Intersection: Why small talk is a big deal

DELIVERING ON DIVERSITY, GENDER EQUALITY, AND INCLUSION

Click to get this newsletter weekly

In this issue, we look at the assumptions built into everyday questions and how doing away with degree requirements can open the door to candidates with the right skills.

THE SITUATION

He has a wedding ring

It may seem benign: the new guy at the office has a wedding ring, and to make conversation, you ask him about his wife. The question, of course, is based on assumptions—including that if he’s married, it must be to a woman. How do you avoid stumbling into a microaggression? You might ask about his “spouse” or “partner,” or wait to see what word he uses. From there, you can echo his language—and if he refers to his “husband,” then you should, too.

If you don’t identify as LGBTQ+, you may not realize that those who are out often have to come out again and again. Nearly half of LGBTQ+ respondents in a McKinsey Global Survey reported having to come out at work at least once a week. One in five respondents had to come out multiple times a week, and one in ten had to come out on a daily basis. One termed this the “multiple coming out conundrum,” adding, “I think straight people don’t get it.”

By adjusting your language, you can avoid making colleagues or clients feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or obliged to correct your assumptions. It may take a conscious, sustained effort to break old habits (like asking women about husbands or boyfriends, and men about wives or girlfriends). But as one gay executive put it: “Many of the small, day-to-day things are most meaningful in creating an inclusive atmosphere. They determine whether someone feels like they are truly at the table with everyone else or their seat is six inches back.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Many companies in the US are struggling to hire workers—but at the same time, many Americans are struggling to find work. Well over five million Americans without a bachelor’s degree are unemployed, according to the latest federal data. One way employers can expand their applicant pools is by focusing on skills rather than academic credentials. More than 40 percent of white Americans aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 28 percent of Black Americans and just over 20 percent of Hispanic and Latinx Americans. Degree requirements may automatically disqualify diverse applicants who have the skills required to do the job. As economist Byron Auguste, cofounder and CEO of the nonprofit Opportunity@Work, puts it, “They’ve turned college from a bridge to opportunity to a drawbridge that gets pulled up if someone hasn’t gotten through.”

Opportunity@Work is a member of the Rework America Alliance, a coalition of organizations (including McKinsey) convened by the Markle Foundation to advance opportunities for workers without a bachelor’s degree. The Alliance’s research shows that those who are currently unemployed could move into better jobs than they held before the pandemic—if decision makers take action to support them, both now and in the coming years. Some companies have already scrapped degree requirements for certain roles in order to advance racial equity—and to make sure they get the best talent.

— Edited by Gwyn Herbein, an assistant managing editor in McKinsey’s Atlanta office

Click to subscribe to this weekly newsletter

Follow our thinking

Share these insights

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to colleagues and friends so they can subscribe too.
Was this issue forwarded to you? Sign up for it and sample our 40+ other free email subscriptions here.