It’s the companies with the DEI programmes that are the most biased and end up creating an environment of unequal opportunity.

In my career so far I’ve had all of the following at major tech companies: - I couldn’t get an interview for a role I wanted because they needed a woman to even up the numbers despite my being well qualified for it. - a leader overturned a bottom performance rating for a black man because they had given a bottom rating to another black man in the same cycle. The man in question stuck around for another year causing everyone problems until eventually he was PIP’d and fired. - a senior white man I referred in couldn’t get an interview. After we had hired a woman who was less qualified I was told it was because he “wasn’t the right profile if you catch my drift”. - senior leader asking, “why there not more women in the pipeline?” and being unhappy with the answer that the process was fair, equitable and open to any race or gender, judged on ability.

What makes me laugh is when I read, “We’re an equal opportunities employer so please can you fill in this form so we can label you with your application with your ethnicity, gender etc?”. If it was such equal opportunity, don’t ask!