Lessons Learned as a Diversity & Inclusion Intern at SurveyMonkey
By: Lauren Lee-Tran
Tags: Diversity And Inclusion, Social Impact, Inclusive Design, Diversity In Tech, Inclusion

This summer, I had the unique opportunity to intern at SurveyMonkey. As a woman of color, I am passionate about making an impact and fostering inclusive environments, particularly within business. I applied these passions by joining SurveyMonkey’s dedicated social impact and diversity, equity, and inclusion group: SurveyMonkey for Good. The experience has been challenging and rewarding. As it came to a close, I wanted to share some of the lessons learned from my (fully virtual) internship experience.

This summer was certainly like no other. With the backdrop of a global pandemic, we also faced the everyday realities of systemic racism and racial injustice that have persisted in the United States since its creation. Finally the call for fighting racial injustice reached executives, HR, boards, managers, and every employee. Now, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and social impact programs are in a unique position to help this movement.

While most companies have publicly made statements in support of the racial equity movement, many of those promises can feel numb as we wait to see action. Interning for SurveyMonkey for Good has given me a unique opportunity to directly observe and contribute in efforts to fight systemic racism, while pulling back this “curtain” of statements on a website or a post on social media.

Here are five lessons I’ve learned from working on a social impact team and engaging with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in this unprecedented time.

1. Collaboration is everything

It’s true in any role, but especially in this work — collaboration is everything. Making systemic change isn’t just a human resources issue or a social impact initiative. It’s everyone’s responsibility to take action to advocate and collaborate in making change.

Throughout my internship, I found myself working with recruiters, software engineers, product designers, and more, when creating employee diversity and inclusion resources and helping recruit diverse talent. In every project, I quickly learned that progress can only be made with the dedication and effort from individuals across the organization.

We need that person who gives feedback when someone uses insensitive language. We need that person who advocates for more anti-racism or unconscious bias training. We need that person who takes on additional projects to approach their business expertise with a DEI lens. From executives to interns, everyone has the ability to start conversations and take steps to ensure business practices are equitable.

It is when we all work together, no matter one’s department or intersectional identity, that we can make progress towards an equitable and inclusive workplace. It’s putting a mirror in front of ourselves to examine how each of us leverages our unique set of skills, expertise, and privilege to move this work forward. In short, allyship starts with intention, which leads me to the next lesson learned.

2. Allyship is action rooted in empathy

Diversity is a multifaceted concept that spans across many intersectional identities. All of us may not relate to a certain identity or combination of identities, but we all have the capacity to be an ally. I put the emphasis on “be” because allyship is a verb — Allyship is an ongoing process. It’s an everyday choice to ensure that everybody — no matter the identity — belongs. This means coming to understand that the classic “treat others how you would want to be treated” mantra has inherent bias because we all may have our own experiences and privilege that skews our ability to equitably treat and support others different from ourselves. When we confront our inherent biases, we’re better able to recognize the gaps in our understanding. Then, it’s up to us to educate ourselves, change our behavior, and show up for others.

When creating resources for LGBTQ+ allies for SurveyMonkey’s celebration of Pride month, I practiced and re-examined my definition of allyship. As a cisgender woman, my personal identity corresponds to my birth sex, so the pronouns I use have never been uncomfortable for me. For individuals who are not cisgender, pronouns can mean so much more. I don’t necessarily use gender inclusive language for myself, but I do for others. This is the difference that people often overlook. Being an ally is supporting others by learning what it is like to walk a mile in their shoes and walk with them on this journey. This journey takes intentionality, vulnerability, and discomfort. Most importantly it takes empathy. Allyship is action rooted in empathy.

3. It’s not me against you; it’s us against the problem

In this work, there is not one perfect solution, one perfect plan, or one group of people that exists to make workplaces more diverse, equitable, or inclusive. We’re all trying to figure out what the best next steps are — and this includes DEI experts who’ve been in this work for years.

This summer I listened in as experts shared best practices and used their knowledge as SurveyMonkey enhanced and redefined its DEI strategy. From these conversations, I learned that as much as we already know, there is also so much we continue to learn and unlearn. With collective effort and our ability to provide constructive feedback to each other, we can navigate the grey areas together.

This work involves tough conversations and feedback. What I’ve learned is the importance of adopting the perspective of “it’s not me against you, but us against the problem.” There are many perspectives and opinions in the world. Rather than clashing together, we must seek to understand the other side with honesty and respect. In order to have productive conversations, it’s honesty but also a willingness to figure out a solution together that allows us to take steps forward.

4. Metrics matter

Just as we do with any other business metric, measuring, analyzing, and taking action on diversity data is important for making progress. By no means are people reduced to numbers, but the numbers highlight patterns and opportunities. Metrics keep leadership accountable for ensuring there is representation, retention, and promotion of underrepresented individuals. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts can and should be analyzed and tracked. SurveyMonkey publicly releases its diversity goals to hold themselves accountable, which calls for other companies to be held accountable as well.

In addition, each quarter, executive leaders receive comprehensive reports with company-wide metrics by gender and race, and then by deeper examinations of business function, management level, attrition, and recruitment. Based on these numbers, reports also include recommendations for leaders to take action and address opportunities to not only recruit, but grow and retain underrepresented talent at SurveyMonkey. I was fortunate enough to analyze this data across the company to answer questions like what is the race and gender representation in every organization and management level? Which demographics are we hiring and not hiring? Which demographics are leaving the company at a higher rate? Which demographics are not progressing in the company? What do these patterns look like when we apply an intersectional lens?

It’s only when we begin to answer these questions that we can know where we should be going. Something important to highlight in this data is also the intersectionality of identities. When gender and race are not viewed in an intersectional lense, there is an entire demographic that slips through the cracks. Being able to have the most comprehensive analysis of this data allows for an even more comprehensive solution. SurveyMonkey’s CEO Zander said, “Achieving our DEI goals will be as important as hitting our product, platform and revenue goals.” As with any business goal, DEI needs to be measured and informed with data.

5. Diversity recruiting is an investment, not a burden

Recruiting is often at the forefront of DEI initiatives. During my internship, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in conversations around how to shift the recruiting strategy to ensure the company is recruiting diverse talent. What I’ve learned is that there can be a common misconception that a company “shouldn’t be forced to find underrepresented minorities and should just be focused on finding the best candidate.” However, this creates the negative assumption that hiring underrepresented minorities and hiring the best candidates are mutually exclusive — that diverse candidates are not the most qualified or are not the best candidates. Diverse recruiting requires intentionality. It takes effort and extra resources, but it’s an investment and a commitment that all companies need to take if they want a diverse, highly engaged, and high performing team. Efforts to recruit diverse talent are not hindering companies from getting the best candidate. Rather, it’s shifting the strategy to ensure all strong candidates are given the opportunity — that includes Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and all intersectional identities that make us unique and diverse. There’s a popular quote attributed to Leila Janah that says, “talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not.”

Research has shown that investment in diversity hiring leads to higher revenue from innovation, better performance, and stronger employee engagement. With data rooted in everything at SurveyMonkey, here are some quick data points to reference:

67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities ( Glassdoor )

) Organizations with above-average gender diversity and levels of employee engagement outperform companies with below-average diversity and engagement by 46–58% (Fast Company)

The list goes on and on. Intentional diversity recruiting does not deter from hiring the best candidates; it is a proven strategy to find the best talent — individuals that will bring diverse perspectives that will drive innovation, high performance, and a stronger organization.

SurveyMonkey has taught me many incredible lessons beyond just these five points. Most importantly, I’ve learned what it means to be a part of an organization that is willing to admit there is a long way to go and committed to take strides in the fight for racial justice within SurveyMonkey and society at large. I’m immensely grateful to the SurveyMonkey for Good team for all that they are doing and for allowing me to be a part of this effort.

There is still a lot more we need to do for systemic change but in the words of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg (may she rest in power),