Crucial Conversations: Global Equity Mandate
Presented By: Candance Osunsade, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Officer and Diversity Officer, Catholic Relief Services
Addressing historical systems of oppression and racism is complex and challenging, necessitating a shift in mindsets, behaviors, and practices to create an equitable experience for underrepresented people in our organizations. Prioritizing equity is required for our well-intentioned diversity and inclusion programs to be a meaningful catalyst for change, shifting from concepts to thoughtful action. This session will provide the opportunity to engage as thought leaders to challenge our thinking on our role in leading transformational change; and how our lived experience will serve as our “compass” in being a voice, not an echo.
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Don’t Be Afraid Of The Data: Using Data To Drive Your Diversity Business Plan
Presented By: Brice Yates, Chief Diversity Officer, College of Chemistry, University of California Berkley
As many organizations are striving to increase diversity within their workforce, the challenge can arise in areas of how to recruit, where to recruit, and how to minimize employee turnover (increase retention). These three topics permeate through organizational culture and can be difficult to address if data is not collected nor analyzed. Utilizing diversity data can assist organizations in developing a diversity business case. This session will focus on utilizing diversity data, such as a diversity strategic plan to assist your organization in achieving desired goals and climate surveys (climate audits) to capture employee’s perspectives of current climate related to diversity and inclusion.
- Learn what a diversity business case is and how it assists organizations in making money, saving money, and achieving organization goals
- Identify how results from climate surveys (climate audits) can be utilized to highlight organizational strengths and address organizational weaknesses
- Learn the steps in developing, implementing, and executing a diversity strategic plan
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Global DE&I: Development An Inclusive Organizational Culture Within A Highly Distributed Team
Presented By: Andrea Giraldo, Head of People and Culture Americas, Monstarlab
DE&I is already a challenge to truly implement across any organization: it requires time, commitment, budget, and support from every area if it aims to be successful. Now, think about trying to do it, simultaneously, in 16 countries across the globe: from very classic japan, to exotic UAE and up to an already diverse UK going into the challenging US finalizing with a very passionate Colombia. This can overwhelm a person and a team easily, but, it also gives us key tools that allow us to bring DE&I closer to a strategic pillar in our company and how these multicultural nuances, actually, work as leverage.
In order for DE&I to be sustainable, support is not only required: it has to be measurable over time and deeply embedded into existing processes so that it becomes an engine and not just an outcome. This session will focus on how geographically & culturally dispersed organizations (as well as more local companies) can develop a customized and inclusive DE&I philosophy that makes tangible progress and moves past vanity metrics.
- Identify cultural nuances and weigh them into your plan
- Understand the role of unconscious bias and behavioral change in cross-cultural initiatives
- Learn to align diversity with talent acquisition and talent development efforts
- Identify key actions and steps to create both an inclusive and respectful environment
- Identify top 9 tips for expanding the role of Diversity and Inclusion
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Building ERGs That Last: Creating Governance To Ensure Sustainability
Presented By: Bob Garcia, Director Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Hinge Health
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a key part of most companies’ DEI efforts, so creating functional and sustainable organizations is essential to their success. Because of the passion that is integral in many of those who step up to form and lead ERGs, it is critical to provide the governance and structure that is needed to channel this energy into productive efforts. The level of difficulty involved in creating inclusive ERG meetings and events has been ramped up due to the virtual nature of the office during the COVID pandemic, has made it even more important to ensure that creating & reinforcing a sense of belonging.
- During this presentation, you will learn more about
- Determining the threshold needs that should be met prior to launching ERGs
- Learning best practices for creating ERG Governance & Guidelines
- Identifying ways to harness positive energy around ERG formation and activities without dampening enthusiasm
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Inclusive Leadership: Middle Management Matters
Presented By: Christian Ragland, Manager Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, AltantiCare
After the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, many companies and organizations across the country began to re-evaluate or create for the first time strategic commitments to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Currently senior leaders across many spectrums continue to invest time, resources and finances to ensure that their DE&I efforts will not become an organizational liability. It is even recognized that today’s workforce acknowledges the need to work for a company/organization that values Inclusion. What organizations must continue to understand is that their DE&I strategies are only as strong as the commitment of their middle management. Senior Leaders may endorse a DEI plan, but middle managers have to support those plans. Diversity is what we see, but inclusion is how we act towards each other. The key ingredient to organizational DE&I success weighs heavily on the Inclusive Leadership attributes that must start with the middle management.
Learning Objectives
- Learn what Inclusive Leadership should look like
- Understand the critical role of middle management in an organization’s DE&I strategy
- Learn the importance of middle management routinely assessing their Inclusive Leadership behaviors
- Identify how Senior Leaders can exhibit support towards middle management throughout their Inclusive Leadership journey
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Creating And Enhancing Effective LGBTQI+ Programs
Presented By: Stephanie Watson, Senior Director Inclusion, Equity and Diversity, Terros Health
The LGBTQI+ Community currently has significant breadth throughout our workforce and is having more and more impact in our consumer markets. Addressing inclusion, equity, and diversity for the Community requires a non-traditional approach to support its unique circumstances, employees’ lack of awareness, and the Community’s definitions and identification. Creating and enhancing your company’s LGBTQI+ inclusion efforts can lead to a more engaged workplace, stronger community partnerships, and increased customer satisfaction. In this session you will see examples of training techniques that have been successfully implemented by leveraging an understanding of issues impacting the Community and partnering with LGBTQI+ employees and local organizations.
Key Program Takeaways
- Understand the unique challenges that create barriers for the LGBTQI+ Community
- Learn the benefits of different types of LGBTQI+ initiatives
- Identify the best resources to leverage to ensure LGBTQI+ programing is effective and embraced by Community members
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Journey To Belonging: Connecting People and DEI Efforts Through Cross-Cultural, Reciprocal Mentorship
Presented By: Dana Rixter, Director DEI Culture and Retention, BAE Systems
Leading organizations know attracting and advancing a diverse workforce, providing equitable development opportunities and fostering cultures of inclusion are business imperatives and most have specific goals related to doing so. Human beings, on the other hand, are hard-wired to seek a sense of purpose and fulfillment and feel that they belong. Pretty tall orders and easier said than done on both fronts. And yet, progress is possible as is enjoying the journey. This session will explore how a cross-cultural, reciprocal mentorship program can help meet individual employee needs in addition to achieving organizational objectives.
- Understand the benefits of cross-cultural and reciprocal mentorship
- Learn how the program helps enhance cultural competence and sense of belonging within the organization
- Learn how the program provides an opportunity to practice inclusive behaviors and develop inclusive habits
- Understand how the program supports organizational objectives to advance a diverse workforce and provide equitable opportunities to underrepresented groups
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Going The Distance In Diversity: Pivot, Shift, Move
Presented By: Sybil Stewart, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Abrigo
As the field of diversity begins to grow, what it means to support diversity within organizations has to evolve to meet specific industry and business objectives. Unfortunately, leaders in this field often experience fatigue and burnout from supporting initiatives, lower support in terms of resource allocation, and often experience added resistance across the organization around “why diversity matters”. Research has shown that despite “best efforts” diversity programs are often an add on to the company culture rather than injected into how businesses are conducted. In this session, leaders will learn practical ways to Pivot how you assess success, Shift mindsets and messaging on diversity and inclusion and Move the needle to achieve bold goals.
Practitioners will learn:
- How to accurately assess the current state of their organization
- Identify key areas on how to define and measure success
- Focus on change management messaging to internal and external stakeholders
- Support injecting diversity and inclusion into all aspects of the business
- Develop the landscape for an outcomes-oriented approach to D/I
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Developing The D&I Training That Inspires Change
Presented By: Kevin Thomas, Director Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, National Junior College Athletic Association
Equity should be at the forefront of every organization, department, and employee. When equity exists, people have equal access to opportunities, and it creates an advantageous environment for everyone. Successfully implementing an effective DEI training that reflects those values is often difficult because DEI is a complex and expansive field that addresses sensitive topics and tough conversations. This training will help participants learn strategies for developing and implementing an innovative and effective DEI training that facilitates positive change and outcomes. With his unique storytelling approach, blended with contemporary training practices, Kevin uses excerpts from his DEI training combined with his life and work experiences to create a learning environment where participants will be empowered to influence change through diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Learn how to develop your “Why” and how that process shapes your DEI training
- Learn how to utilize and develop your unique “voice” to create participation and engagement
- Identify strategies to effectively engage and address difficult subject matters
- How to use self-regulation principles to answer hard questions and empower your participants
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Globalizing D&I: Creating A Global DE&I Strategy
Presented By: Constance Wilson, Director of Belonging, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Udemy
Diversity is the condition of having or being composed to differing elements. Nonetheless, not all dimensions of diversity are taken into consideration when creating diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, especially on a global scale. In the United States, race has always been a focal point with an increased focus given the events of 2020; such as the murder of George Floyd and countless others. However, race and ethnicity aren’t the primary focus in other countries such as India and Turkey. It’s important to understand the dimensions of diversity focal points for the areas you plan on conducting business in. It’s of equal importance to find alignment for areas where the values differ while respecting core human values. This session will focus on the necessary considerations for creating a sustainable global diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy.
- Learn about the various dimensions of diversity
- Understand diversity from a global perspective
- Identify the opportunities to improve diversity
- Understand how to formulate a strategic plan based on findings
