The human and animal world are not so far removed from one another. We throw our toys out of the pram, primates throw a noisy tantrum. We show signs of emotional distress when someone dies, so do elephants where they show special interest in their kin. We show affection and love in similar ways too.

So why are we so surprised when these characteristics come out to play in the workplace?

We’ve seen it for years in the C-Suite, where men from privileged backgrounds with a redbrick university education have created and mandated the status quo. They are the silverbacks, drawn to those that are familiar and of their own kind. It’s why multiple male gorilla troops exist. And why they protect what is theirs so fiercely.

When a woman enters the C-Suite, she’s done so because she’s fought for her right to be there. Struggled up the ladder, beating her chest saying, ‘I’m just like you’. But the woman isn’t a male gorilla, she wasn’t born that way like the men from those privileged seats. What we see is a personality shift – like the way a chameleon changes its colour to signal an intention to its kind. Women may have to become a different person to succeed in climbing the final rungs of the ladder.

This is the same for ethnic minorities too. They may feel they have to become what the work environment wants them to be. Unlike those from privileged backgrounds, where respect is almost a given, they may believe that their only option is to earn the right to be respected.

Change needs to start from the top if we are to avoid tokenism. The days of companies checking a box to hit their DEI goal is over. It’s more than that.

Here’s a recent personal example that made me think:

Teachers encourage children to believe that they have the potential to do anything and can accomplish challenging goals. Schools reward those accomplishments at the end of the term or school year with prizes. I was delighted my daughter won a prize this year – but she was the only girl on the podium, and I noticed an absence of girls for other STEM prizes too. Why? When I mentioned this to a parent beside me, a senior exec in Banking, he laughed and opined, “Ha, you recruiters, always pushing the diversity angle…”. His organisation continuously bangs the drum for equality and D&I. Tokenism.

In the UK, women only make up 30% of the workforce in the fintech sector, with only 12% of founders and co-founders being women¹. Diversification of FAANG companies is also a slow process, with an average of 2% growth for black employees, Latinx employees and women in the workforce². However, of those women that are currently working in the sector, 76% believe their firm is inclusive and 56% say it is diverse³. Yet among junior to mid-level employees, 63% of females say their gender impacted how they were perceived professionally, compared to 27% of men³.

Herein lies a bigger issue. If companies are to become truly diverse, they must be prepared to invest in training those individuals to promote from within. In C-Suite recruitment, finding DEI candidates can be an issue. At Amrop UK, we believe in working with our client to ensure they get the right people for the right job. This means hiring a candidate with the relevant skillset that can hit the ground running, but still has room to grow and develop within the company.  These individuals are often not the finished article, but they have huge potential and learning agility. Therefore, we work with our clients to take that leap of faith when they invest in a diversity policy. We are proud to have a track record of placing successful DEI candidates with our clients.

This isn’t about tokenism. This isn’t about moulding candidates into silverbacks. FinTech expert Leda Glyptis wrote a fantastic Fintech Future article⁴, noting ‘you can’t fix it “over there”. You need to fix it where it’s happening.’ And here’s the thing – we can.

Organisations like AnitaB.org that focus on elevating the next generation of women and non-binary leaders are speaking openly about the barriers to access in the technology sector. Its Grace Hopper Celebration is an excellent example of what we are doing today to drive DEI in the workplace. No, we shouldn’t have to. But change does not happen overnight – if it did, we wouldn’t all be fighting for our place as a silverback.