Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was almost approached as a doctor’s note. We saw the money go to all of these efforts and initiatives and progress was made. But it feels like it almost became something that was not really holding its weight across the board. With that being said, there were big winners and also some who did not get the best outcome out of the deal. At the Agency, we don’t believe in talking about DEI and inclusivity, we kinda just do it.
We hire the best people. They usually don’t look or sound the same.
We hire the nice people. They also usually don’t look the same or come from the same schools (if school at all).
We hire the smartest people. They definitely don’t all look the same or come from the same parts of town.
The point we are trying to bring home is that it is not hard to create a culture of inclusiveness. It does not take that much intentionality, it takes truly caring about the outcomes and wanting to foster the best innovation for your team.
We are inspired by the cultures around us and how it can positively transform digital services for the government and benefit all communities. We are inspired by people. We are inspired by you. Could you imagine if a CIO of a sports organization could get access to the same digital playbook for their start up business as a CIO for one of the most secured federal agencies in the world? Ok, maybe that is a stretch, but you get the point! The opportunities are endless if we think about innovation and digital transformation as a journey everyone can join together.
It does not need to sound the same or look the same, but everyone should be able to participate and help push their communities to a better place. That is our goal: to leave the world a better place than we found it and include everyone on the way.
Sounds pretty fun if you ask us.
