The Impact of Remote Work on LinkedIn’s Workforce Diversity
angela_r_howard (00:01.834)
All right, Rosanna, welcome to the podcast. I am so thrilled to have you on. And I'm gonna allow you to do your own introduction because I wanna hear not just about your role at LinkedIn, but also who Rosanna is, what is the impact that you're looking to make on the world, how it all connects and purpose. So I'm gonna throw it to you just to provide our audience an introduction.
rosanna_durruthy (00:25.071)
Hey, Angela, it's really great to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me to this. I guess by way of introduction, I'm Rosanna DeRuthy, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at LinkedIn. And the work that I engage in is really very much a product of my own life experiences. When I began my career, diversity and inclusion didn't exist as a job function. And I grew up very much...
a child of a Cuban dad and Puerto Rican mom who came to the United States mainland, not only in search of greater opportunity, they were certainly looking to realize their potential. But I think what they may not have realized was that this child they would bring into the world was a product of the many intersections we now talk about in this work of diversity. So Spanish is my first language.
Speaking English is not only a very powerful and natural expression for me, but it always surprised me as a child that people presumed because I didn't have a discernible accent that I wasn't Hispanic. I am black and as someone who is black raised in the United States, I share a lot of the African-American experience, but it definitely has a Latino influence across it.
angela_r_howard (01:38.995)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (01:53.595)
which makes it different. And as I came of age, I realized that I was gay. And all of those things, all of these experiences have always made me different from my own family. And so at an early age, it became easy for me to understand that in a world where nature and nurture often define our similarities, our upbringing, our experience of life.
angela_r_howard (01:55.487)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (02:20.663)
Even growing up in a family with other individuals you may share DNA with, your experience of the world can be so different. You can often feel like the other among people you share a last name with and DNA with. And yet that doesn't necessarily imply something's bad or wrong. It just means that we're different. And I was different. It was definitely different growing up. Different from my friends.
angela_r_howard (02:41.974)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (02:48.327)
different in part because I skipped a couple of grades. So when I graduated high school at 16, I was younger than my peers, but always had, I think, an older worldview. I went to college at 16, a place in Massachusetts that people often know by the name of Harvard. And my experience was fascinating. In many ways, it was a young girl dreams come true to be in this remarkable environment.
of intellectual stimulation and global community. But by the time I was 17, I had to take a leave of absence from school because my parents were having extreme marital difficulties that ultimately resulted in their divorce. But it also put me in a position of almost feeling as though I was a third party in my own life. Because at 17, you're not financially independent. In the war between two people who are ending a relationship.
finances become a matter and the impact upon me was that I had to leave school. And it meant that I now had to create a different life than the one I had imagined early on. And the path certainly was a path of how do I find a job not having a college degree? How do I discover skills that can be valuable at this time so that I could support myself, my mom, and I.
angela_r_howard (03:52.054)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (04:14.531)
as a result of the breakup with my dad, were homeless for a couple of years. And so we lived through the uncertainty of not having our own home or a dress. We were really fortunate to come upon some really kind and generous, distant family members, friends that we were able to stay with for periods of time until we could get on our own feet and afford our own place. And in that process, I saw a lot of what has motivated my life. Inequity with women.
angela_r_howard (04:44.478)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (04:44.771)
you know, in the dissolution of a marriage, things that happen that often make it difficult for a wife as a spouse to be regarded in equal measure. I saw the inequality that comes when you're poor. I saw the inequity that certainly occurs in the world when people see you by virtue of your age or your race or your educational status and they don't see you.
I think it was always in my nature to want to right wrongs, but not by making other people wrong, just by giving people a fair chance. So this world that I live in today, the work that I do today is really about how do we remove the obstacles to the potential that each and every one of us has as humans? And I feel really, really fortunate to work for a company that has a...
angela_r_howard (05:24.069)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (05:40.187)
the vision of creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. I think the blessing in that is this work of diversity, inclusion and belonging is about ensuring that the access to the economic opportunities that are created are available to each and every member of the global workforce. And thus, that's really in many ways what I'm about. How do I ensure that great talent gets every opportunity to express itself?
and to authentically be who they are without apologies for it, without having to hide it, without having to feel as though you're less than because no one is less than and we're all different.
angela_r_howard (06:24.906)
Yes, yes, and you are kind of a living embodiment of some of that intersectionality that you talked about. And I think sometimes when we have this conversation about diversity, we don't think about the overlap and the many different identities happening at one time and the impact that can make to the individual, but also the systems that the individual is functioning in. To your point, you mentioned family, you mentioned the education system, you mentioned
economic, all these layers that can perpetuate that opportunity or stifle it, which is, it sounds like that's kind of your life's work that you're working on now.
rosanna_durruthy (07:04.659)
You know, those are the complexities of life. And I'm a real believer that we're never our circumstances. But it's really interesting to think and to see how the world often expects that we live inside of identities in a singular way, as though we could choose a particular identity. And, you know, my race, my ethnicity, my gender, my sexual orientation.
my views of the world are uniquely my own. I don't know that they were a choice. They've evolved, certainly. They just are who I am. And it's given me, I think, a great deal of compassion and understanding that that's true for each and every individual. We're born into the identities we're born into, and then the world judges. And so what would it look like if that judgment weren't present in systems in such a way that it becomes a determinant of...
success, of economic stability, a determinant of our mental health and well-being, which I think for the first time in society, certainly in the business environment, we're engaging in conversations with an acknowledgement that mental health is not something that is an entitlement. Everyone has the capacity to struggle with challenge, and challenge can impact in different ways.
angela_r_howard (08:02.166)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (08:21.116)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (08:29.851)
that challenge creates trauma. And sometimes that challenge creates resilience and sometimes it's both. And so how do we create the space for that generosity of spirit and a recognition that, you know, we are not produced or manufactured in factories with, you know, exactly to be equipped with, you know, the same.
angela_r_howard (08:49.489)
We're human beings.
rosanna_durruthy (08:54.427)
defaults in the same settings? And what does it look like to create the agility in our own world to interact with each other with that grace and respect for differences? Because we can certainly learn from each other's differences. And sometimes those differences are uniquely part of the alchemy that informs what's next, what's new, what allows us to innovate and create a world where more and more
of each of us can feel seen and heard and respected and valued without feeling that we have to assume an identity or pretend to be what we're not. And that's, you know, a unique space to be in. You know, in the 50s and 60s and 70s, post-World War II and even as we went through the Vietnam War, you know, one of the super strengths that the American society possessed was manufacturing.
And in many ways, our lives look manufactured. There was an expectation of, you know, a woman grows up, she marries, a man gets a good job and takes care of his family. A woman's career wasn't very much a part of the equation of life. And so we fast forward 50 years, our society's a different society. You know, we think about, you know, not only single parent families, two parent families, both parents working. We think about
angela_r_howard (09:56.159)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (10:17.723)
you know, affordability of healthcare, which when I was younger wasn't really as much a part of the conversation as it is today. It's 18%, you know, of the expenditures and just about any environment and 18% of the GDP. And so there's just so much that is more complex and certainly creates the potential for us to see the world differently because life is changing.
angela_r_howard (10:34.12)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (10:47.362)
Yes, and you mentioned earlier that when you were growing up, this idea of the role of diversity, inclusion, belonging, and equity didn't necessarily exist in a formal way. Of course, we had, you know, advocates and people who were focusing on actions and justice that were needed within those systems. But to have this in an organization.
You know, I talk about this a lot, which is the name of the podcast, Social Responsibility at Work. I think that there is this growing realization from organizations, and I definitely want to hear about LinkedIn and how you all are approaching this work, but it's the fact that we have a platform to make change, and we are employing people. We have people in this container for eight to 10 hours a day or however long, whatever that number looks like.
What is our responsibility here? So how are you all thinking about that at LinkedIn as far as the platform, as far as the responsibility, but also how that's showing up in action?
rosanna_durruthy (11:56.571)
You know, it's such a great question, particularly as we think about the era where people assimilated. Their objective was to get a good job, go to work. And if you did a good job every day, you got to keep your job. And, you know, after 35, 40 years, there was a time when you would retire with the clock and a pension. And when that changed, it changed so many dynamics.
You know, the work of LinkedIn is to, you know, help the world's professionals be more productive and more successful. An important part of that productivity and success, and it was something that I learned, you know, early in my career, is it's not just about the work, it's about the relationships you form with the people you work with. And so how are we forming relationships that not only allow us to feel a sense of ease in the environment, but also give us access to understanding
how we grow our careers, how do we have that opportunity to be promoted? And early in my career, what I saw is that really talented people of color were coming into organizations and they did a good job, but somehow they couldn't get to the next level. You know, the work of LinkedIn is to really acknowledge that professional development is ongoing. You know, we're always learning.
angela_r_howard (13:21.418)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (13:23.063)
And an important part of that learning is not only access to information, it's the development of skills. It's the access to a community whom you can interact with and learn about the things that people are doing and how they're applying these skills. It's about connecting to people that you might admire, people who may be role models in the work that you're doing to understand what their thinking is and what they, they consider important.
much like you, it's understanding what these trends are so that we can all be more responsible. This idea of social responsibility is not only the work of, you know, policymakers, it's the work of business leaders. And as we move from conversations of work-life balance to recognize that it isn't about balance, it's more about the harmony, the ability to not feel as though you have to be someone different at work.
angela_r_howard (14:02.151)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (14:13.663)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (14:17.647)
but rather be yourself in all domains and that work is a part of your life. And the responsibility of corporations is I think we acknowledge at LinkedIn to create a more equitable environment, to create an environment where not only do our employees get to be more productive and do the best work of their lives, but they can feel the ease of being themselves, to feel seen, to feel that sense of belonging, which is something that
We can't create for ourselves. The uniqueness of belonging is that it's an experience created for you by the people who surround you. And to know that you don't have to operate in this sense of fear or, you know, quite frankly, this sense of covering who you are in order to be able to get ahead. And, you know, I certainly believe my colleagues.
have given us the ability to understand what they seek, what they want. We work towards that at LinkedIn and try to share that, not only with our customers, but to bring people onto the platform whose ideas can help spark the innovation for all leaders to understand what they can do that really makes the difference in the lives of others so that people succeed at higher levels so that they contribute in ways they never imagined so that they can see
possibility of who they are.
angela_r_howard (15:47.278)
I love that. I mean, what you're really talking about is, you know, how do you how do you create an environment? And I'm really just repeating what you just said, but I'm repeating my own words, but you're creating an environment that feels safe to be authentically yourself, which is what we know as psychological safety. It's kind of that buzz term that's flying out there. And, and I personally believe that's like a huge indicator of creating an inclusive environment because we talk about diversity a lot.
So you can bring in all the diverse individuals into your organization. And I truly believe everyone is diverse, right? So everyone's coming in with their own perspective and background or lived experience or scenario, but it's how you then ensure that the right voices are elevated or represented.
rosanna_durruthy (16:23.987)
with you.
angela_r_howard (16:41.874)
at the table, I've got like air quotes going, but generally, you know, if you're looking around a room and you're like, okay, we all come from the same background, have the same perspective, we all look alike, so probably have some similar lived experiences, what are we missing? Like that is the inclusion action of actually saying, let's reset the room, let's make sure we have the right voices.
rosanna_durruthy (17:03.875)
And you know, I love what you're saying, Ange, because it really speaks to, we are who we are when we walk in the door and we all have our own unique experience of the world. So I'm so in agreement with you. I think, you know, the paradigm of diversity has often been designed to define or separate people who haven't been at the table or in the environment, whether by gender or race or other elements of identity.
But what's really also true for me is that all those elements of identity become so important and so necessary when we think about how our businesses become important, relatable, vital to the people they serve, to the communities that they draw talent from. And, you know, I'd love to get your thoughts as someone who engages in these conversations around what you see to be some of the changes that companies recognize today that they might not have. Because
angela_r_howard (17:44.53)
Yes.
rosanna_durruthy (18:02.191)
It's so true, psychological safety and cultural humility weren't things that we talked about at the beginning of my career. And even 15 years ago, it would have sounded like, this just sounds a little too touchy feely for the business environment. And yet I've seen a lot of change in what employees expect of us. I'd love to hear some of the things that you're seeing that also play to the same theme of what it is to be a human being in this experience.
angela_r_howard (18:06.166)
Hmm.
angela_r_howard (18:15.23)
Hmm.
angela_r_howard (18:24.018)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (18:31.614)
Yeah, yeah, well you brought up kind of this idea of manufacturing, and I always go back to the Industrial Revolution, right, where we were structuring work around assembly lines and machines, we weren't structuring around humans. So I feel like we are now in a new revolution. Industrial revolution served a purpose, but we're now kind of in this, I don't know, human revolution, I don't know what you wanna call it, I don't have a name for it.
But what we're realizing is that, and this is a very simple concept, but it's people who oftentimes do the work. I think we've let go of this idea that everything is gonna be taken over by machines one day. I think we've come to the realization that human beings will absolutely still be needed in the future because there are some things you just can't replace with AI. And so the need for understanding how humans
function, are productive, are motivated, inspired, is becoming more of a topic that perhaps you didn't learn in your MBA class 10 years ago. So things like psychological safety, which is really just my ability to speak up without fear or retribution from my peers, from my leader, from the people around me, we're learning now have very direct
benefits to things like creativity, like innovation, and also can be actually pretty detrimental when you don't have it. So, you know, I bring up the challenger scenario a lot where, you know, somebody was not comfortable speaking up, or Enron, all these instances where we're seeing this in action in the wrong way. So I think we're noticing that there are consequences to not having
those human elements figured out, but also there's very clear benefits of having those things. And oh, by the way, it's kind of like getting back to basics with a lot of things. People like to be in environments where they feel loved and supported and they feel like someone has their back. Leadership is not just a role, but it's actually a responsibility that you have to the people in your care. It's actually, I kind of paint it as a caregiving role almost.
angela_r_howard (20:59.154)
where you're healing, you're guiding, you're supporting. And so how do we start to question what does leadership mean at my organization now? Because now that's more of a responsibility and less of a title.
rosanna_durruthy (21:13.903)
You know, you've captured something that I think we're all in the midst of recognizing a powerful transformation around. The world, the role of leader exists in a world where it isn't always about having the answers, but about how do you create the space for those answers to be generated from, you know, the amazing perspectives and, you know, experiences and skills that your teams bring. And I think
angela_r_howard (21:28.883)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (21:42.271)
Even as I engage in this work of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, it's not possible for an organization, in my opinion, to be successful in a sustainable manner without having leaders who are inclusive leaders. Because invariably, we recognize that, you know, talent exists in all forms, shapes, and sizes. The leader who creates the distinct
angela_r_howard (21:57.622)
you
rosanna_durruthy (22:12.755)
creating and building trust and productivity and having a high performing team is likely to be the leader who knows how to bring a team together, much like an orchestra conductor has people with amazing talents in different instruments. Bring a team together with diverse experiences and perspectives to produce the best products, the best customer experiences.
angela_r_howard (22:24.672)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (22:37.467)
that brings customers back over and over again and allows customers to be seen and heard. But those employees need to feel seen and heard. And those employees are living their human experiences require leaders who understand how to create trust. Ultimately, the work of an inclusive leader is to build trust. And it's something that we seek in our relationships. It's something that we rely upon in order to invest ourselves.
And the magic of inclusive leadership isn't just about having this diverse representation. Ultimately, it's about how you gain enough trust in your employees that they unlock the discretionary talents that aren't necessarily a part of the job. You learn a skill to be an accountant. And if you come to work to just do the accounting, that's one thing. But the work of being ethical, the work of speaking up.
The work of seeing something that may not be fair or seeing someone who isn't getting an opportunity isn't necessarily part of the accounting job, but it is a part of the job of not only being a leader and influencing the environment, but building trust at a bigger level. And I think, you know, as you speak to this change from an industrial environment where we produced widgets and all the widgets were the same to...
angela_r_howard (24:01.167)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (24:03.987)
the world that we're in today where we produce experiences and services and products that are designed to generate certain experiences, the customization that we see in today's environment really requires leaders who have this adaptive ability to recognize what their employees and teams need when they need them, to recognize what might have to be put in.
angela_r_howard (24:28.013)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (24:32.323)
into a person's experience that's different from the way everyone else might relate to the world or experience in that work environment. And I think that's been part of the source of this work of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. As we think about what are the experiences that are going to be unique to people who come from certain backgrounds and demographics, in part because they may not have grown up in the business environment that we have today, or they may not, you know.
have parents or aunts and uncles or neighbors who are the ones mentoring them through these experiences. And what can we do to not only build the trust, but enable the agency and the individual to learn for themselves so that they can be stronger and better professionals. But it doesn't apply just to a certain group of professionals, it applies to each and every individual. There's research that was done by PRII.
most recently in 2016, that speaks to the networks of individuals in the United States. And by demographics, by racial demographics, it tells us that more than 90% of white people do not have a black person in their personal network. And nearly 85% of black people do not have a white person in their personal networks. And the number is somewhere around 63, 64% for Latinos.
And that is an ethnicity, not a race. So when you think about what it looks like to perform in an environment with people who come from different upbringings, different social perspectives and identities, you begin to realize that the business environment is where that may take place. Not everyone has a college education, not all colleges have diversity. And in fact, our ability to elect or choose the groups we socialize with and...
angela_r_howard (25:59.858)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (26:25.991)
who we hang out with is often, you know, I think often seen when a person gets married. You know, I've certainly had the experience of going to weddings with people that I regard and love dearly, but there's always that group that's, you know, everyone represents the couple, and then there's this one table that's different from everyone else in the room. And so I say that because it's not by intention. In fact, I think there's a lack of intentionality.
angela_r_howard (26:33.098)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (26:55.259)
where we see a lack of diversity. I think the ability to form networks and to connect with people who are different from ourselves is about the intention that we can generate. Sometimes being uncomfortable with differences, sometimes recognizing that being familiar with people who come from different backgrounds and experiences, it enables us to build experiences and skills and perspectives that we otherwise wouldn't have.
angela_r_howard (27:08.915)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (27:24.971)
And certainly when we are leading teams, it's going to be those diverse perspectives that create what hasn't been created before. It leads to innovation. It leads to a recognition of customer segments that haven't been visible customer segments. I always joke that you can always tell when a home has been designed by a woman versus a man.
angela_r_howard (27:33.662)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (27:47.723)
I always say it's in the closets. There's nothing like having a closet that reflects a woman's taste.
angela_r_howard (27:50.668)
Yes.
angela_r_howard (27:54.678)
Absolutely, absolutely. And even things like, you know, I just got off an airplane and I'm about like five, six, so I'm a little bit taller than maybe the average woman, but just think about how an airplane was designed, right? Every time I go, I am like lifting this thing like above my, way above my head, and there's usually a man behind me who's like, oh, I got that for you. But, you know, look how we design certain things, and to your point.
rosanna_durruthy (28:17.853)
Right.
angela_r_howard (28:22.662)
Yeah, sometimes it's not designed for everybody, or it is designed for everybody, so.
rosanna_durruthy (28:26.931)
Exactly. Now that intentionality, if we are all imbued with the ability to see the differences are just a part of the human condition, it makes us, I think, more receptive to not feeling the difference is a threat, but it's a possibility. It's a possibility of seeing and recognizing and understanding and building things we wouldn't have thought of creating that allows the next person to have
opportunities to win and allows us the opportunity to win. And I always feel so strongly. And I think we've seen in business results, diverse teams win, not just because of the diversity, but because of the leaders who know how to unlock the diversity. They don't treat everyone the same. They recognize that their team members each may need something different. And that is where equity is such a critical part of the equation. How do you create an environment where
angela_r_howard (29:05.639)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (29:17.374)
Yes.
rosanna_durruthy (29:24.291)
Each and every person can come in and be seen by their manager as someone with great potential and be treated that way and recognizing that, you know, creating capabilities makes us all better. We all win. When the curb cut was created to enable people with wheelchairs to access sidewalks, industry grew from that. We now have roller suitcases and roller bags and salespeople.
angela_r_howard (29:46.252)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (29:50.607)
stopped having so many chronic back issues because they were able to roll their materials rather than having to carry suitcases door to door. And I laugh about that because it certainly is the artifact of the past, but it really is a great way of helping understand that, creating an opportunity or creating ways for people to engage with opportunity doesn't diminish the opportunities that any of us have. On the contrary, it creates more opportunity.
angela_r_howard (30:05.293)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (30:19.943)
for all of us to thrive, for all of us to be successful, for all of us to be a part of what makes the world better.
angela_r_howard (30:27.786)
Yes, absolutely, and you touched on a lot of fantastic things there around inclusive leadership. I think also creating a culture of inclusion, which leadership is a mirror of that, but you know, also thinking about in the system, how are you creating that inclusion? And one of the things that comes to mind is, you know, again, kind of going back to the psychology and the human element of this, but, you know, I see the responsibility of
getting people out of survival mode. Because when you are under threats, I mean I know myself, if I'm like any other human, I'm sure a lot of people are like this too, but when you're stressed, when you're in chaos, when things aren't clear, when you feel marginalized, we go into survival mode. And that is not a performance state. We do not perform well in survival mode. So as a leader, how do you get people out of survival mode and into performance mode?
so that they can, to your point, give their best and feel their best.
rosanna_durruthy (31:32.087)
Yeah, that's such an important question. I don't know that people who signed up to be leaders, so to speak, understood that in this changing world, they would have to be organizational psychologists and understand the evolution of talent. And this world of corporate anthropology, I sometimes call diversity, inclusion of belonging, is really about connecting with individuals in a way where you can see
angela_r_howard (31:52.295)
I'm going to go to bed.
rosanna_durruthy (31:59.319)
You can see when an individual is just a little bit out of sorts. You know, in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, what we saw was an environment where leaders felt like they had to walk on eggshells in some instances. And what we were seeking to help our own leaders understand is you don't have to walk on eggshells. Just check in with your people. You may not have the answers. In fact, you probably won't. But lend an ear and listen.
angela_r_howard (32:26.982)
Mm-hmm. Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (32:28.763)
You know, here are the resources that are available for you to direct employees to, maybe having a hard time with what's going on. So taking into account that as human beings in our human experience, we want to be productive, but there are things that get in the way. What are the resources available for your team so that they know, you know, if you need to take a couple of hours off or the afternoon off, you know.
What might that look like, not only in terms of goodwill, but giving an individual the time they may need to reconnect with themselves, to be able to deal with what's going on. And I think it's certainly, it's interesting because all of this happened at the very beginning of COVID. It's really created a reset in the framing for how we lead. We have more employees working remotely than we did in the past.
angela_r_howard (33:04.958)
Hmm.
angela_r_howard (33:19.055)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (33:26.587)
They're working in states where we don't have corporate offices or centers. And it really requires that we as leaders even rethink our notion of what it is to lead a team. Our teams are often not co-located. They're operating virtually. We're in different time zones. Through the height of COVID, you know, we met the family. We met children. We met.
angela_r_howard (33:53.032)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (33:54.111)
and we met spouses and sometimes parents. It really brought all of the elements of our work together. And you said something profound earlier. As leaders, we became caregivers. In some cases, we were caregiving at home while working, but we were also to some extent caregiving for our team, ensuring that our teams have the resources. And I think...
angela_r_howard (34:09.877)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (34:18.203)
You know, the dimensions of leadership are changing. What does it look like to create flexibility for team members, not only in where they work, but how they work, as we've seen the workforce rethink why they're working, where they're working? It's been a really interesting experience to see that in the last couple of years, with the kind of turnover that we saw in most companies in the great resignation, you know, more than 40% of people change jobs.
angela_r_howard (34:24.406)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (34:46.615)
What does it look like to arrive in a company where you haven't met your colleagues and you're producing? And how do you create an environment where those individuals don't get trapped in the transaction of being on Zoom or being on Teams all day and not really getting to know each other? And so the intentionality with which we lead, the intentionality with which we give our teams the space to just be people together, you know?
angela_r_howard (35:05.347)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (35:15.875)
the water cooler of 40 years ago no longer exists. And so now we have to create a different way of having just that space for conversation, for getting to connect with each other and getting to know each other. There may no longer be the artifacts of people's family pictures on there as the return to the work environment may have caused some people to be in the office once a quarter.
angela_r_howard (35:35.855)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (35:43.779)
rather than every day. Or maybe they're not at the same desk every day when they do go into the office. There's just so much that's changed and it requires a level of agility and who we are to lead effectively and to pay attention to the signals and to differentiate those signals from the noise.
angela_r_howard (36:04.159)
Yeah, and I think that gets back to your equity, the equity conversation we were having, which is choice, agency, getting to know people as humans and what they need, asking the question, what do you need to do X versus this is how you do X, right? Having those open conversations and spaces for that. And I would love to hear, just to kind of bring this all together, because we covered a lot of ground.
from a conceptual standpoint, but what is LinkedIn doing? What are some of the things that you're most proud of that are actually being done within the organization? Because I'm sure there's leaders listening to this and saying, okay, this sounds wonderful, but how do I do this within the organization? What are some strategies, tactics, ways of thinking, shifting paradigms that I need to make in order to achieve this?
rosanna_durruthy (36:57.359)
Yeah, you know, I think that's so important because no one organization is going to have the answers. But as we embarked on, how do we create the kind of environment where employees not only feel they can do their best work, but they feel a sense of community. Over the last five years, we've really invested in, first, the concept of community. How do we connect people so that they don't have the experience of being the only ones and feel ignored or not seen?
the creation of community not only through the 10 employee resource groups that we have at LinkedIn that may range from you know women at LinkedIn to families at LinkedIn. The understanding that you know there are times when as the only one in the environment you may not know what those rules of engagement are and working in tech it wasn't unusual for employees to feel as though they were not only the only person on their team.
but they didn't know others like themselves. And we created community through some of the program, programmatic capabilities to help unlock this space of how do you create confidence for yourself? How do you build relationships in an environment with people who are different from you? How do you take responsibility for creating your career, knowing not only what to ask for, but who to ask?
in an environment. And so through some of the programmatic work that we've done to address the growth of women at LinkedIn to increase the representation of women in leadership, what we've seen is it has created a space where women can not only have community, but have connection to have mentors and sponsors enabling them to not only navigate the organization and their career successfully, but to become a network.
that supports others in the organization to create that success. You know, one of my, I think a proud accomplishment, one of my proud moments leading in this organization is seeing us have more than 45% women in leadership, which in tech is a fairly unusual thing. It should not be given that women are more than 50% of the workforce in just about any countries, but we've seen the obstacles to what it is to have a career in tech. We've seen...
angela_r_howard (39:06.452)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (39:21.415)
the number of women enrolling in STEM programs around engineering have been dropping. So how do we continue to create the space to encourage not only the pursuit of the education, but when you arrive into your work environment, how will you be welcomed? How will you gain access to not only leaders, but connection to people who give you a sense of not only who you are, but allow you to feel at ease with who you are?
angela_r_howard (39:27.905)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (39:50.831)
And we've seen that happen with members of underrepresented groups as well. And so, as we've tried to create communities in the organization, the intention isn't to create community as a means of separating, but really as a means of ensuring that there are people you get to know who may share life experiences similar to yours, but how do we also give you access to the world of LinkedIn, the people across the organization?
angela_r_howard (40:13.91)
Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (40:20.327)
who can help you not only be more successful, but whom you can also help succeed as well. I think as companies engage in that kind of experiment, there are three things that come to the top of my list of what's necessary to create an inclusive environment where people thrive. One is a culture that deeply respects and values its workforce. You know, relationships are so important.
angela_r_howard (40:38.8)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (40:48.919)
Our diversity is really important, not as something that we need to hide, but something that we can be assured of, it's okay to be who I am. I'm going to be recognized and respected. I'm not going to be disregarded and invisible. It's important to give managers the tools to understand that. We put together a leading with inclusion program for our managers to really help them understand what cultural humility and psychological safety are.
angela_r_howard (40:58.105)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (41:17.859)
and why they're so important in their teams, to help them understand what it looks like to lead with a recognition for our preferences, which we may sometimes call bias, but how those preferences can get in the way of opportunity for individuals who are perfectly qualified to do the work that may present how they operate differently from the way you would. To recognize this...
angela_r_howard (41:18.195)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (41:30.118)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (41:42.599)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (41:45.119)
like me kind of bias that often exists in environments where when we see ourselves in someone else, we somehow think that they're more magical. But, and, you know, it's a natural thing, but it's also, I think, a really powerful thing when you see someone who you think is very different to take the time to be curious about that person and understand how they get things done and understand how you can help remove barriers.
angela_r_howard (41:53.661)
Yes.
angela_r_howard (42:05.664)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (42:12.711)
to performance and how that kind of complementary ability makes us more successful and more effective in life. Yeah, second thing that becomes really important when we go beyond culture is creating expectations, education and accountability for what we see. No one wants to be treated as a number. So really important for organizations to understand that as they may set aspirational goals for the kind of workforce representation,
angela_r_howard (42:29.831)
Mm. Mm-hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (42:42.267)
they feel is reflective of the markets and communities that they operate in, really important that an individual never feel like they're a number, because they aren't. We are just who we are. Representation is an important way of being able to take into account how an organization not only ensures access to opportunity in the workforce and create systems and structures that enable us to not only attract and engage talent from different backgrounds,
angela_r_howard (42:51.221)
Hmm.
rosanna_durruthy (43:11.687)
but to ensure that when they arrive in the organization, we're creating an experience where the connection is not only authentic, but a connection that allows people to be themselves. And that's where that third place begins. Once you have expectations, education, accountability, to be able to see how your talent is growing and moving. For some organizations, the struggle is they can be really great at recruiting the talent, but they can't retain the talent.
angela_r_howard (43:40.522)
Right.
rosanna_durruthy (43:42.007)
And so really important to connect with your employees and hear from them to understand what they seek and need. One of the things that we're really vested in and we've been building an infrastructure around as a 19 year old company is really career mobility and growth. Startups don't usually focus on that. And we've had an amazing culture of celebrating what we call a person's next play, the opportunity to...
angela_r_howard (44:06.057)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (44:07.467)
move on to a bigger role because we make a commitment that an employee at LinkedIn will have the opportunity to grow and be transformed and be better when they move on to their next role. But in doing that, we perhaps did not have the kind of structure that allowed our own employees to see what that next play looks like at LinkedIn. And so I think companies in today's environment recognize there's a price to be paid when you lose great talent. So how are
a space for your talent to grow, to experience not only stretch assignments, but continue building the skills that will be necessary for the future. And in the work of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, I think a real underscore is that this work is foundational to an organization. It's not what you do separate and apart from everything else. It's what you do in each and everything that goes on, ensuring managers are equipped with the skills, ensuring that your employees understand.
not only what it looks like to create an environment where we all feel we belong, but to create that sense of respect and regard for each other, to learn from each other, and to bring curiosity into the environment. And I would dare say the companies that do that over time will win. They win because they grow a healthier environment. And I think we all know that such an important part of organizational growth is also, how do you create an environment that is
angela_r_howard (45:21.938)
Mm.
rosanna_durruthy (45:32.631)
emotionally healthy for your employees, an environment that allows them to not only do great work time and time again, but is able to sustain that pace and cadence of innovation, discovery and growth. And so it's been an exciting five years. I'm excited for the next five years and what we might create that enables us not only to continue growing and doing some of the things that I'm proud of, the fact that we've grown
our senior Black leadership by more than 127% over the last couple of years. The fact that we are well on our way to realizing the 100% growth that we pledged for our Latino senior leadership as well. It's not just about numbers. It's about creating an environment where talent grows and thrives and has the ability to work towards influencing.
what future leaders do, how they do it, and how they create an environment where we all win.
angela_r_howard (46:33.342)
Well, that was the most lovely just bow that you tied there because I think you covered kind of the full spectrum of also the fact that ZE and I work is not a separate program. It is a part of the fabric and I'm sure in your role, you are interfacing with so many other leaders throughout the organization where you're plugging these things in so that it's really.
you know, the ethos of the organization, the value system is showing up on a day-to-day basis. And to your point, that's where the rubber hits the road, right, we can talk about this all day, about how great it is to have inclusion and psychological safety, but if your leaders aren't demonstrating it, if your systems aren't operationalizing it, it's really just words out of page.
rosanna_durruthy (47:23.011)
Yeah, it's just a conversation. And I think this is a unique moment for companies. Many companies set pledges two years ago. They've talked about it. And when we think about the uncertainty of the economic environment that we're in globally, it's going to be really critical for leaders to continue to walk this talk. Like, this is a conversation that has been in play for many, many years. And we've seen some companies progress
and some regress, but I often think about, I live close to the beach. And so my son has spent plenty of time building sand castles that have been washed away. It's going to be amazing to see that companies can respond in this moment by building real foundations that enable us to grow into a future rather than creating more sand castles that wash away around this topic of diversity, inclusion and belonging.
The workforce that exists, particularly here in the United States, but elsewhere, continues to change. People who haven't always been represented, in fact, people who have been marginalized historically, are more and more, are consumers, they are the workforce we rely upon. We see the diversity of talent is one that doesn't regulate what talent really looks like. In fact, you know,
While talent is randomly available across all dimensions, opportunity is not. And so how do we ensure that each of us as companies creates the opportunity for great talent to find its way into our environment and stay and succeed?
angela_r_howard (49:08.714)
Yes, yes, well, Rosanna, I loved this conversation. I could literally talk to you for like three more hours and we'd have plenty to talk about. And I would absolutely invite you back on the podcast, after some of those kind of future thinking pieces come into play at LinkedIn. You all have already accomplished a lot, but there's a lot more to come. But just thank you, thank you for sharing your wisdom.
rosanna_durruthy (49:18.019)
I think we probably would.
angela_r_howard (49:38.102)
your lived experience, and your story with all of us.
rosanna_durruthy (49:41.943)
Angela, thank you so much for doing what you do and bringing these stories to life. I think we are in a very exciting period. And as I look at the world ahead, all too frequently there's a focus on what divides us. We know that the political environment sometimes is a course and alienating one. But the reality is I think the work that we all do together to create a space where we can be ourselves, where we can learn from each other and we can bring
A sense of forward-looking drive is really kind of what's going to be what pulls us out of this. There's a world of collaboration that's inviting us to stand up. And I'm excited to be a part of that. Like, we're all going to have an opinion, and that's okay. But how do we work together and not let our opinions become beliefs that separate us when the truth really is we all want to be a part of great things and we all want to do good work?
angela_r_howard (50:29.701)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (50:36.106)
Mm.
angela_r_howard (50:41.786)
Absolutely. Well, I am honored to be in this space with you. So I'm looking forward to our collaboration in the future. And I just appreciate you so much for that. I thank you for your time.
rosanna_durruthy (50:51.835)
Thanks so much, Angela.
