Workplaces were ‘built for men, by men.’ They need to do better, says one executive.

We can all appreciate a good performance. (Anyone else still reeling from Cynthia Erivo and Ariane Grande’s powerhouse performances in Wicked?) But the workplace may not be the place for one…

Many employees who are women, people of color, or from diverse backgrounds struggle in the workplace due to “surface-level” inclusion efforts that can feel performative, said Kae Kronthaler-Williams, CMO at Adroit North America and author of Not Made for You: How Women in Tech Can Challenge Bias, Claim Their Space, and Thrive in a System Built for Men.

Kronthaler-Williams shared with HR Brew insights from her book, including how companies can move beyond performative initiatives.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What will HR pros learn from your book?

I hope that Not Made for You shares the lived experiences of employees who feel unseen, undervalued, or excluded in the workplace culture, and I hope it inspires HR pros to move beyond surface-level inclusion efforts and mindfully design workplaces where everyone can thrive.

What are some examples of “surface-level inclusion efforts”?

DEI is a great example of how it was really performative around numbers, hiring people of color or women in companies just to hit a particular number, and it wasn’t taken to the point of bringing it into the culture. And, what I mean by that is all the decisions that are made, you’re thinking about inclusion, so it’s not just a number. It’s not just a program, it’s the everyday, looking at the everyday, and ensuring that it’s inclusive…Not just the hiring, but the daily practices of who’s being able to speak in meetings, who’s getting the special projects.

What are your thoughts on DEI in corporate America right now?

I’m speaking mainly in the industries that I’ve been in. I don’t see a lot of progress…Most of the time, most of my career, I was the only female, and I am a female of color, I was the only female executive, or there was one other, and that was typically a white woman who ran HR, and I have not seen a ton of change there, honestly.

My hope, and that’s part of writing the book, is that we can teach women, the younger generations, how to navigate these systems, because they’re systems that were built a long time ago, and the predominant perspective was male. So, this system is built by men, for men, but there are ways to navigate that. So, I’m hoping that we can teach women how to navigate these systems, so that they’re successful, and we see more women minorities at all levels, and then we don’t have to have these conversations anymore.

How can women navigate these systems built for men?

Some of what’s happening in these rooms and in these companies is so subtle that we don’t realize that we’re not addressing it, and we don’t realize that they do have an effect on how we’re viewed, what our value is, and that ultimately has an effect on our career progression…I illuminate how these barriers of discrimination show up, so that women recognize them. Women and other people recognize them, and they can name it and say, “Oh, this person speaking over me,” or “This person just stole my story idea”...and then I provide the language to address it, so it is about naming it…and addressing it, and then continuing to have this successful career.