Tori Bell, founder of Inclusion Unpacked, explains why start-ups need to prioritize DEI from the ... [+]
By the time Tori Bell left Meta, the employee resource group she’d founded - Black Women at Facebook - had over 3,000 members. A global initiative, it hosted everything from career development programming and mentorship to coaching and events (including an annual summit), all of which provided a place for the Black women employees of the company to feel safe.
This role, it should be pointed out, was one Tori took on in addition to her full time position managing the internal culture and community of the company - a double effort that, though she found gave her “an immense amount of joy and purpose,” ultimately led to her resignation.
“What worked well was that [Meta] enabled this community to exist. It was truly a safe place for Black women at the company and a place we could go for advice, support and encouragement,” she observes.
“For me, what didn’t work well was that I personally burned myself out by holding two roles. Not every manager appreciates the double duty you put in for the greater good of the company.”
Tori isn’t alone in this. As recently reported by Insider, Black women are leaving corporate America in droves to start their own businesses, tired of being forced to overcome obstacles their white colleagues aren’t even aware of, let alone have to deal with themselves. This is only exacerbated by the recent ‘quiet quitting’ rhetoric – one which sees (typically white) workers seeking to claim back their own time and wellbeing, without considering that this usually isn’t an option for their Black female colleagues (who are typically expected to do twice as much work for half as much recognition), and typically ends up placing an even greater burden on them. With such little recognition and consideration, it’s no wonder these women would rather just quit altogether.
“I left for exactly the same reasons,” Tori agrees. “I knew I had more to contribute but felt that if I stayed [at Meta], my career would hit a plateau. I wanted to go where I thought I would be appreciated. I wanted my voice to be heard. I wanted respect and autonomy. Looking back, I would have dedicated my career to the company if I felt that I could grow.”
Equipped with extensive experience from her time at Meta and her roles before that (Tori started her career at an investment banking firm where she saw first-hand just how white and privileged corporate America can be. “If you know anything about investment banking, you know how cookie cutter the industry is,” she remarked on this. “I noticed that the types of students we would hire had similar backgrounds – they were ivy league graduates and wealthy,”) she was invited to teach Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to business owners through Business Class, a venture founded by Sophia Amaruso. After teaching thousands of students, she began to realise that a lot of the problems businesses had boiled down to the fact that they started their DEI work too late. Small businesses and growth stage start-ups, she realized, needed to understand how to build inclusive organizations right at the beginning.
“Often, DEI is an afterthought for companies in the early stages of formation, but studies show that the longer a company waits to prioritize it, the more potential troubles they face down the line,” she says. “What happened at The Wing is a good example of this.”
Founded in 2016, The Wing was a women-only members’ club that closed down all of its locations in the summer of 2022 after widespread criticism of its racist culture, which came to light after the founders’ support of the Black Lives Matter movement was revealed to be performative. The perfect example of sincere and meaningful DEI work taking place far too late.
Understanding this need for proactive DEI implementation, Tori founded Inclusion Unpacked, an educational membership community for businesses wanting to build inclusive, equitable companies from the ground up. Using an education-based membership model led by an Inclusion Council of DEI leaders, in its own words, it’s “on a mission to make inclusivity simple for small businesses and start-ups.”
“Early companies oftentimes are so focused on surviving and building a profitable product that they neglect the critical components of building inclusive organizations,” Tori explained. “We provide a centralized resource that these organizations can leverage as they grow and scale.”
This is done through training, masterclasses, coaching and community discussion, all of which, Tori hopes, will help build a future in which companies’ DEI efforts actually serve the communities they claim to. “Just like with learning a language,” Tori reiterates, “the earlier you are taught this skill, the easier it is for it to become ingrained. By starting with a strong foundation of inclusivity, start-ups can avoid the pitfalls of bias and discrimination that can hinder growth and success in the long term.”
It's hard to argue that this can only make companies stronger. As we’ve seen, businesses who have failed to support their Black female employees are now seeing the effects – to their output quality, their company culture and their bottom line. “These companies are missing out on key talent,” Tori agrees. “Black women care deeply about the organizations we belong to and generally give our all to them. You want a Black woman on your team. Not creating space for us means you’re missing out on potential opportunities to grow and connect with new customers. Leverage our expertise – we only make you better.”
As is often the case, taking heed from where this has been done well is useful. I asked Tori for examples of leaders she believed had used their position to create businesses where Black women truly felt welcomed and wasn’t surprised to hear the answer.
“Ironically, the companies who serve as great examples are led by Black women or women of color themselves. I think Phenomenal Media led by Meena Harris is doing a great job of surfacing the intersectional stories of women within their platform. So is Honest Beauty Co. founded by Jessica Alba and led by Carla Vernón.”
But as she points out, “we shouldn’t rely on a company being founded by women of color to get it right. The onus needs to be placed on everyone.”
So how can a start-up founder or growth stage leader make their company a space where Black women can truly thrive? Firstly, it’s clear that implementing DEI right at the start needs to be reframed as a “need to have” and not a “nice to have,” and this, as Tori explains, comes down to how leaders prioritize Black women and women of color.
“Understanding the unique value we bring, sharing our stories and hiring Black women and women of color into leadership positions is key,” Tori says, “but there is a proprietary method we at Inclusion Unpacked share with founders to get them started.”
There are the four components Tori sees as the “north star” for any start-up or growth stage business to follow if they want success in the long run, each of which is explored in a tangible way within Inclusion Unpacked. They use the acronym PACK and can be broken down into Personal, Applicable, Community Driven and Know-how:
1. Personal
“The first step is to develop a personal understanding of DEI. [This starts with] educating yourself and understanding your “why.” Why do you believe this is important for your company and role?
2. Applicable
“Apply what you have learned to the roles within your team and organization. Diversity is not just one person, it should be measured against every role within your organization.”
3. Community Driven
“Share what you’ve learned, ask questions and grow. You can't just take one training and move on with your day, learn how to infuse what you’ve learned everywhere and be consistent.”
4. Know-How (this is your know how)
“This ties into community driven, but our ethos is that allyship is consistent. Find ways to spread your know-how everywhere.”
What’s undeniable is that, right now, there’s a disconnect between the efforts being made and the way Black women feel in work environments. This, Tori believes, this is due to the performative nature of most DEI work and a “lack of accountability and tangible action.”
“Right now, there is no legislation or accountability when it comes to creating safe spaces for Black women, let alone people of disadvantaged backgrounds at work, which is why it was important for me to form Inclusion Unpacked as a community.
“I want to be clear that though it's impossible for me to speak for all Black women in corporate spaces, in its simplest form, I believe we want to be appreciated for our contributions at work. We want to be promoted, celebrated, represented, respected. These desires are simple. We are not asking for much.”
For more information on Inclusion Unpacked, visit the website here:
