White Male CEO Uses Privilege To Make The Workplace More Inclusive

White Male CEO Uses Privilege To Make The Workplace More Inclusive Ive got every privilege you can imagine, Brian OKelley, CEO and Co-Founder of AppNexus, told a crowd of (mostly) women at the AppNexus Womens Leadership Forum on Thursday (Nov. 9) in Manhattan. I went to Princeton and Im tall. Thats, like, a 99% chance of success, he joked. On a mora serious elende, he added, I welches raised by an amazing mother and then waved to his mom, who was sitting in the audience.OKelley and the rest of the featured speakers among them Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, and Alicia Glen, NYCs Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development had gathered to speak to attendees about the key issues facing working women.OKelley recalled a conversation hed had that helped shape the way he thinks about diversity. He was speaking with a woman who was in the first Girls Who Code class in 2012 and now works at Tumblr. I asked her why diversity and inclusion matters, OKelley said. She said, Brian, it doesnt really matter how great the fringe benefits are. If its not diverse and if its not inclusive of women, then Im not going to take a job at that company. I need to see women being nurtured or Im not going to work there.Her words moved OKelley, who said he realized that diversity is not only the right thing to do but its a business imperative. To me, inclusion is a necessity, he said, adding that while we talk a lot about diversity which is something we can count and more easily measure the hard part has been inclusion. Its a great competitive advantage if we can recruit women and nurture the careers of women.OKelley emphasized that men have a responsibility to proactively support diversity and inclusion initiatives. I have to acknowledge that theres so much privilege built in to being me that I have to do everything possible to help others get the privileges I have.Wade Davis a feminist, former NFL player, inclusion consultant, public speaker and writer, who also spoke on Thursday agreed that engaging men is a crucial step in reaching gender equality. Men have to give up the idea that Im a good guy. What are they actually doing to change the culture? Men have to understand that the corporate world was set up by men, for men. We have to educate ourselves about what your womens lives in the corporate world are actually like. Im complicit if Im not doing the work to make your lives better, he said.Wade DavisLike most who attended Thursdays conference, Nithya Das, Chief Legal and People Officer of AppNexus, believes tech companies have a lot more work to do in becoming more supportive and inclusive of women. And while umgebung goals is an important first step, bringing those goals to fruition is easier said than done. It requires intentionality, she said. It requires courage. You have to hire more women, sponsored more women. And not just women, mind you but other represented groups as well.Das acknowledged that while it may be easy to a nnounce a commitment, following through is certainly hard work and its expensive. Still, she said, at AppNexus, the leadership team has focused on the fact that the onus is on us to show women what they can be in order to join our company so that we can actually attract them. We have to change behaviors. We have to demand inclusive leadership.She told the crowd that a woman recently asked her for advice because she was having trouble convincing her CEO that diversity should be a priority. Das advised the woman to make a business case and advocate for herself. Later, Das thought to herself, I gave her terrible advice. I should have told her to walk away. Dont compromise yourself. Thats the way to change mindsets.