As humans, we naturally seek protégés who remind us of ourselves. Creating equitable workplaces means being intentional about who we bring along with us.
My first job after college was with a small company (at the time) called salesforce.com, where I was among the first to be hired through their university recruiting program. According to my performance reviews and feedback, I had done great work in my first year there, and I was soon placed on a team with one of our most senior engineers, Doug. Doug was spearheading a high profile project, and they were assembling a team to execute on his idea.