
leveling the playing field, communication, confidence, work
life balance, etc.
• Establish role models
• Individual mentoring for the first role models
• Leverage existing career development techniques and
resources
• Guest speakers, published resources
• Provide feedback, encouragement
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
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
Logistics
Do’s
• Stay connected to participants’
managers
• Advocate for your circle
participants outside of the
circle
• Make time for retrospectives
Don’ts
• Get into expanding circle churn
• Feel like you need to limit this
to women
• See this as a replacement for
all other mentoring
Measuring Success
Role model innovators
Growing influence
Diversity Circle Participation:
Curriculum Example
Leveraging Resources
Career development resources
My favorite:
“Communicating with Confidence” – leanin.org
A Story
Confidence
The Confidence
Flywheel
Practice New
Behaviors
Confidence
Success
Strategies
Communication changes
impact perceptions
Diversity Circle Participation:
Impact of the Circle Flywheel
Networking Within the Circle
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Branching Outside of the Team
Outside of Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Networking Outside of Amazon
Outside Amazon
Amazon
Amazon S3 team
Individual
Diversity Circle Participation:
Seizing Opportunities
JOB
vs.
CAREER
Key Takeaways
Don’t give up before
you try.
Exposure to tangible
role model turns an
unknown to known.
Remember to complete
your evaluations!
Thank you!