Virtual Reality and Diversity

“Ethics are how we behave when we decide we belong together.”  – Unknown

Last weekend, I presented at the The Expat Woman’s Empowered Women’s Leadership Summit and spoke about “Leveraging Virtual Reality to Overcome Gender Bias”(or any bias for that matter).  The quick and dirty bottom line is men and women do not understand or share the same beliefs about the problem.  Data shows, especially in the tech industry, that gender discrimination exists in many different forms, from sexual assault, to treatment in behavior, to pay practices, to promotional practices, and so on.  However, men and women continue to see it differently. Men are less ready to see the gravity of it, and women are fed up with men who don’t take it seriously.

We have introduced the use of an award-winning Virtual Reality film that explores what it is like to be a young woman coder.  When I explained that to women and men participating in a demo of the film, they all seemed interested.  But, when I told them if they turned their head they would then experience what it is like to be in the body of her male boss, almost unanimously everyone’s mouth dropped open.  

We have to understand the conditions for both men and women and why it is so hard to get this right.  I won’t give away the story, but it is important to understand that power imbalance occurs in many ways when conducting business. It creates ethical dilemmas that can be very difficult to navigate both for women and men.

But on a daily basis, when there is a power imbalance, it can easily be overlooked.  I remember years ago, being in a meeting where I spoke up, was quickly passed over to someone else, and ten minutes later my male counterpart offered the same idea and got the credit. When I raised my voice to defend myself, I was seen as defensive, overly emotional, not one of the guys, or when I stood my ground, a “bitch.”  Over time, I would pick my battles, or not even try. I did not love my work, nor was I bringing my best self to work over time. My ethical choice was a paycheck over walking away at the time. These kinds of reinforcing behavior cycles are toxic to organizations, especially to creating inclusive cultures.

So why do I bring this up?  The virtual reality experience is a way to have a felt experience from the perspective of both the woman and the man.  In the movie, the ethical choices they make to either speak up or lose something they value occurs in both genders. Even the best intentioned of us are put into situations that make us ask ourselves: could we be better?  

The virtual reality experience opens the door to have a deeper dialogue about the individual experience and  the group dynamics that make it hard to speak up. We have data that supports after being immersed in virtual reality both men and women have:

• A higher sense of personal responsibility to advance Gender Equality at Work
• A higher desire to monitor one’s self and others’ behaviors for gender biases

We learn to have the social courage and skills to engage in high stakes conversations and call out unhealthy behaviors.   With the bad behavior out of the way, we have better and more healthy conversations about business issues and opportunities leveraging the benefit of the diversity in the room.  This does not mean walking on eggshells and being ultra-politically “correct”. It means respect, ethical decisions, and authentic relationships at work.

The positive change can only be sustained with the alignment of the organizational culture and the accountability of the organization’s governance structures and leadership.  In my experience, when policy is displayed in the behavior of the leadership and people in the organization, good things happen – even when the odds seem stacked.

Examples of this exist.  Dragonfly has been working with a company in an industry typically seen as male dominated.  During relationship with this company, they hired their first two sales women in the 100-year history of the company!  And later a third. These women attribute their success to a culture and leadership that demands respect and equality, judges everyone individually, and addresses gender equality issues head on.  They love their work! The company benefits from them loving their work as do all the men that work with them.

Virtual reality is not the magic pill to make it alright, but it is an accelerator for positive change.  If you would like to learn more about how to create a more inclusive work environment, get in touch with us today.