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Here at Entelo, we understand the longevity of work and the importance of being authentic when approaching DE&I initiatives. A couple of weeks ago, we sponsored a webinar discussing meaningful and practical ways for enacting these initiatives organization-wide.
We were extremely lucky to have Amanda Reid (Global Diversity & Inclusion Manager at Cummins), Lily Zheng (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant and Author) and Madison Butler (DE&I advocate and VP of People and Culture at Sourced Craft Cocktails) join us as our panelists, with Yasmin Zarabi serving as moderator. With almost 600 registrants, and over 50% attendance rate, we had an amazing and passionate response to the growing importance of DE&I in the workplace.
The sheer volume of key points, actionable items, and eye opening quotes discussed in this webinar would be enough to recap over multiple blog posts. But in the interest of time and space, below you will find some key takeaways that we can all keep top of mind right now:
5 Key Takeaways
Be shamelessly focused on diversity first.
Embed and incorporate DE&I into every human process there is. As Amanda says, "When you build for the majority, the minority loses. If you build for the minority, everybody wins.” These initiatives should be a priority to everyone in the organization.
You can’t make change until you get people to notice that the status quo is bad.
“There is nothing worse than walking in and thinking like you are the ‘only’" Madison points out. Provide internal organizational data about your company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion to your leadership team - that’s information they can’t deny.
Aligning with your values should be more important than aligning with your brand.
The world is changing and people are demanding better out of their organizations. Revamp your conference strategies and GTM initiatives to make people feel a part of the culture, instead of focusing on surface level materials.
If leadership is on board, you’re going to see it.
Leadership will make it apparent that there’s a will to make change by taking risks. Lily gives examples like “tying the D&I performance of the company to their salary or bonuses and making public statements that are tied with transparent projects that they’re doing to build accountability.”
You’ll mess up, and that’s ok. Just keep going.
Start small. Suggest practical solutions and small steps to take, instead of focusing on larger intimidating goals. Be an ally first and know that you’re not alone in your work. There is no finish line. “It’s about keeping it moving, growing from the things that we learn about, and growing because it can be life changing for people” Amanda says.
You can download the entire discussion here:
Related reading:
- Entelo Launches Brand New Diversity in Recruiting Workshop
- The Relentless Case for Diversity in Hiring in 2020