Page 34 - BEQ Magazine Iss 20 Fall 2021 WebRev09272021

EQUITABLE FUTURES
Arthur Woods

champions hiring

for diversity

By JULIE A. PALM
T he coronavirus pandemic has terms of diversity being undone in this new normal

with so many employers moving into a reactive mode
caused workers to rethink their
to just fill the gaps,” Woods says. “That’s something
jobs. And on second thought,
we really, really want to try to avoid.”
many have walked. They want better work- Woods recently published the new book, Hiring
life balance and more flexibility. They want for Diversity: The Guide to Building an Inclusive and
to be paid fairly. Equitable Organization. Co-authored by Susanna
They want to add Tharakan, the book is a No. 1 new release in Strategy
& Competition on Amazon. CEOs and DEI officers
value and to be
have used words like thoughtful, measurable, scal-
valued. able, clear and must-read in their reviews.

While the pandemic may have changed employ-
In this environment, ees’ attitudes about work, it hasn’t altered the bene-
panicked employers fits of a diverse workforce, Woods says. “The greatest
may feel like they have body of work and research that was done in the last
to abandon key hiring two decades pointed to the countless number of
goals, like building a benefits and the business case for diversity,” he says.
diverse workforce, to fill “It’s better for business. It’s better for your bottom
slots as quickly as they line. It drives greater innovation. It creates a better
can. culture. If we think about this, philosophically, we
But there’s another know that a workforce that represents the very com-
way, says Arthur Woods, munity and customer base you’re trying to serve is
co-founder of Mathison, more effectively going to do that.”
a technology platform Woods, a serial entrepreneur, investor and now
that helps employers author, has spent his career focusing on the inter-
ARTHUR manage their diversity section of equity, inclusion and technology. Among
WOODS, hiring efforts. Compa- other accomplishments, he led operations for You-
author and nies can use this rare opportunity to deepen their Tube’s education division and founded Out in Tech,
co-founder of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In
Mathison . | the largest global LGBTQ technology community. He
PHOTO: ALAN the end, it will pay off. was named to Forbes 30 Under 30, is a three-time
BARNETT “We’re really at risk of the progress we’ve made in TEDx speaker and was named to BEQ Pride’s 40

34 FALL 2021 BUSINESSEQUALITYMAGAZINE.COM