Earlier this week, during a Clubhouse discussion, someone asked me if I felt the VC industry was taking diversity seriously. I wanted to say yes. After all, venture firms have increased the number of partners from underrepresented groups in the past year or so.

Instead, I said I feared that they weren’t and that their hiring moves were more about image than substance. Privately, many venture capitalists still question why they should be responsible for closing some of the opportunity gaps, instead of just finding those whom they consider the “most qualified.” It doesn’t occur to them that they can be doing both and that they are missing opportunities.