Understanding Bias at Backed VC

As times have progressed, businesses have become increasingly aware of their contributions to fighting subconscious racism and other prejudices in the workplace. Recent reports of racially discriminatory behaviour are on the rise. 

Companies such as Starbucks, Papa John, and Napa Valley Wines have all publicly dealt with discrimination on their premises, both between staff and towards the general public. 

Starbucks suffered £12 million of lost revenue after some Philadelphia branch employees called the police on two black business people. Eight thousand stores had to be closed to allow mandatory racial bias training to be carried out for 175,000 employees. 

Business owners want to proactively deter any discriminatory behaviour with so much risk of loss and scrutiny from the public. 

Background 

Invested VCs pride themselves on investing in the optimists building a future we want to share. On their website, they state, we start with a deep respect for the people we work with and for ourselves.

We work hard to put ourselves in other people's shoes and prioritize what's best for them. The London-based VC firm Backed VC had two major hiring processes and wanted to make sure all potential candidates weren't subjected to discriminatory behaviour. 

After Black Unicorn had funded Hustle Crew's Fostering Inclusion training, Jason Touray had their manager meet with Abadesi Osunsade. 

Style Workshop 

The central goal of this interactive workshop was to advance the knowledge of the present managers. It ensured they felt confident when making inclusion-minded decisions and investment decisions in both hirings. 

Those in attendance were asked to participate in pre-workshop activities, such as designing a short 'status' survey to measure opinions before the training session began. 

Furthermore, they took Harvard's implicit bias tests on gender and race before coming. 

Managers were then introduced to standard terms used in diversity and inclusion, how it was evolving and why it's necessary. It highlighted how behaviours could develop from unconscious biases that exist when hiring. 

The workshop was divided into two parts. The first focused on research, statistics, and unconscious bias and discrimination frameworks. 

The document also addresses definitions of bias and understanding the consequences of unconscious bias. As part of the workshop, a strategic review of current processes was facilitated for the team.

The team was able to point out immediate changes to promote diversity and inclusion. There was also a discussion on measuring the impact, success, and accountability of D&I. 

Outcome 

Participants in the VC Backed Leadership Retreat found it worthwhile, and it resulted in an improved understanding of bias, whether they applied it in the realm of recruitment or investment.

Part of training managers on prejudiced behaviours and how to thwart them involved imparting confidence in employees to question internal hiring processes and screening of candidates. 

We offer several other workshops and courses that include How to be Inclusive and Overcoming Impostor Syndrome. Get in touch today.