This presentation was given at #ProductCon Online 2021 by Kasha Stewart, Head of Product at Walt Disney.

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No Excuses: How to Attract, Hire, and
Grow Diverse Product Teams
by Walt Disney Head of Product

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5. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
HOW TO ATTRACT,
HIRE, AND GROW
DIVERSE PRODUCT
TEAMS
5 Steps to diversifying Product teams
Kasha Stewart, Head of Product Movies Anywhere
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kashastewart/

6. Journey
My Product

7. Why?
The
D&I Leaders: Racism is Killing Your Black Employees
Their Bosses Asked Them to Lead Diversity Reviews. Guess Why.
Adidas Pledges to Increase Diversity.
Some Employees Want More.
Their Bosses Asked Them to Lead
Diversity Reviews. Guess Why.
Corporate America’s diversity and inclusion
efforts are still failing black employees, new
report says
D&I Leaders: Racism is Killing Your Black Employees

8. Data tell us?
What does the
Less than 20% of all minority communities are represented in product
management. Data sampling from 2,200 product management professionals
Only 15% of all senior leadership is held by someone
who identifies in one of these categories.
*Source: productplan.com/state-of-product-management-report-2021/

9. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
What’s going to
be impactful
5
Challenge the idea that recruiting from
underrepresented BIPOC communities is
hard
Redesign your recruitment strategy
Design best practices for your org
Move past panels & tweets
Getting Started

10. Audit
Step #1
• What is your current recruiting and hiring process?
• What are your internal numbers?
• What is your HR strategy? Do you have access or
budget to hire a D&I expert?
• Do you have an open headcount?
Analyze your current recruitment process

11. Survey
Step #2
• Ask your team how they feel about representation?
• How can we attract more people from underrepresented
or BIPOC communities?
• What organizations do they belong to and would like to
see company participation?
• Rank the following D&I initiatives
Survey the current BIPOC employees on your team

12. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Survey Results
8
D&I is a team effort, so we’re
giving individuals the
opportunity to lead initiatives
themselves.

13. Set Goals
Step #3
• What is the objective?
• What’s the timeframe?
• How will you measure success?
Now that you have some employee data what
outcomes do you want to focus on
“The objectives do not need to
cover every little thing the team
does, but they should cover what
the team needs to accomplish.”
Marty Cagan, INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

14. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Goals
10
Make D&I training accessible for the larger
team.
Increased Black & African American
representation from X% to XX% over the
next 12 months.
• Bias training for all
Managers & Executive
Team- via DEI Consultant
Community Support & Mentoring
Make an annual commitment to investing
with underrepresented tech organizations,
nonprofits, and internal groups.
• Intentionally focused
recruiting efforts on Black
& African-American talent
to build a pipeline
• Partner with a community
organization(s) host hackathon
& foster mentoring

15. Posting
Step #4
• Do you have internal BERGs?
- Do these resources have slack channels?
• Placeholder Text
Develop more inclusive copy in job descriptions
attract diverse candidates
Placeholder Text
Placeholder
Do you know
keynote?

16. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Title: Project Manager - Global Content Operations (Disney Streaming Services)
Exciting Description: Disney Streaming Services has an opening for a Project Manager - Global
Content Operations. We’re looking for talented team players with an entrepreneurial spirit, who will
thrive upon the legacy of our company yet embrace unconventional thinking, and who are passionate
about contributing to The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer experience through strategic
hard work and determination.
The ideal candidate will have proven experience in project management and execution and in making
sense out of chaos. For additional information and qualification requirements, see below link.
Interested candidates should email Joe Gardner (xxx.xxxxxx@disney.com)
How to Post Open Jobs
12
1
Inclusive Posting Tips
✓ Engaging Copy
✓ Captures the culture of the
organization
✓ Targets a specific
underrepresented group
#hireblack

17. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Title: Project Manager - Product Management Fall Intern
Exciting Description: I am hiring for a Product intern for the Fall semester! Learn about Movies
Anywhere and the innovative features we are launching while driving the best in class user
experience. If you are interested in an exciting career in product development focused on
entertainment tech and love to solve problems, this is for you! As a Product leader, D&I advocate, and
proud Howard University alumni, I encourage all HBCU students to
apply. #howarduniversity #productleadership #diversityintech #fallinternship #blackwomenintech
How to Post Open Jobs
13
1
Inclusive Posting Tips
✓ Engaging Copy
✓ Captures the culture of the
organization
✓ Targets a specific
underrepresented group
#hireblack

18. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Hiring Manager - Internal Resources
• The Bond
• Wakanda
• Vibranium Black Technologist At Disney slack channel
External Postings Resources - For Hiring Manager
• LinkedIn - use #hireblack hashtag
• Black Tech Pipeline - Varieties of Tech
• Black Women In Product - Product
• Black Product Managers - Product
• Valence - Varieties of Tech including Executives
• Women in Product - Product
• DiversifyTech - Engineering & Product Talent
• Tech Ladies - Varieties of Tech including Product
• Blacks Who Design - Design Talent
• Next Play Community - Engineering Talent
• devColorOrg - Engineering Talent
Distribute Open Jobs
14
2

19. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Examples of External Postings
15
3
How Can We Measure?
With support of HR
✓ # of open job postings advertised in
diverse networks
✓ # of Black candidates that applied
✓ # of Black candidates that
interviewed
✓ # of Black candidates that were
offered roles
✓ # of Black candidates that accepted

20. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Create a Roadmap
16
D&I Deliverables
MA Action Plan
Kasha & MJ begin
collecting feedback and
developing D&I action
plan tailored to Movies
Anywhere
9/02
10/16
First Draft Review
Kasha & MJ present the
first draft of the MA Action
Plan to the Executive
team.
Present MA Action Plan
Rollout the MA Action
Plan to the entire team -
All hands format
11/02
TBD
Beyond Brave Conversations
A conversation with our
new Diversity & Inclusion
coach - Q&A session
Let’s Talk
All managers have the
opportunity to implicit
bias training and
techniques.
TBD
Insert relevant
image if needed

21. Retention Efforts
Step #5
• Placeholder text
• Placeholder text
• Placeholder text
Placeholder text

22. Takeaways
• Better representation in Product results in better
products for everyone.
• Consistency is key
• Get your C-suite to buy-in
Transformative change starts with real actions,
metrics, and accountability

23. © 2021 Kasha Stewart ProductCon Keynote | Proprietary & Confidential |
Thank You
19
Kasha Stewart
Head of Product
Movies Anywhere | Disney
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kashastewart/
kashastewart.com

24. © 2020 DMD D&I Impact Team | Proprietary & Confidential |
Questions
20

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