TikTok's Diversity & Inclusion Council: How We #ChooseToChallenge

At TikTok, one of our core values is to champion diversity and inclusion both in the workplace and on our platform. Driven by this shared vision, our leaders established a Diversity & Inclusion Council in North America, which serves as a strong advocate for our diverse community by highlighting important issues for our people and the business, including supporting Employee Resource Groups and ensuring accountability across the organization.

The Council is comprised of leaders who represent the diversity of our team, and they were selected for their passion and commitment to helping our company achieve our goal to become the most diverse and inclusive company in tech. This Women's History Month, we spoke with three Council members -- Nicky Raghavan (Global Head of HRBP), Seth Melnick (Head of User & Product Operations), and Dan Habashi (Canada General Manager) -- to uncover their stories, learn more about their work on the Council, and hear how they #ChooseToChallenge to uplift and empower women at TikTok.

What first drew you to join TikTok? Tell us about your journey so far.

Seth: "I started at TikTok nearly two years ago and helped build our US team. There's no such thing as a linear path in tech, but the common thread between my past experiences and my current role has been finding ways to use technology to improve people's lives. Specifically, how can we use the internet to make the world a 'smaller place' and create space for people to be themselves? I love that TikTok is one of those rare spaces on the internet where people are celebrated for being their authentic selves."

Nicky: "Before joining the company a year ago, I used the TikTok app casually. What blew me away was the personalized experience of the For You Feed. When comparing feeds with my friends, it was immediately clear how different our experiences were; each of us had a personal connection with the app. Beyond the product itself, another thing that drew me to TikTok was the chance to grow along with a company at such a remarkable and exciting time. So far, I've had the opportunity to scale some of our compensation programs, as well as help build a leadership development program that will be available globally."

Dan: "I joined close to a year ago and was initially drawn to the company for two main reasons. First, the global TikTok community was clearly different in the way it embraced and elevated everyone's differences. Second, the interview process gave me a peek into the incredibly talented and creative people I would have the chance to work with"

What has surprised you the most about your experience at TikTok?

Seth: "One thing that really stands out is how much we live our values, which many companies talk about, but few are able to do. We not only welcome creativity and authenticity, but also engage with the product on a deep level and often become creators ourselves. For example, one of my colleagues made an entire account dedicated to candles because it's his passion. This is the part that has surprised me most -- for many of us at TikTok, it's more than just a job."

Nicky: "TikTok has faced a string of challenges over the past year, from COVID-19 and the transition to work-from-home to geopolitical controversies. Even though few companies had ever dealt with these kinds of challenges before, I could still feel the optimism and determination within the company that we would come out stronger on the other side. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that we truly carry out what our platform stands for by taking care of people and putting our community first, even in difficult times."

What is the mission of the Diversity & Inclusion Council?

Seth: "Diversity & Inclusion has been in the fabric of TikTok from the start as one of our core values. To build out products that appeal to people of all backgrounds around the world, our teams need to reflect the diversity of our community. The Diversity & Inclusion Council has brought together a group of leaders to address areas for improvement and hold ourselves accountable. Our mission is to create space for marginalized voices and to have the uncomfortable (but necessary) conversations about how we can do better, so that others in the company can feel more comfortable discussing these issues as well."

Dan: "Viewing our mission from a practical standpoint, we started the Council to elevate stories, voices, and talent. Diverse teams are better teams. We want to lead the way in ensuring that everyone understands the importance of Diversity & Inclusion and how they can contribute to it, regardless of how long they've worked at TikTok. As Seth mentioned, Diversity & Inclusion isn't just corporate speak; it's part of our core DNA, and we want our actions to make this clear to everyone in and outside the business."

Why did you decide to join the Council? Why is Diversity & Inclusion important to you?

Seth: "I grew up in the 90's in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City surrounded by a diverse population and friend group. As I got to college and then entered the tech industry, however, the environment became increasingly (and uncomfortably) white. I want the community of people around me to be diverse because that's what the world is, and we need diverse voices if we're building a product for a global audience. Unfortunately, many people don't have access to equal opportunity because we don't create the space for them. I saw this firsthand with my mother, Dr. Mary Pearl, who was marginalized during her career as an evolutionary biologist in a male-dominated field. Seeing her overcome some of these obstacles to reach the top of her field, and then create opportunities for other women, has been a major inspiration for me to push for more diverse and inclusive spaces in my own professional life."

Nicky: "The reason I joined the Council is also personal. Coming from a diverse background and being a female leader, I held roles before that made me feel out of place in older, white male spaces. At the same time, I've been incredibly fortunate to have strong advocates throughout my career (both male and female) who have supported and helped me gain confidence and grow in my career. The Diversity & Inclusion Council will provide this essential support to employees at TikTok, especially those who need it most."

Dan: "Growing up in a family of immigrants, I saw and experienced many of the struggles that marginalized groups face and formed a connection with the concepts of diversity and inclusion. Now that I'm in a position to help level the playing field and provide equal opportunity, I'm eager to help wherever I can and offer the support I would have benefited from early in my career."

This year's International Women's Day theme was #ChooseToChallenge. How does the Council choose to challenge every day?

Nicky: "The Diversity & Inclusion Council is still in its infancy, but we've already seen the challenge start to happen with the makeup of our employee base. We're broadening our pipelines to look beyond certain universities and to find people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which includes bringing in more senior female talent and leaders. We've also challenged our Employee Resource Groups to come up with actionable goals to aim for greater impact and help their communities thrive. Overall, we're encouraging people across TikTok to raise uncomfortable topics and challenge themselves and others to be as inclusive as possible in everything they do."

Dan: "Choosing to challenge starts with education: making sure people are informed about the value of Diversity & Inclusion and the opportunities for them to contribute. As Nicky mentioned, we also challenge ourselves to address the tough questions. For example, are we doing the best we can to allow people to speak up and lead at every level? Understanding our privilege and unconscious bias is an introspective process that requires constantly asking ourselves how we can be better. We hope the Council can lead by example in this area."

How is TikTok ensuring an inclusive workplace for women?

Nicky: "From a hiring standpoint, we're focused on putting systems in place to ensure our pipelines are diverse and include female candidates for every role, especially at the leadership level. We also plan to work with Employee Resource Groups to build mentorship and leadership programs tailored for women, which can help build the confidence of those who may suffer from imposter syndrome. Ultimately, we're in a prime position to succeed because we've always had Diversity & Inclusion as a core value of our community -- and it's even included in our performance reviews -- so it's not just a buzzword. Looking at the Council itself, we already have heavy-hitting female leaders from all the different functions."

Seth: "As Nicky mentioned, we're taking tangible steps to make our hiring practices more inclusive. For example, we know that women are less likely to apply for jobs they feel under-qualified for, so we're ensuring that our job descriptions use inclusive language (without gender-coded words that appeal to a specific audience) and don't list skills that aren't needed just to narrow down the candidate pool. We're also building a mentorship program that allows space for women to lead. On the executive level, we've set up regular meetings for our business leaders to talk about what our leadership team looks like and which areas we need to improve."

TikTok's goal is to be the most diverse and inclusive workplace in tech. Are there highlights you'd like to share from our journey so far?

Seth: "I'm proud of how we came together around the Black Lives Matter movement and, specifically, how we addressed a product issue related to hashtags displaying incorrectly. We owned up to the issue in our product and openly discussed how we got it wrong. When we were coming up with solutions, no one on the team was hanging their head; rather, we were excited to improve the app and saw it as a chance to do better. Another highlight for me was our Inclusion Week. I was blown away that even as a large tech company, we were able to make space for long conversations about inclusion and approach the topic from so many different angles. Initiatives like this make everyone feel valued and really highlight how our differences make us stronger when we work together."

Dan: "I'm grateful to have several proud moments, like our recent Inclusion Week, which included a full week of programming focused on enhancing our diversity and inclusion education. It was incredible to see so many colleagues who were interested in the subject and asking how they could help. Day to day, I also have the pleasure of supporting a remarkably diverse and talented team in Canada that brings love and innovation around the world. Empowering the team in Canada to thrive is just one example of how we're 'walking the walk' when it comes to Diversity & Inclusion. Considering we're only in our third year as a company, it's amazing to imagine what we'll be able to accomplish in 10 years."

By serving on our Diversity & Inclusion Council and bringing important issues to the forefront, Nicky, Seth, and Dan are blazing a trail for our Diversity & Inclusion efforts in North America and across the globe. If you're interested in joining our team, browse openings on our jobs page, and make sure to follow TikTok on LinkedIn for more insight into our work and culture.