Eliminating Bias and Promoting Equity

James Cheng, Global Senior Director and Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Zimmer Biomet

James Cheng is a highly experienced leader renowned for his extensive industry expertise. He served as the Global Director of Inclusion & Diversity and Talent Acquisition at Gilead Sciences Inc. and formally the Director of Global Inclusion & Diversity COE Business Resource Groups and Business Development at Cargill Inc. With zeal to expand his expertise, Cheng joined Zimmer Biomet as the Global Senior Director and Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), where he oversees initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion for over 17,000 team members across more than 35 countries. He also serves as the Board of Directors for the Asian American Dream and NAAAP New York. Recognized for his contributions, he received the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award from the Asian American Business Development Center in 2018. He became one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in 2021 by the National Diversity Council and has been the recipient of the Top Healthcare Diversity Officer in 2022. In an interview with HR Tech Outlook, Cheng shares his insights on the major challenges in employee recognition and effective strategies to solve them.

What are the key factors in effectively implementing DEI initiatives to foster innovation and growth?

Current political and media rhetoric frequently misrepresents the true essence of DEI trends. The core of DEI is focused on four pillars: talent and the entire employee life cycle, partnership and supplier diversity, social impact work, innovation, and staying ahead of the curve.

Effective talent management involves nurturing employees throughout their journey in the organization. Partnership and supplier diversity emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with a range of diverse suppliers. When engaged in social impact work by giving back to the community, organizations can build trust and strengthen their relationship with the community. Finally, driving innovation and staying ahead of the curve requires leveraging diverse perspectives to spark creativity and propel business growth. Together, these elements create a dynamic and thriving work environment.

“Achieving balanced AI governance requires diversifying data sources, implementing robust bias mitigation frameworks in AI algorithms and ingraining the principles of ethics, inclusivity and equity into AI development and deployment strategies”

The biggest challenge currently is that political and media narratives target extreme cases rather than the true essence of DEI. While the status quo stifles innovation, embracing diverse viewpoints fosters new avenues and solutions.

Could you discuss how industries prioritize technology over people in driving innovation and how this affects organizational growth and creativity?

 AI has emerged as the mega trend in the industry. However, it’s important to note that AI is created and driven by people, and the data it uses comes from them. Therefore, proper governance with attention to DEI is essential in this process.

Diverse perspectives shouldn’t be marginalized. However, AI often prioritizes popular opinions, potentially silencing minority voices. Similarly, people who don’t conform to the majority may struggle to be heard. This implies that if AI relies on majority data, it may weigh those inputs more heavily in decision-making, potentially excluding less common perspectives.

For DEI leaders, scrutinizing AI systems for inherent biases is crucial. This involves examining the core processes and methodologies for data acquisition and processing, as inherent biases in AI can affect decisions and reinforce inequalities. Human oversight is essential for maintaining accountability and ensuring ethical technology use.

Achieving balanced AI governance requires diversifying data sources, implementing robust bias mitigation frameworks in AI algorithms and ingraining the principles of ethics, inclusivity and equity into AI development and deployment strategies. Swinging too far can lead to problems, as evidenced by Google’s search engine AI launch, where the system accidentally rewrote history due to being over-indexed on race and ethnicity, reflecting an overemphasis on certain aspects of the code. To balance AI’s power effectively, it is crucial to avoid extremes where technology reinforces biases or marginalizes minority perspectives. This necessitates continuous vigilance, ethical integrity and a steadfast commitment to inclusivity and equity throughout AI advancement.

Governance for AI must be well-established, with representation from all relevant parties. This includes ensuring that AI has a seat at the governance table, alongside legal, compliance and other key functions, to provide comprehensive guidance and oversight. A council should guide DEI governance and integrate broader perspectives in code development.

What changes do you anticipate in the next 18-24 months to reduce biases and improve fairness, and how do you see these developments evolving?

A major concern is the growing reliance on AI, where ease of use may overshadow accuracy. As people increasingly adopt AI for efficiency, there’s a risk of creating biased systems if the technology isn’t carefully validated. Over the next 15 to 18 months, I anticipate a shift where leaders will need to scrutinize AI systems more rigorously, asking critical questions about bias prevention and safety measures. This includes reviewing AI-driven processes, such as resume filtering in hiring, to ensure they do not inadvertently exclude qualified candidates due to inherent biases. Leaders should also ensure that those developing AI technologies can clearly explain how they are addressing bias in their code.

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