Ctdit23 1125 125 website image.jpg

Making every interaction count to foster a culture of inclusion

Justin Arbuckle, HSBC

Image:

Justin Arbuckle, HSBC

Day one of the Computing and CRN Women in Tech Festival took place yesterday in London.

Hundreds of delegates enjoyed the opportunity to network at an in-person event, and to engage with a stellar line up of speakers, panels and roundtables on subjects as the power of informal networks and the future of tech.

Among those speaking and taking questions from a highly engaged audience was Justin Arbuckle, CTO Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC. Arbuckle explained why diversity and inclusion should be at the heart of organisations.

"From an HSBC point of view, this stuff really matters to us, he explained. "Our vision statement is opening up a world of opportunities. What that means is making sure that we have an organisation that reflects the world that we serve so building diversity into everything we do matters to us. It matters firstly because it's the right thing to do. But secondly, the research is really clear that organisations that have 30% or more female executives, outperform organisations that have fewer than that. We also know that organisations that are in the top quartile in terms of Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation outperform those that ought to. "

What does diversity and inclusion mean on a day-to-day basis?

Arbuckle said that for him, inclusion was partly about being authentically curious about the perspective of others rather than being keener to advance one's own.

On the basis of being curious about the perspective of others, we get the benefit of that perspective. And getting the benefit of that perspective creates opportunities."

It is also very important, Arbuckle said, to make every interaction count.

"In every single interaction and every single meeting, we should all be asking who isn't speaking? Whose opinion haven't we heard? Making every interaction count means making it count for people around you. Ask yourself who doesn't typically tend to talk? Have you asked them and created an opportunity for them to speak? Are you asking the person who's always speaking to give a second for someone else to have a word?

"These are just some of the simple day-to-day micro interactions that we can do. It's looking for the opportunity to create an opportunity for somebody who perhaps wouldn't get it otherwise."

Arbuckle then responded to a series of audience questions on topics such as how to be a good ally and provided some more details on initiatives taking place within HSBC to enhance the diversity of their tech leadership such as mentorship and coaching.

One audience member asked Arbuckle how he thought we can encourage younger women into an industry that, realistically, is likely to remain male dominated for quite some time, given the painfully slow progress made to date in attracting and retaining women into technology. He acknowledged the scale of the challenge:

"I think it's making every interaction count. When we speak to our daughters, when I speak to my cousin and my niece, the idea that these things are not possible isn't part of the narrative. Also, showing up. Go to schools, go to universities and make it clear that this is a board opportunity. Our world of technology has something for everyone."

Arbuckle went on to make the point that this is not just a gender issue. Attitudes and access to technology careers is affected by many other intersectional biases such as class and ethnicity. Gender is important but it's not the only area that the industry needs to work on.

Towards the end of the session the fascinating question was posed as to whether it was likely that girls (and indeed boys) were being educated out of curiosity. Arbuckle gave a considered answer, taking some very famous examples to illustrate his point.

"I don't think we would have the internet, and the world we're in now if the people who created it were subjected to the kinds of strictures and guidelines and conventions that I think comes with formalisation of knowledge for other forms of engineering, as an example. The creativity there was people doing and creating things that no one else thought possible. Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs, Wozniak, they all dropped out of university and that clearly wasn't because they were stupid. There is something about trying to create an opportunity not being constrained by the environment you're in.

"In general, I think you should always know why you're doing something."

Making every interaction count to foster a culture of inclusion

Day one of the Computing and CRN Women in Tech Festival took place yesterday in London.

Leadership

Tech isn't as meritocratic as you think

Leadership

Long reads: Why do so many women experience imposter syndrome?

Skills

Tech She Can launches Manifesto for Generational Change