Diversity Journal-14th Annual Innovations in Diversity Awards-Fall 2017

® Fall 2017

14th Annual Innovations in Diversity Awards: A celebration of leadership, vision, and commitment

Anka Wittenberg, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Head of People Sustainability for SAP SE

Inside this issue 10 Years Later: Diversity leaders share what they’ve learned—and what’s next Meet InsideSource CFO/COO Shannon Nash—a renaissance woman and definitely a Woman Worth Watching® People on the Move: New roles, new companies, new directions, new heights

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Everyone has a unique perspective.

We see the value of an inclusive and diverse culture.

At KPMG, we believe our people must be as diverse as the clients and communities we serve and that their unique backgrounds, experiences, and talents are essential to our success. We’re proud that at every level of our firm, our professionals take ownership of creating a diverse and inclusive culture.

KPMG is proud to be recognized among Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Top 5 2017 Innovations in Diversity Award winners for our “Accelerating Your Career Development” program. Learn more at kpmgcareers.com

Anticipate tomorrow. Deliver today.

©2017 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Some of the services or offerings provided by KPMG LLP are not permissible for its audit clients or affiliates. NDPPS 711868

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All Things Diversity & Inclusion

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Profiles in Diversity Journal® is a quarterly magazine dedicated to promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military sectors. For more than 19 years, we have helped to stimulate organizational change by showcasing the visionary leadership, innovative programs, and committed individuals that are making it happen.

PUBLISHER'S COLUMN

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or our annual Innovations in Diversity Awards issue, we have selected 17 organizations that have designed diversity and inclusion initiatives that stand out as innovative. We’re not talking about innovations such as air travel, cell phones, and polio vaccines, but rather important and meaningful steps toward treating employees fairly and inclusively, and programs that support and encourage everyone. I believe you will enjoy learning how these 17 companies rallied and engaged their teams to generate game-changing strategies.

Recently, there has been much talk of Silicon Valley’s lack of inclusion and equitable treatment of certain employees. However, as you will read in the following pages, SAP and HP are excellent examples of tech companies that are demonstrating genuine commitment and strong leadership in the areas of human equity and fairness. As you read about the innovations from this year’s award winners, we hope you will find strategies to try in your organization. Congratulations to all of this year’s Innovations in Diversity Award winners.

Anka Wittenberg, chief diversity officer and head of people sustainability for SAP, graces the magazine’s cover this quarter. Her leadership and initiative creation are amazing, and we are excited to acknowledge her team’s work by awarding SAP the #1 position on our Innovations in Diversity Awards Top 10 list.

Exactly ten years ago, we asked several Pioneers of Diversity to share their thoughts regarding what was working and not working in diversity and inclusion, as well as their vision for the future. In our current issue, some of those same consultants ponder the question, “What Have We Learned?”

I believe you will find their commentary interesting and helpful. Our goal is to provide more commentary from diversity consultants, as their views, analysis, and experience can broaden our perspectives and stimulate our thinking.

We have decided to make Women Worth Watching® a regular feature.

In this issue, we are delighted to introduce you to a truly impressive and multitalented Woman Worth Watching—InsideSource’s CFO and COO, Shannon Nash.

Finally, I want to acknowledge our production team for their sustained focus in portraying all the organizations and people featured in this issue with genuine respect and accuracy.

Season’s greetings to all,

James R. Rector, Publisher and Founder profiles@diversityjournal.com

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IN THIS ISSUE Since 1999

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14 All Things Diversity & Inclusion

01 | 06 |

36 |

38 | 40 |

44 |

46 | 48 |

52 | 68 |

PUBLISHER’S COLUMN 14TH ANNUAL INNOVATIONS IN DIVERSITY AWARDS BUILDING LGBT-INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION CORPORATE CULTURE SHOCK IN AMERICA DISNEY AND HSF MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE PEOPLE ON THE MOVE SHANNON NASH–A WOMAN FOR ALL SEASONS WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? CORPORATE INDEX

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS

14th

PAGE 6

Annual Innovations in Diversity Awards

This year, PDJ honors 17 organizations that have created innovative programs designed to take D&I to a whole new level. Maybe you’ll find the idea your company has been looking for.

PAGE 36

Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces Catalyst thought leaders tell how you can make your workplace more accessible, supportive, and inclusive to LGBT employees—and how it can pay off for your company.

PAGE 38

Going in the Right Direction Faster Dr. Gilda Martinez-Alba, Towson University’s provost fellow for diversity and inclusion, shares tools and tips for moving D&I in the right direction—faster.

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We’re committed to helping people on their path to better health.

To honor this commitment, CVS Health is building a workforce that is as diverse as the communities we serve. It’s simple: we believe that when we truly reflect our customers, we can better serve them. That’s why we’re inviting you to explore a world of careers in everything from pharmacy to retail where your unique skills, talents and abilities are welcome. Join us in helping people on their path to better health.

cvshealth.com/diversity

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 40

Corporate Culture Shock in America Susan Davidson explains why the transition to American corporate culture can be challenging for expats—it goes way beyond language.

PAGE 44

Disney and HSF Keep Making Dreams Come True Disney recently committed an additional $1.5 million to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to support the academic and professional success of students from diverse backgrounds.

PAGE 46

People on the Move Find out who’s been promoted, who’s been published, and who’s been welcomed to a new organization.

PAGE 48

Shannon Nash: A Woman for All Seasons Check out our interview with InsideSource’s CFO/COO, Shannon Nash. Get to know this multitalented, high-energy, and delightful Woman Worth Watching.

PAGE 52

What Have We Learned?

Ten well-respected diversity pioneers share key lessons learned over the past decade, and offer their visions for the future.

PAGE 68

Corporate Index Index of organizations appearing in this issue of Profiles in Diversity Journal.

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Pushing boundaries.

Inspiring courage.

Creating hope.

To learn about the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health, please call 1-844-546-5645.

You face challenges every day.

Your health care shouldn’t be one of them. At Johns Hopkins, our priority

hopkinsmedicine.org/ transgender-health

is to care for you as a whole person, inspiring a level of courage that can

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make all the difference in your health, in your life and in our world.

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2017

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INNOVATioNS In DIVERSITY AWARDs Innovation is the sum of aspiration and inspiration plus commitment and hard work, which turns creative and ambitious ideas into exciting new realities. Innovation opens up new possibilities and transforms the landscape.

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It brings about a sea change and lets us take a quantum leap into a new and better future.

Again this year, Profiles in Diversity Journal is proud to share game-changing innovations in diversity from 17 of the world’s top companies—programs and

initiatives that are taking diversity and inclusion to a whole new level.

We invite you to explore the ideas on the following pages.

Maybe one of the award-winning innovations in diversity presented here is the best next step for your company.

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SAP Innovation: SAP Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Program Introduced: 2011 Program Leader: Anka Wittenberg, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Head of People Sustainability for SAP SE

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D&I Highlights

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• A global leader in the technology industry—an industry infamous for a lack of diversity and a culture averse to inclusion—SAP sees its 87,000 employees as a strategic business asset and champions diversity, inclusion, and equality for all.

ntroduced in 2011 and led by economist and global HR executive Anka Wittenberg, SAP’s Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Program is working to achieve a bias-free work environment through the implementation of innovative training, process, and technology. The Program focuses on the gender equity, cross-generational intelligence, culture/ethnicity and LGBT awareness, and the workforce integration of differently abled people. Program success is measured by conducting annual employee-engagement surveys, and tracking the company’s progress toward achieving predetermined business-specific goals on a quarterly basis.

Regarding the importance she and her company place on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Wittenberg explains, “At SAP, our commitment to diversity and inclusion—and building a business beyond bias—fuels innovation and allows us to better serve our customers, keep our employees engaged, and outperform the competition. By embracing our differences, reaching out to those who are under-represented, and using our resources and technology to reduce bias, we are not just imagining the kind of inclusive organization we want to be, but making it a reality.”

Under Wittenberg’s leadership, SAP’s Global D&I Program is making impressive strides in increasing diversity and inclusion in its focus areas:

• One of the first technology companies to sign the White House Technology Inclusion Pledge, SAP also received a perfect score in the latest Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign.

• SAP is active with UN Women, helping to drive sustainable development goals that aim to end poverty, combat inequalities, and promote prosperity, while protecting the environment.

• As part of its Business Beyond Bias movement, the company connects customers with SAP Success Factors machinelearning technology, which uses algorithms that detect and eliminate bias to help eliminate workplace inequality.

Gender Equity

In 2011, SAP set a goal of increasing the percentage of leadership positions in the company held by women from 18 to 25

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Annice Joseph, Cross-Generational Intelligence Lead

• SAP has played a leading role in the ongoing refugee crisis. In 2016, as part of its “Engaging for Refugees” initiative, SAP hired 105 interns across Germany and brought on 15 students for dual-study positions specifically created for refugees.

percent by the end of 2017. The D&I Program team worked with the business to increase the talent pool, develop talent, and increase retention. Using HR analysts and SAP’s own software, including SAP Digital Boardroom and Diversity Dashboard to track progress, the team reached its goal in June 2017.

As a result of this effort, SAP became the first global IT company to earn EDGE Gender Equality Certification.

Cross-Generational Intelligence With five distinct generations of people working side by side at SAP, cross-generational intelligence is a must. The D&I Program is working to improve interactions among colleagues, customers, and partners by increasing awareness of generational commonalities and differences, addressing social biases and stereotypes, optimizing communication and feedback, and improving work-life effectiveness.

Initiatives in this area include Focus on Insight training, which encourages right behaviors and actions, as well as Flex Work, Cross Mentoring, and Stay in Touch for employees on parental leave.

Culture & Identity and LGBT Awareness

SAP’s comprehensive Cultural Intelligence training provides guidance for working in an ethnically and racially diverse environment. Project Propel, an ongoing initiative dedicated to enabling Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) across the United States to build the next generation of technology talent. The initiative focuses on training students in the

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technologies and critical digital enterprise skills in demand in the SAP ecosystem.

Pride@SAP, the company’s LGBT employee network, first launched in 2001 as a grassroots employee movement in Germany, now boasts more than 8,000 members worldwide. In 2016, SAP America signed the HRC “Equality Is Our Business Pledge” opposing anti-LGBT legislation in states across the country, and endorsed The Equality Act, a bill in Congress to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex.

Differently Abled People Workplace Integration

Perhaps one of the most game-changing Global D&I Program initiatives is SAP’s Autism at Work program.

Announced in May 2013, it has so far been implemented in ten countries, enabling more than 120 people with Autism—who bring exceptional attention to detail, the ability to see patterns in data, and research skills—to add enormous value to SAP’s ability to innovate. The Autism at Work initiative earned SAP recognition as National Employer of the Year at The Arc’s National Convention in 2015.

SAP CEO, Bill McDermott, whose vision for the company is “helping the world run better and improve people’s lives,” fully supports the Program’s efforts and goals. “We embrace the unique magic of every individual at SAP,” he says. “It’s the differences that define our world view and create the fabric of our culture.” PDJ

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Nicole McCabe, Former Gender Intelligence Lead

Shuchi Sharma, New Gender Intelligence Lead

Miguel Castro, Culture and Identity Lead

Stefanie Nennstiel, Differently Abled People Lead

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2.

Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

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HP Innovation: HP Daring to Reinvent Mindsets Introduced: 2017 Program Leaders: Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer; Tracy Keogh, Chief HR Officer; Lesley Slaton Brown, Chief Diversity Officer; Karen Kahn, Chief Communications Officer

Tracy Keogh, Chief Human Resources Officer

n 2017, HP launched Reinvent Mindsets, a campaign to create models of behavior to increase the representation of women, people of color and other underrepresented groups in HP’s workforce, and among their partners and suppliers.

Led by Antonio Lucio, chief marketing and communications officer; Tracy Keogh, chief HR officer; Lesley Slaton Brown, chief diversity officer; and Karen Kahn, chief communications officer, the campaign wanted to make clear that, just as HP’s business reinvents how its customers live, work, and play, the company is also reinventing how it thinks about and approaches diversity and inclusion.

“HP is committed to diversity and inclusion. We value, respect, and support all of our employees.

We aspire for every HP employee to bring everything that makes them unique as individuals to

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Lesley Slaton Brown, Chief Diversity Officer

Karen Kahn, Chief Communications Officer

HP is committed to diversity and inclusion.

We value, respect, and support all of our employees. We aspire for every HP employee to bring everything that makes them unique as individuals to work each and every day.

– Tracy Keogh, Chief Human Resources Officer

work each and every day,” says Chief HR Officer Tracy Keogh.

The team driving the Reinvent Mindsets campaign set out to challenge unconscious biases, train HP’s HR professionals and hiring managers to evaluate people independent of stereotypes, inform the creative process with input from diverse constituents, and assemble a cross-company team to create and deliver the following strong and clear message to employees and managers, and especially to potential job applicants:

“HP is hiring, and talent is our only criteria.”

Reinvent Mindsets comprises ongoing internal training, new measurement tools, and other efforts. To date, the campaign has delivered on two areas that, until now, haven’t gotten the attention they deserve.

A first-of-its-kind campaign, Reinvent Mindsets efforts have been fueled by diversity advocates and leaders from across the company. HP’s Marketing and Corporate Communications joined

HP and Diversity • HP believes in committing to a more diverse and inclusive workplace. And the company is proud of the progress that has been made, including the creation of the most diverse board of directors of any technology company.

forces with Diversity & Inclusion, HR, and employee groups known as Business Impact Networks.

An active and progressive Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board, sponsored by HP’s Tracy Keogh and Lesley Slaton Brown and comprising senior leaders from across the company, provides leadership oversight and guides direction as the company reinvents the standard for diversity and inclusion via HP’s “BIG” Strategy.

The Strategy focuses efforts to provide a workplace where employees Belong, Innovate, and Grow. HP has carried out a number of actions and set various systems in place in order to build on the diversity of its workforce and support an inclusive culture.

Reinvent Mindsets started by identifying a need to reduce biases in the hiring process.

Reinvent Mindsets’ first two videos*, listed below, show how unconscious bias affects candidates during the job search process.

Let’s Get in Touch discusses how bias often disadvantages African Americans and Dads and Daughters shows how women are pressured to act and look in ways that disempower them during the job search.

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• Let’s Get in Touch • Dads and Daughters Early Social Media metrics for Reinvent Mindsets campaign (as of July 2017): • 118,000 people reached • 48,000 video views • 700+ people engaged (likes, comments, shares) This campaign was intended to be bold, innovative, and authentic.

HP stayed true to its voice and culture, while pushing the envelope to deliver a strong campaign that would resonate with key audiences. The company intends to demonstrate that diversity is a vital part of innovation, and position HP as an employer and brand of choice for underrepresented groups.

HP is working toward a day when the most important numbers are not about headcount but, through the implementation of Reinvent Mindsets, about how many innovations the company has introduced, how many have been embraced by the public, and how many are driving positive change throughout the world. PDJ * To view the Reinvent Mindsets videos visit: www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/ about-hp/diversity/media.html

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• Since the formation of the company, diversity has been at the forefront, beginning with the creation of the most diverse board of directors for a U.S. tech company (36% women and 45% minorities).

• In 2016, the company launched Unconscious Bias: Unleashing Innovation training for HP managers and HR professionals, which enables them to remove bias from systems and structure and a Cultural Competence program to help employees to develop cultural-thinking skills.

Business Impact Networks also held more than 600 events with 29,000 employees in 19 countries in 2016.

• HP promotes opportunities for girls and underrepresented groups by supporting Hour of Code activities, and partners with Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and others.

In 2015/16, thousands of HP volunteers taught computer science and basic coding to more than 20,000 K–12 students in underserved communities across the globe.

• HP is reinventing its standard for diversity and inclusion— not merely correcting the underrepresentation of women, people of color, and other minorities in the HP workforce, and among partners and suppliers, but also creating new models of behavior.

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The German Marshall Fund of the United States Innovation: Mission Critical: Inclusive Leadership for the Security Sector Introduced: 2013 Program Leaders: Lora Berg – Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States; Chevalier Cleaves – Chief Diversity Officer, Headquarters, United States Air Force; Kevin Cottrell – Director, Transatlantic Leadership Initiatives, German Marshall Fund of the United States; Dr. Mischa Thompson – Policy Advisor, U.S. Helsinki Commission; Dominik Wullers – Economist, Spokesman for the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Vice President of Deutscher.Soldat; Carlton Yearwood – General Partner, True Blue Inclusion

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he German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) initiated Mission Critical: Inclusive Leadership for the Security Sector in 2013 to focus attention on a fact that had not been sufficiently addressed: Democracies can only achieve security by applying the principles and practice of inclusive leadership across the security sector.

Without taking this step, security may deteriorate at both the local and national levels.

With this in mind, GMF founded a biennial conference to strengthen inclusive leadership skills within the security domain, and to generate increased awareness of the critical importance of D&I to security. This series of conversations is helping to move D&I in security onto the 12

agenda of both practitioners and policymakers.

Inclusive leadership in the security sector strengthens intelligence, widens the talent pool, increases public trust, and improves decision-making. To advance such leadership, GMF convened its first transatlantic exchange “Mission Critical, Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices for Militaries” in 2013 in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the U.S. Helsinki Commission, U.S. Department of Defense, True Blue Inclusion, and others.

Germany’s delegation so valued the content that they stepped up to host the next discussion in 2015 in Berlin, which resulted in the creation of Germany’s first office dedicated

to D&I within its Unified Armed Forces. The D&I team is transforming the Bundeswehr’s culture of recruitment, retention, and advancement.

In 2017, GMF reconvened Mission Critical in Washington.

The initiative included crosssector, cross-border, and intergenerational discussions, as well as original workshops that can be brought to scale and in-depth learning and exchange to strengthen and energize participating leaders.

At the opening of 2017 event, Dr. Karen Donfried, GMF president had this to say regarding inclusive leadership at large, “As our security personnel at all levels of leadership—engaged to ensure peace and freedom for all in our democratic societies—grow to fully

reflect the diverse populations they are sworn to serve, we will become best equipped to inspire new generations to engage in public service. Vital conversations with constituents and stakeholders outside of the security services can richly inform decision-making.”

Even as experts increasingly recognize the benefits of inclusive leadership to security, instances of its absence become more striking. Since GMF’s first conference in 2013, the negative impact of exclusion on security in our cities and nations has dominated front-page news on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, we continue to face the societal impact of exclusive behaviors in policing that challenge core values of equality.

These events impact the whole nation, its morale, and its ability to project power abroad. Given this concern, GMF widened the 2017 conversation to include not only national security, but also domestic security.

Security and Diversity • We Cannot Afford Not to Use All Talents: Against the backdrop of the changing demographics seen in many countries today, the military cannot continue to meet its goals and be mission ready without expanding its recruitment to include the talents of a wider range of people.

• Plan Less, Act More: Due to the nature of bureaucratic leadership, it is often easy to get bogged down in D&I planning without taking action and making actual changes. Although it is important to conduct research to understand what problems exist, taking action creates initiative and produces experiences that can be learned from.

• All Transformations are Led from the Top: Good leadership is vital to achieving successful D&I. Although an inclusive environment must be created at all levels of an organization, leadership is responsible for demonstrating that D&I is a top priority for the organization.

What are the next steps for leaders?

It is essential to define the goal— an approach to security that is comprehensive, designed for every member of the society, with wide input, and ensured by security forces that are reflective of highly diverse populations. With this goal in mind, those at the forefront of advancing inclusive security will continue to accelerate their work by sharing best practices. The high level of interest in this exchange, as indicated by anonymous conference-participant evaluations, has led the partners to move from a biennial to an annual format. The United States Air Force is stepping up to host the 2018 conversation. PDJ

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• There is no Silver Bullet or Quick Fix: Creating inclusive organizations requires changes to society and to people’s mindsets, and therefore takes time. The concept of long-term strategy is popular in military circles. Diversity management should be thought of in the same way. It is crucial to institutionalize D&I and establish a specialized office with personnel committed to addressing long-term goals.

• In Addition to Being a Mirror of Society, the Military can serve as a Mirror for Society. In a democracy, the composition of the military must reflect that of the society. Given its hierarchical structure and ability to institute changes that must be adhered to, the military is also in a position to lead the way in society’s shift to a culture of inclusion. The successful policies enacted within the military can serve as an example for civilian policies.

– Dr. Nelson Lim, Executive Director, Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania and Adjunct Senior Sociologist, RAND.

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n 2017, Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) launched the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health (JHCTH), returning to its roots as a leading academic medical system, caring for the transgender community.

Ever Forward!, the Center’s motto, captures this enterprise-

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Johns Hopkins Medicine Innovation: Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health (JHCTH) Introduced: 2017 Program Leader: Paul B. Rothman, M.D., Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine

wide initiative’s commitment to improve the health of, and reduce the health disparities facing, the transgender community at a local, national, and global level.

Due to long-standing societal stigma and discrimination, transgender individuals face major health care challenges, including

reduced access to care, increased risk for violence or suicide, and increased risk for substance abuse and mental health co-morbidities.

Despite major advances in the health disparities field, there are still pervasive and glaring gaps in the health outcome and health care of the transgender community.

Johns Hopkins and LGBT Health • All Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins University nondiscrimination policies now include gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

These gaps exist because this community has limited access to high-quality care in a system that fails to monitor the health of the transgender population.

To meet a marginalized population’s critical health care needs and rebuild its relationships with the community, JHM designed an interdisciplinary service grounded in Hopkins’ tripartite mission of world-class patient care, multidiscipline education, and biomedical research. By leveraging its academic medicine health system’s resources, the Center provides transgender patients with comprehensive, holistic care across the lifespan, from pediatrics to geriatrics in an unmatched manner.

To meaningfully engage the community, JHM reached out to the national transgender community via an online survey and to in-person focus groups at regional transgender health conferences. Over 320 respondents provided feedback to better define high-quality transgender health care and identify actions an organization can take to regain trust and build a truly patient-centered program. Listening to the community’s voice, JHM implemented blended education that included online modules and in-person, small-group training to raise both clinicians’ and non-clinicians’ transgenderhealth cultural competency.

Within four months of launching the program, more

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than 130 patients have sought services and consultation, leading to the first genital genderaffirming surgery performed at JHM in almost four decades.

Today, the JHCTH is the only program able to perform genital gender-affirming surgery in the area. Further, the program accepts Medicaid insurance coverage, which lowers a major financial barrier to care for many in the community. With the launch of gender-affirming surgical services since March 2017, the initiative immediately met a critical access-to-care need for the local transgender community in the BaltimoreWashington corridor.

As the Center evolves, the beneficial impact on the national and global transgender community will be enhanced by educating the next generation of health care professionals about transgender health, and by expanding the medicalknowledge base by providing cutting-edge transgender care supported by evidence-based research and in adherence with patient-centered care principals. With a robust focus on medical research, Johns Hopkins Medicine, a nationally and internationally renowned academic health center, will disseminate best practices and care modalities in transgenderspecific health care, bettering the lives of transgender people by affirming their true selves and promoting their health and well-being. PDJ

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• JHM promotes culturally competent care for every person treated, including training staff members, faculty members, and students in issues related to LGBT health, and improving its capacity to deliver an extraordinary experience for every patient.

• JHM has expanded health care benefits to cover transgender health services, including surgical procedures, with no lifetime maximum benefit.

• Johns Hopkins Children’s Center physicians helped lead an American Academy of Pediatrics committee that authored the 2013 policy statement that supports access to clinically and culturally competent health care for all LGBT and questioning youth.

• In field and clinical research, Johns Hopkins University faculty members have advanced understanding of LGBT health and well-being, contributing to the important work of counteracting the negative effects of bias, discrimination, and stigma that can hinder LGBT communities from seeking and receiving the best health care.

• In the past year, two Johns Hopkins Medicine task forces on LGBT health care have been charged with developing new paths for our institutions to further approaches to evidence-based, patient-centered care for LGBT individuals.

• JHM is now providing genderaffirming surgery as another important element of our overall care program, reflecting careful consideration over the past year of best practices and the appropriate provision of care for transgender individuals.

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KPMG LLP Innovation: Accelerating Your Career Potential Introduced: 2015 Program Leader: Women Partners at KPMG

KPMG Principal Anne Bothwell and KPMG Partner Amy Banovich helped establish the “Accelerating Your Career Potential” program.

Anne Bothwell

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he Accelerating Your Career Potential (AYCP) program, led by female partners at the firm, was developed in 2015 to support the success of KPMG’s women managers. The program’s main objective is to enhance confidence and influencing skills, build relationships and networks, and optimize personal and professional alignment.

Instructor-led, the AYCP program is delivered to women managers across functions and business processes and features simulations, role plays, and group discussions, providing participants with opportunities to cultivate and practice skills that support career advancement at KPMG. At the conclusion of the

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Amy Banovich

Narrowing down qualities about myself and my personal brand was a first-time feat for me and truly eye opening. This is something I will work on and take with me throughout my career.

– AYCP attendee in Washington D.C.

program, small cohorts are formed that enable participants to continue connectivity, networking, and the overall achievement of learning objectives.

During the program, participants focus on the following themes: • Enhancing Confidence: addressing and overcoming fears and doubts, enhancing leadership presence, and growing influence in the firm and beyond

• Optimizing Personal Alignment: learning how to focus more time and energy on the difference you want to make, both personally and professionally • Accelerating Your Career: leveraging relationships, role models, mentors, and sponsors and how to put their network to work.

KPMG and Women • In 2003, KPMG established the Women’s Advisory Board (WAB) to create a more compelling work environment and enhance career opportunities for women by driving national and local initiatives that support, advance, retain, and reward them. Thanks to the efforts and influence of the WAB, the percentage of women partners at KPMG has risen 62 percent since the Board’s creation.

• As part of the firm’s commitment to the success of women, the WAB established KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) in 2003 to drive the strategy, deliver programs, and strengthen strategic alliances at the local level. Today, the WAB’s 20 members, six committees, and 65 KNOW chapters are charged with engaging KPMG’s women professionals, and executing the WAB’s overall strategy.

KPMG’s goal of the Accelerating Your Career Potential program is to increase the retention and advancement of women at the experienced manager level and improve the pool of diverse professionals in the firm’s talent pipeline.

Feedback from participants has been positive, including this comment from an AYCP attendee in Washington D.C., “Narrowing down qualities about myself and my personal brand was a first-time feat for me and truly eye opening.

This is something I will work on and take with me throughout my career.”

The impact of this innovative program is clear. After just one year, a greater percentage of women managers who participated in the AYCP program remained with the firm compared with those who did not participate. Between July 2015 and January 2017, a higher percentage of female managers who participated in the program in 2015 were also promoted compared to female managers who did not participate. PDJ

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KPMG teams up with Condoleezza Rice, Ginni Rometty, and other top leaders to pay it forward to next-generation women leaders aspiring to C-Suite positions at the 2017 KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit.

• Comprising nearly half of all new hires at KPMG LLP, women represent an enormous part of KPMG’s talent pool.

• KPMG’s chairman and CEO is a woman.

• Women comprise 33 percent of the firm’s board of directors.

• Currently, 21 percent of our partners are women.

• Women continue to be promoted to key leadership positions within the firm, including vice chair, operations; national managing partner, advisory; chief diversity officer; and national managing partner, university relations and recruiting.

• For FY17, more than 40 percent of promotions into and within management positions were women.

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6.

I

n 2015, The Walt Disney Company, along with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, hosted the LGBT Equality Institute at Walt Disney World, a first-of-its-kind, complimentary event to help other companies create welcoming and inclusive workplaces for LGBT employees.

More than 600 attendees, representing 300 companies, gained insights on LGBT workplace trends at the one-day event.

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The Walt Disney Company Innovation: LGBT Equality Institute Introduced: 2015 Program Leader: Latondra Newton, Senior Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion

In 2017, Disney and Sodexo partnered with Out & Equal to inaugurate the global Equality Institute in London. It was the first international session focused on LGBT workplace equality and featured a blend of local, regional, and global speakers who provided insights for more than 200 attendees, representing 100 companies.

Disney, Out & Equal, and Sodexo hosted the event and the Disney Institute, which

provides professional development and leadership training to organizations around the world, provided the content and facilitators.

At each session, Disney and other organizations shared case studies, best practices, and opportunities to benchmark inclusive practices for LGBT employees. Attendees left each session with ideas and actionable steps they could apply and customize for their organizations.

Working at Disney has been a tremendous blessing to me in so many ways. I have stayed with the Company simply because I cannot imagine a better place to work. One thing that contributes to that is the way my true identity is, and always has been, welcomed at this company.

– George A. Kalogridis, President of Walt Disney Resort George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort and an Out & Equal Workplace Advocates board member, spoke at the 2017 global Equity Institute, taking part in a panel moderated

by Selisse Berry, founder and CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.

“Working at Disney has been a tremendous blessing to me in so many ways. I have stayed with the Company simply because I cannot imagine a better place to work,”

said Kalogridis. “One thing that contributes to that is the way my true identity is, and always has been, welcomed at this company.”

The measure of success for the institutes is the number of individuals and companies represented, as well as the breadth of professional disciplines, which have included HR, recruitment, employees and managers engaged in inclusive efforts, nonprofits, and companies of all sizes. PDJ

Latondra Newton, Senior Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion

Disney and LGBT Support • The Walt Disney Company and its businesses have led the way in advancing LGBT equality in the workplace and marketplace. From providing benefits for same-sex partners, to supporting community organizations and working to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for LGBT employees, the company has a longstanding and ongoing commitment to equality.

• Across Disney’s companies, employees have access to resource groups for LGBT and ally employees that provide business insights, support and opportunities for development.

• In the communities where Disney does business, the Company supports local organizations that work toward equality and serve the LGBT community, as well as national and international groups.

• Each year the company sponsors several Pride parades, including, for the first time, the London parade in 2017. Thousands of employees have participated in Pride parades and celebrations over the years in Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, San Francisco, and Long Beach, California.

Selisse Berry, founder and CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates; Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International and executive sponsor of TWDC PRIDE; Sylvia Metayer, CEO Corporate Services Worldwide, Sodexo.

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• Disney’s efforts have been recognized with a number of awards, including an Outie Award for Workplace Excellence from Out & Equal Workplace Advocates and a 20/20 Visionary Award from The Trevor Project.

• In 2016, Disney earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for the 12th consecutive year.

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7.

New York Life Innovation: The #InclusionMatters Challenge Introduced: 2017 Program Leader: Kathleen Navarro, Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer

Office of Diversity & Inclusion team (l–r): Patricia Gomez-Garcia, Tammy Mata, Kathleen Navarro, Vibha Bhat, and Jeff Mak

N

ew York Life has long recognized that the different cultures, experiences, and backgrounds represented by our employees are fundamental to the company’s continued strength and success. We also recognize that we can only unlock the true value of diversity by igniting inclusion.

An inclusive work environment encourages employees to bring their “whole selves” to work and to showcase their unique backgrounds, which in turn drives collaboration, performance, and innovation.

To foster inclusion, New York Life’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion

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New York Life fosters a wonderful culture of inclusion that I have rarely seen anywhere else.

– #InclusionMatters Challenge participant (ODI) kicked off 2017 with an innovative learning solution: the #InclusionMatters Challenge. This month-long team competition allowed participants across the company to learn about the “I” in D&I and compete for the grand prize—a trip to New York City to

have lunch with New York Life CEO and Chairman Ted Mathas.

The #InclusionMatters Challenge inspired teams to complete tasks focused on the importance of inclusion, and how to recognize and mitigate unconscious bias. To earn points, participants completed

New York Life and D&I Office of Government Affairs team accepts Outstanding Department award: (l–r) Kristen DiCarmine, Christine Galamb, Michael Tobin, Katelynn Eckert, and Alicia Masters

exercises that tested their D&I knowledge, familiarity with best practices, and commitment to inclusion through eight activities, each with different point values.

Some tasks could be completed individually, but teams earned more points when they completed the tasks together. This engagement was key, as it encouraged teams from different locations and departments to work together to win top prizes and bragging rights.

The challenge included the following:

Educate:

• Complete an Implicit Aptitude Test to reveal hidden biases • View an unconscious bias video training as a team and submit an insight learned • Complete a trivia quiz about New York Life’s diversity and inclusion efforts

Connect:

• Share stories of inclusion on the company intranet • Meet colleagues with unique experiences (e.g., someone who speaks three or more languages)

Raise Awareness:

• Create a commercial and a print ad relating to #InclusionMatters

Pay it Forward:

The #InclusionMatters Challenge culminated with a red-carpet awards ceremony, where participants were recognized and rewarded for their commitment. The awards ceremony took place simultaneously at various locations and was video-conferenced live, so participants could celebrate together. Following the ceremony, competition winners were also feted by their respective departments with congratulatory accolades from their managers and peers.

The #InclusionMatters Challenge was an overwhelming success. The challenge exceeded all participation goals set by ODI, with participation across all departments and locations. The inclusion stories broke records for intranet participation.

Ultimately, the participants gained a deeper understanding of the importance of inclusion.

They learned how unconscious bias affects decisions and how to recognize, disrupt, and mitigate it.

This is evidenced by the feedback received across the company.

One participant noted, “New York Life is one of the first environments I have experienced where diversity and inclusion are not just concepts, they are common practice.” PDJ

• Write notes of encouragement to middle school students

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• New York Life sponsors seven employee resource groups.

Created by and for employees who represent unique cultures, experiences, and backgrounds, these groups coordinate workshops, seminars, and special events that address awareness and community, networking \opportunities, mentoring, and personal and professional development throughout the year.

• In 2017 New York Life was recognized as a Top 50 company by the National Association for Female Executives.

• When it comes to its workforce, New York Life doesn’t ask agents and employees to conform themselves to a single way of doing business. Instead, everyone is expected to bring his or her own cultural and intellectual perspectives to the table. This approach gives the company a broader perspective.

But more importantly, it makes New York Life a more responsive organization, able to innovate and adapt to changing needs.

• Diversity drives business strategies and results, and the success of New York Life’s mission—to provide financial security and peace of mind for all policy owners—depends on it. “Our culturally sensitive outreach to clients has established New York Life as ‘the company of the community’ in neighborhoods that reflect the changing face of America,” says company chairman and CEO Ted Mathas, “Little wonder that we consider our commitment to diversity to be a fundamental strategic strength.”

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8.

F

irst Horizon National Corporation manages diversity and inclusion like all core business strategies—with reporting that drives decisions to obtain improved results. Leveraging both data and direct customer feedback, the company determined a key priority was to increase the diversity of talent in both leadership pipelines and in customer-facing sales positions.

Senior leaders receive colorcoded diversity staffing maps and talent-pipeline reports to help them understand team diversity by

22

First Horizon National Corporation Innovation: Strategic Hiring Initiative Introduced: 2016 Program Leaders: David Popwell, President and COO; Lynne Walker, Executive Vice President and Director of Affinity Strategy

race/ethnicity, gender, generation, position, salary grade, and hiring trends. The maps provide data and insights to identify diversity gaps and help prioritize staffing decisions to improve workforce diversity.

In the fall of 2016, to accelerate diversity in customer-facing positions for business, commercial, and corporate banking, as well as private client/wealth and retail leadership, First Horizon implemented a strategic hiring initiative. Led by David Popwell, our president and COO, and Lynne Walker, executive vice president

and director of affinity strategy, this recruiting initiative initially funded ten full-time, customerfacing positions for the purpose of hiring diverse talent. These hires are typically from nontraditional backgrounds, yet have transferrable skills. They are assigned mentors and receive a customized training plan to ensure success. In addition to improving team performance through diversity, First Horizon also gains the benefit of more closely mirroring our customer base.

Since the program’s inception, seven positions have been filled, two

First Horizon and Diversity offers are in process, and several candidates are in the pipeline. Senior leaders are now creatively expanding the program, as well as their view of what successful talent looks like.

First Horizon is also expanding diversity through its college recruiting efforts. In partnership with the University of Tennessee’s Haslam School of Business’s diversity program, the company organized a trip to its headquarters in Memphis for 27 high-performing, diverse students. The object of this professional-development visit was to introduce the students to executive leaders and professional opportunities with First Horizon and other major employers in Memphis.

During this trip, the executive vice president and director of the customer contact and experience center met and networked with the students. The encounter prompted the executive to look for innovative ways to interest the students in a new mobile banking launch at the company’s call center in East Tennessee. Twenty-three diverse students, with majors ranging from business to engineering and liberal arts, were hired for summer internships. Some student interns were then offered permanent part-time positions, which will become full-time after graduation.

Through strategic recruiting initiatives like these, leaders at First Horizon are now owning the talent acquisition process, and increasingly recognizing and appreciating diversity of experience and background. These important and innovative initiatives help close diversity gaps and engage all employees as they discover affinities by developing diverse relationships. PDJ

FALL 2017

• First Horizon National Corporation, the parent company of First Tennessee and FTN Financial, is committed to an environment where employees can succeed. That’s what makes working at a First Horizon company so unique, not to mention challenging, stimulating, and rewarding.

• At First Horizon, diversity is a business imperative. And leveraging the power of diversity and inclusion (D&I) through the company’s three strategic pillars—workforce, workplace, and marketplace— enables First Horizon to build a culture of inclusion that fosters innovation, while maximizing business results.

• First Horizon is committed to continuous improvement in creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workforce through recruitment, development, and advancement; leadership and accountability; and continuous D&I communication.

• The success of workplace diversity and inclusion efforts hinges on the ability to embed D&I into the culture through vision, strategy, and business case; infrastructure and implementation; and education and training.

• First Horizon encourages employees to express their diverse viewpoints, so they are able to perform at their best, while maximizing their full potential. The company’s focus on diversity and inclusion allows it to celebrate the uniqueness of each employee, quickly adapt to change, drive blue chip performance, and ultimately create a place where the best and brightest want to work.

• First Horizon seeks to grow its business in the multicultural marketplace through dedicated programs that address community, government relations, and social responsibility; and supplier diversity.

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9.

A

problem unique to the legal industry is that women and attorneys of color leave the profession because they have inadequate access to “standup” courtroom opportunities. A “stand-up” courtroom opportunity gives a lawyer the chance to be in front of a judge, in open court, and advocate for his or her client.

Because of changing dynamics in the legal profession, these

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Fish & Richardson Innovation: Next Gen Initiative Introduced: 2016 Program Leader: Martina Tyreus Hufnal

opportunities are diminishing for junior attorneys, who are statistically more diverse than senior lawyers. Without this experience, younger lawyers can see their careers stalled. As a result, they often choose to leave law firms and, sometimes, the legal field.

In 2016, Fish partnered with ChIPs and the Federal Circuit Bar Association to increase the opportunities given to junior

lawyers by establishing an organized Next Gen Initiative.

ChIPs is a nonprofit organization formed to support and promote the advancement, development, and retention of women in the fields of technology, intellectual property, and regulatory policy. The Federal Circuit Bar Association is a network crossing the regional, national, and global Federal Circuit community.

Fish & Richardson and Diversity • Fish & Richardson’s mission is to promote a creative, respectful, and inclusive culture that values the diversity of people, experiences, perspectives, talents, and capabilities. This inclusive environment benefits its 1,000 employees and helps Fish attract and retain top talent, promote innovation to better serve its clients, and support and develop its people.

Under the Next Gen Initiative, Fish attorneys work directly with judges to raise awareness regarding the problem. As a result, nearly 30 district court judges, to date, have issued judicial orders that provide or encourage opportunities for junior lawyers.

Senior and junior attorneys at Fish organize panels, presentations, and webinars that focus on issues such as the need for more law firms to develop policies that provide more opportunities for junior lawyers to gain courtroom experience. Fish attorneys have also written about the Next Gen Initiative and the benefits of supporting junior lawyers, targeting law firms, the bench, and even clients.

The firm’s legal and marketing teams created www.nextgenlawyers.com, an online depository for information related to the Next Gen movement.

The website includes a blog, copies of the judicial orders across the U.S. that promote Next Gen, Next Gen articles from both business and legal publications, notices of arguments by junior attorneys, and seminars on Next Gen topics.

Fish has embraced and become a leader in the Next Gen movement and, through the firm’s support of and involvement with the Initiative, will help to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal profession as a whole. PDJ

FALL 2017

• Launched in 2005, Fish & Richardson’s 1L Diversity Fellowship Program provides annual fellowships to diverse first-year law students throughout the country. The Program represents a key component of the firm’s ongoing initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of our practice and of the legal profession.

• The firm formalized its women’s initiative under the name EMPOWER in 2009 to promote the recruitment, retention and advancement of the firm’s female legal staff and provide expanded professional and business development opportunities, mentoring, training, and support. Through EMPOWER, the firm provides educational programming, facilitates one-to-one mentoring, and has developed women’s forums and mentoring circles in local offices.

• Fish was awarded the top rating of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2015 Corporate Equality Index, which rates businesses for the treatment of LGBT employees in the workplace.

In 2016 the HRC Corporate Equality Index named Fish a “Best Place to work for LGBT Equality.”

• The firm participates in minority job fairs throughout the country and many Fish attorneys serve as mentors for minority law students.

The firm also hosts receptions and presentations on careers in intellectual property for minority law students.

• Fish supports several local, regional, and national organizations devoted to increasing diversity in the legal community, as well as the outreach activities of its own professionals.

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10.

IHS Markit Innovation: U.S. LGBT Automotive Trends—Changing the Paradigm with Data Introduced: 2012 Program Leader: Marc S. Bland, VP Diversity & Inclusion

(Left to right) Bob Rachwal, automotive software engineer, IHS Markit; Joe LaFeir, senior vice president, Automotive, IHS Markit; Marc Bland, vice president of automotive diversity and inclusion, IHS Markit; Toni Iverson, automotive consultant, IHS Markit; Bryan Funke, vice president, automotive sales, IHS Markit

W

hen sales leaders across the automotive space are asked to name the top market for LGBT new vehicle purchases, the common response is San Diego. In fact, the top three markets for LGBT new vehicle purchases in 2017 are New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia—San Diego comes in at number nine.

It is also commonly assumed that the model most often chosen by the LGBT consumer is a Subaru.

However, although the Subaru brand has long been popular with the U.S. LGBT consumer, there is not a Subaru among the top five

26

We provide information to a good mix of automotive clients, both domestic and Asian manufacturers, along with auto focused agencies and media partners.

– Marc Bland, IHS Markit Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion

models preferred by LGBT buyers.

In fact, the top vehicle choices for the U.S. LGBT consumer look very similar to the overall market model leaders—three full size pickups and two compact SUVs:

Ford F-Series pickup, Chevrolet Silverado pickup, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Ram pickup, respectively.

Why? Because LGBT consumers have families, own

LGBT – Top 5 Models – New Vehicle Rank

Make

Model

2016 LGBT Share

1

Ford

F-Series

3.7%

2

Chevrolet

Silverado

3.4%

3

Honda

CR-V

2.8%

4

Ford

Escape

2.5%

5

Ram

Ram

2.4%

homes, hunt, fish, and garden— just like everyone else.

IHS Markit has taken on the task of educating the auto industry regarding U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) new and used vehicle purchasing habits, based on current buying patterns.

In 2012, R.L. Polk & Company, now IHS Markit, decided to take on the challenge of collecting data and using it to educate the auto industry regarding the auto buying patterns of the LGBT community. The company made significant investments to create possibly the largest LGBT new and used vehicle data-set, based on information collected from more than 10 million self-identified LGBT consumers across the country. The IHS Markit dataset represents approximately 300,000 new vehicle purchases made each year by the LGBT community.

The primary benefit of this data is that it moves the entire auto industry from a position of “I feel and I believe” to “I know” with respect to LGBT new and used vehicle purchase patterns.

Thus, auto marketers can stop taking their hybrid plug-in vehicles or their most expensive luxury offering to Pride events and, instead, display vehicles that are more in line with

FALL 2017

actual LGBT vehicle preferences.

The data also enables automotive executives to better understand markets like Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, and Boston, which are strong LGBT new-vehicle markets, but which may have been overlooked due to unconscious bias or false stereotypes.

“We provide information to a good mix of automotive clients, both domestic and Asian manufacturers, along with auto focused agencies and media partners,” says Marc Bland, IHS Markit vice president of diversity & inclusion. “While the industry has been marketing to the LGBT consumer for quite some time, this is the first time the auto industry could apply a 10-million-plus sample of quantitative LGBT metrics to its efforts and make decisions that drive results.”

IHS Markit’s overall goal is a simple one, to improve LGBT marketing focus and, ultimately, create a better automotive buying experience for LGBT consumers. The data also helps dispel many of the stereotypes related to the U.S. LGBT consumer by focusing on what and where this consumer group actually is buying cars. PDJ

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IHS Markit and Diversity • IHS Markit colleagues, who work in countries around the world, bring unique cultures, experiences, backgrounds and skills. Creating a workplace that values diversity, fosters inclusion and belonging, and helps develop each person’s unique abilities, will enable IHS Markit to meet and exceed its business goals and ensure its role as an industry leader.

• IHS Markit promotes an inclusive and belonging environment in which all employees feel welcomed, challenged, and rewarded for their contributions. The company cultivates a workplace where creativity and innovation can flourish, colleagues can develop their careers, and business strategies can achieve long-term success.

• In 2016, The Denver Post named IHS Markit a Top Workplace for the fifth year in a row.

• Presented by the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) and IHS Markit, the Diversity Volume Leadership Awards is the first program of its kind to pay tribute to automotive brands and models with the highest new-vehicle registrations for ethnic, female, and millennial consumers, based on IHS Markit registration data for 13+ million U.S. vehicles.

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Award of Excellence HCA Healthcare Innovation: Cultural Insights Initiative Introduced: 2015 Program Leaders: Sherri Neal, VP - Cultural Development & Inclusion; David Wedemeyer, Director - Strategic Innovation

F

ounded in 1968, HCA Healthcare was one of the first hospital companies in the United States and is currently a leading provider of health care services. Based in Nashville, HCA’s locally managed facilities include more than 170 hospitals and 119 freestanding surgery centers, located in 20 U.S. states and the United Kingdom.

HCA is committed to providing culturally competent care to every patient served and fostering a culture of inclusion that embraces and enriches its workforce, physicians, patients, partners, and communities.

Cultural competency in health care embraces the concept of equity—patients having equal access to quality care and

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nondiscriminatory, patientcentered health care practices.

To improve the organization’s ability to provide culturally competent care, HCA launched a cultural insights initiative in 2015, which began with a system-wide enterprise scan to gain a more thorough understanding of the communities served by HCA hospitals and the characteristics of patient populations.

After considerable ground work and research, including the enterprise scan and presentations to leadership, HCA then launched its Cultural Insights Pilot. The pilot included the development of a cultural and linguistic patient navigator program that provides one-on-one guidance to diverse

patients moving through the health care continuum.

The enterprise scan and pilot have improved language services and the collection of race, ethnicity and language (REaL) data, and advanced HCA’s cultural competency training.

The Cultural Insights Initiative supports HCA’s commitment to bridging the gap between collecting meaningful patient data and reviewing the data to identify inequities in health care provision and to implement simple, yet effective, interventions to improve care for patients. Once the Cultural Insights Pilot is completed, work will begin to apply lessons learned, which will improve patient experience. PDJ

Roy L. Hawkins, Jr.

Suzanne Jackson

Philip Morris

Sherri Neal

Dia Nichols

Dell Oliver

COO, FACHE Johnston-Willis Hospital

VP HCA Physician Services

COO West Houston Medical Center

VP Cultural Development and Inclusion

CEO Northside Hospital

AVP HCA Nursing Leadership Solutions

TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE WITH INNOVATION, DIVERSE LEADERSHIP & CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT Serving communities across the U.S. and in London, we are focused on diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence – principles that influence every aspect of our business.

Be part of a team that puts the care and improvement of human life above all else.

It’s You. It’s Me. It’s All of Us. One Company, Many Careers.

CareersatHCA.com HCAhealthcare.com FALL 2017

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Award of Excellence IAC Applications Innovation: Diversity & Inclusion program Introduced: 2017

I

n 2017, IAC Applications launched a Diversity & Inclusion program to support a more diverse workplace and foster a more inclusive corporate culture. With six global offices, the company’s talent comes from a variety of backgrounds and its products and services, which are used by people around the world, benefit from the diverse perspectives of all employees.

The company’s three Empower employee resource groups (ERGs) represent people of color, LGBTQ, and women in technology. A fourth combined group consists of Diversity Ambassadors, employees committed to supporting diversity topics within IAC Applications offices. These ERGs create a safe space for internal ongoing and open dialogue. They share ideas, plan events, and encourage different perspectives. So far in 2017, the groups have hosted seven employee events, including a reading of Geek Girl Rising, a discussion of LGBTQ issues with the Live Out Loud organization, a screening of the 30

documentary 13th, which explores inequality in the U.S., and several panels that discussed cultural traditions and the state of women in technology.

IAC Apps also promotes diversity through its recruiting efforts, partnering with educational institutions like Morgan State University, and organizations such as General Assembly and Dev Bootcamp to ensure that talent is recruited from all backgrounds.

IAC Apps also regularly tests new platforms that could help to recruit more diverse talent. Recently, Head of Diversity and Inclusion Netta Gaye was invited to participate, alongside industry leaders Google and FourSquare, in a Crowded Tech Jobs Meetup panel discussion about talent in the technology industry.

Internal metrics show that the company is raising the D&I bar.

IAC Applications exceeds the national average in the technology industry for percentage of female employees, as well as average salaries for women. Employee feedback also says that IAC Apps’

D&I program is succeeding: “I have never been associated with a company as committed to Diversity and Inclusion as IACA is. The D&I efforts include much more than a diversity recruitment program, although that is certainly an important part of it, because without it we would not have the great diversity that we do—diversity of gender, sexual orientation and identity, ethnicity and race, and age, to name a few. But what makes IACA truly remarkable to me is the “I”—inclusion. There are numerous awareness programs and campaigns—and open communication and conversations via Slack—that continually engage employees in a diversity dialogue, help us all to understand and appreciate each other, and encourage employees to embrace their differences, while finding the common ground that unites us all.

As a way-over-40-year-old woman in a young tech company, I’ve never felt so accepted and appreciated.

That is true Diversity and Inclusion.”

– an IAC Apps employee PDJ

Award of Excellence Moss Adams Innovation: Ignite Your Career with Diversity and Innovation Introduced: 2017 Program Leaders: Tricia Bencich and Angeline Johnson

FALL 2017

• Applying a tactical innovation model to creatively solve client problems

rsity a ve

nd

• Understanding how innovation, diversity, and inclusion contribute to the success of the firm and their individual careers

• Learning to leverage diverse perspectives to drive innovation

Di

M

oss Adams believes diversity, inclusion, and innovation have a positive impact on its employees, work environment, and client experience. To advance diversity in the firm, the firm’s mission is to foster an inclusive culture that values each person, each voice, and each idea by leveraging the diverse experiences and perspectives of every individual.

Diversity encompasses visible and non-visible dimensions including gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability, military status, cultural backgrounds, life experiences, thoughts, ideas, and leadership styles. Valuing all perspectives allows the team to challenge the status quo, think creatively, and arrive at better solutions.

In 2017, to promote inclusion and develop skills needed to drive innovative thinking, Moss Adams University began offering an experiential learning session called Ignite Your Career with Diversity and Innovation, as part of its Milestone Leadership Development program. This year, more than 600 employees will focus on the following objectives:

In novation

The participants work in diverse teams to develop an innovative solution to a client problem, and each session is tailored to a specific milestone level.

Participants are introduced to a three-step innovation model for finding a solution for their client.

Step 1: Explore Client Problems: Gain empathy by engaging the client and asking meaningful questions to get a true understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. This strategy

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prevents solving problems in isolation and assuming you know what’s best for the client.

Step 2: Ideate Solutions: Having a diverse team and valuing many perspectives is advantageous when ideating solutions. Team members learn how to avoid group think and are encouraged to include all team members to develop well-rounded and creative solutions to client problems.

Step 3: Prototype and Implement: Teams pitch their final ideas and ask for client feedback.

This is another opportunity to learn what motivates the client, how they feel about the solution, and continue to iterate solutions based on their feedback.

Ignite Your Career with Diversity and Innovation is transforming how the people of Moss Adams serve clients and view the business. To stay competitive, the firm must continue to find ways to improve the client and employee experience. Viewing innovation through a lens of inclusion creates an even stronger tie to the values of increasingly diverse employees and clients. PDJ

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Award of Excellence Nelson Mullins Innovation: High Potentials Program Introduced: 2016 Program Leader: Sue Stoffer, Partner, Diversity Steering Committee Member and High Potentials Program Leader

Susan Jackson, Partner and Diversity Committee Chairperson

Sue Stoffer, Partner, Diversity Steering Committee Member and High Potentials Program Leader

Brandee Kowalzyk, Partner and High Potentials Program Participant

Rhys Wilson, Co-chair of Mergers and Acquisitions and Partner Sponsor

Turning High Potential into High Impact

E

quity partners represent a select group of business developers and leaders within a law firm. In most large firms, while women make up nearly 50 percent of young associates, the percentage of female equity partners is less than half that number. Traditional firm “mentoring” programs do not appear to be changing this state of affairs.

Nelson Mullins has developed a program that specifically aims to expand the business-development and leadership capabilities of its women attorneys. The program is based on the realization that, with focused, intentional coaching and sponsorship, selfconfidence, comfort zones, and ways of exercising leadership can be developed to equity-partner levels.

The Nelson Mullins High Potentials Program is a two-year commitment for women non-equity partners who have been identified by firm leadership, based on their legal skills, as well as their high business-development potential.

These women work closely with 32

senior “rainmaker” sponsors, an internal marketing coach, and an external executive coach to affirm their personal brands and interaction styles, raise their internal and external profiles, develop client opportunities, and expand leadership capabilities. Each woman participates in a rigorous one-on-one coaching regimen, weekly discussions with sponsors, and quarterly coach-led participant/ sponsor education sessions.

High Potential Program participant Brandee Kowalzyk, a partner in the firm’s Atlanta office who practices in the areas of pharmaceutical and medical device defense, commercial litigation, aviation, and product liability, says, “Being identified by firm leadership as an attorney with great business development and leadership potential gave me real confidence to push the bounds of my comfort zone and seek out highly visible speaking opportunities. Those opportunities, in turn, led to more client pitch opportunities and

assignments, as well as invitations to serve in leadership roles on firm committees.”

The interaction of the participants with partner sponsors, including the group education sessions, is a key element of the Program. Each sponsor shares advice and takes a personal interest in involving their participant with direct client opportunities.

Rhys Wilson, a partner sponsor and co-chair of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group, explains, “The program’s quarterly sessions and participant feedback caused me to more fully realize that being an exceptional attorney is no longer enough by itself to transition to equity partner status. Much like a champion marathoner has to acquire additional skill sets to win a triathlon, each of these very talented non-equity partners has to grow her business-development acumen to achieve the level of equity partner.

The program has helped me learn how to offer the kind of support that is needed.” PDJ

Award of Excellence Robins Kaplan Innovation: Leaders Engaged in the Advancement of Diversity (LEAD) Introduced: 2015 Program Leaders: Kellie Lerner: Partner; Co-Chair, Diversity Committee; Brandon Vaughn: Principal: Co-Chair, Diversity Committee; Chandra Kilgriff: Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Pro Bono

Over a decade after Dan Rooney shook up NFL hiring practices, at least one law firm has begun to see measurable results from a policy that requires its leaders to review a diverse slate of candidates for each new hire.

– “Robins Kaplan Increases Diverse Hires with Rooney Rule” Bloomberg Big Law Business (June 28, 2017)

F

ounded by two Jewish lawyers who had been denied employment opportunities because of anti-Semitism at other firms, national trial firm Robins Kaplan LLP has focused on diversity and inclusiveness for its entire 80year history. Consistently ahead of the curve on diversity initiatives, the firm created a formal Diversity Committee in 1999; contributed more than $41 million since then to charitable organizations, including Lambda Legal, the Disability Rights Legal Center, and the United Negro College Fund; and created two staff positions and a director-level position dedicated to diversity.

In 2015, Robins Kaplan introduced a groundbreaking diversity initiative, Leaders Engaged in the Advancement of Diversity (LEAD).

Based on the premise that progress on diversity requires commitment from the top, LEAD vests responsibility for diversity goals with every board member, practice group leader, and office managing partner.

The results have been immediate,

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tangible, and transformative. LEAD has become the most innovative diversity initiative in the firm’s history—and the most impactful.

The program’s successes to date include: • Lateral Hiring Initiatives: To increase diversity among lateral associates, the firm created a novel rule modeled on the National Football League’s “Rooney Rule,” requiring a diverse slate of candidates.

After one year, the percentage of associates of color hired increased from 9 percent to 29 percent, and the percentage of LGBTQ associated increased from 0 percent to 13 percent.

• Measuring Work Allocation: Robins Kaplan is tracking metrics related to work allocation and surveying associates to address unconscious bias in the way work is distributed.

• Supporting Working Parents: A parental leave policy adopted

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in 2016 provides 10 weeks of paid parental leave for all firm members, a parental-leave mentoring program, alternative work arrangement options, and a return-to-work protocol that allows parents to transition back at a reasonable pace.

• Supporting Future Leaders: Diverse rising stars at the firm receive individually tailored resources and assistance from an Executive Board member for taking their practices to the next level.

• Clarifying and Communicating the Advancement Process: The firm revised its advancement process to make it more consistent across offices and departments, and to minimize the effects of unconscious bias.

These strategies have created positive change; cumulatively, they have also caused mindfulness of diversity and inclusion to become ingrained in the firm’s culture. PDJ

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Award of Excellence HARMAN Innovation: HARMAN Women’s Network Introduced: 2014 Program Leader: Dinesh Paliwal, CEO

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n 2007, when Dinesh Paliwal joined HARMAN as its new CEO, he soon recognized that a lack of diversity among senior management was limiting the company’s ability to innovate and grow. Paliwal first assembled an extremely diverse board and leadership team. Next, he set about finding ways to increase employee diversity and develop an inclusive work environment, which he believed would stimulate creativity and result in innovative solutions for HARMAN’s customers.

Paliwal established a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) talent strategy, focused on developing female talent in a culture of respect and inclusiveness and increasing investment in diversity-related communications and community relations efforts. HARMAN also collaborated with the 1,000 Dreams Fund to create “#NewFaceofTech,” an online campaign to spotlight and financially support young women interested in careers in STEM fields.

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In 2014, HARMAN CEO Dinesh Paliwal established the HARMAN Women’s Network (HWN), an initiative focused on attracting and developing top female talent. The program provides a variety of tools and forums, including its Listen Up! speaker series, local speaking events that feature influential HARMAN leaders, and skillbuilding programs. A recent HWN initiative celebrated International Women’s Day across nearly 20 HARMAN sites, emphasizing the importance of accelerating inclusion in the workplace.

Activities included Listen Up! presentations focused on women in leadership, self-defense classes, and donations to local women’s refuge centers.

HWN has played an important role in attracting and retaining successful female talent across the company. Today, women hold leadership positions in Finance, Legal, Communications, Strategy, Talent, Tax, Intellectual Property, and other departments.

Because of HARMAN’s robust

D&I talent strategy and the efforts of HWN, women now represent 34 percent of the company’s workforce. HARMAN has also rolled out Unconscious Bias sessions presented by HR, talent management leads, and the HARMAN University team.

In FY18, the company aims to expand its D&I curriculum from bias awareness to workplace inclusion.

By establishing a formal D&I talent strategy, HARMAN diversified its leadership team and global workforce, attracting individuals from various cultural and professional backgrounds, and fostering a climate of inclusiveness that nurtures innovative thinking. Integrating Diversity & Inclusion into the company’s DNA has had a significant impact on HARMAN’s success, doubling its revenue, driving exponential growth in emerging economies and becoming a leader in connected car technologies with a $24 billion automotive backlog. PDJ

Award of Excellence Sullivan & Cromwell Innovation: True Grit and a Growth Mindset: The Secrets of Success Introduced: 2016 Program Leader: Dr. Milana Hogan, Chief Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Officer

The S&C Grit programs are an important part of the firm’s efforts to retain and advance women lawyers.

Providing multiple and varied opportunities for professional development and mentoring is key to associate retention and advancement.

Dr. Milana Hogan, Chief Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Officer

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lthough men and women enter the practice of law in roughly equal numbers, women are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership positions in law firms, corporations, and government. Concern over the underrepresentation of women in top positions has led to a number of important studies that attempt to identify—and then eliminate—the obstacles and barriers contributing to the gender gap at this level. While such studies represent important work, relatively little is known about the characteristics and competencies of the women who do manage to make it to the top of the profession.

Working alongside members of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession, Sullivan & Cromwell’s Chief Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Officer, Dr. Milana Hogan, has undertaken research that seeks to unearth some of the traits that successful women lawyers have

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in common. Among other things, she discovered that many women lawyers in powerful positions possess high levels of grit and a strong growth mindset. Her research has uncovered the ways in which grit impacts the careers of lawyers across practice areas, industries, and geographies.

Based on her research, Dr. Hogan developed a training program specifically for S&C’s women lawyers. She has conducted sessions for the firm’s full-time lawyers and summer associates. Her engaging presentation provides attendees with the tools to assess and measure grit and growth mindset, and apply them to scenarios that S&C lawyers often face. In these interactive sessions, lawyers learn about the implications of the latest research and discuss how they can successfully incorporate these findings to (1) maximize their individual performance, (2) achieve their personal, professional development goals, and (3) provide the

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highest level of service to S&Cs clients.

In conjunction with the many other professional development programs offered by S&C’s Women’s Initiative Committee, a standing body of 37 lawyers— including three women partners on the Firm’s Management Committee. The S&C Grit programs are an important part of the firm’s efforts to retain and advance women lawyers.

Providing multiple and varied opportunities for professional development and mentoring is key to associate retention and advancement.

What makes this program so innovative is that it can be adapted for a wide range of audiences. Last fall, Dr. Hogan presented her program to the Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance, and in June 2017, she presented to nearly one hundred interns involved in the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Law program as part of their annual Corporate Law Institute. PDJ

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Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces: ENGAGING ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN CHANGE

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rganizations that strive to maintain a competitive advantage by attracting and retaining top talent must foster a workplace where all employees can succeed. By drawing on the workplace experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees working in Canada—a country with legislated human rights protections for LGBT individuals—Catalyst found that, despite the supportive legal climate, workplace barriers persist for LGBT employees. This suggests that organizations operating in all countries, regardless of existing human rights legislation, have an important role to play in fostering LGBT inclusion.

inclusive and productive workplaces, Catalyst conducted an online survey asking LGBT employees about their relationships with colleagues, managers, and senior leaders; about career advancement experiences and strategies; and about how their organizations could better support them. Respondents cited three factors that affected their career advancement and the formation of critical relationships in the workplace:

Challenges to LGBT Employees

LGBT employees also felt their colleagues, managers, and senior leaders could be more comfortable with them and better informed about challenges they face at work.

To discover how organizations and individuals can create more

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• A lack of awareness regarding LGBT issues • Discriminatory behaviors against LGBT employees • Exclusion from important connections with others

In particular, through a second survey on workplace experiences, LGBT women reported less positive relationships with their managers compared to LGBT men and nonLGBT women and men.

The Benefits of Inclusion Organizations and individuals both benefit from LGBT inclusion.

In inclusive workplaces, LGBT employees can expend less effort managing disclosure and mitigating its impact; instead, they can focus on their work. Employees who do not experience discrimination are more satisfied and committed, and both of these characteristics are linked to higher productivity and profitability. LGBT employees can further support organizational efforts to be employers and providers of choice and to reach new markets when their diversity is effectively leveraged.

Organizations that want to fully leverage a diverse talent pool can implement systems to effect change.

LGBT employees at organizations with diversity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices, as well as broader talent management programs: • Were more satisfied and committed • Perceived their workplace as more fair • Had more positive relationships with their managers and colleagues

Moving Beyond Policy Organizations must make a concerted effort to create LGBT inclusive workplaces. Developing and implementing effective LGBTinclusion programs will lead to a broader understanding of LGBT identity, gender, and equity in

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the workplace. While protecting employees from discrimination is essential when creating inclusive environments, organizations must move discourse beyond antidiscrimination policies to everyday issues facing LGBT employees. Organizations should develop practices that leverage diversity, foster inclusion, and increase awareness, accountability, and action.

Important steps that organizations can take to foster LGBT-inclusive workplaces are: • Identifying organizational issues related to LGBT employees • Dispelling myths and stereotypes through diversity training • Communicating the organization’s LGBT policies and programs, internally and externally • Creating and enforcing LGBTfriendly policies

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• Helping LGBT employees build Employee Resource Groups and find mentors • Allowing LGBT employees to give back to the LGBT community • Making inclusive communication an organizational goal • Developing strategies for including LGBT identity in diversity metrics • Leveraging general talent management practices to support all employees PDJ Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit membership organization working globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business.

Visit www.catalyst.org to learn more about our work and download Catalyst reports. Visit http://www.catalyst.org/ community/connect-us/newsletters/cnews to begin receiving Catalyst C-News, our monthly e-newsletter.

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GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FASTER: INCREASE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TODAY

By Dr. Gilda Martinez-Alba

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t Towson University, leadership values diversity and is working toward increasing the number of diverse faculty members and students through a variety of initiatives.

In 2015, the University created a new position—provost fellow for diversity and inclusion. I am happy and proud to report that I was chosen to take on the role, and in the fall of that year, I began my efforts to diversify the faculty and students, and assist in creating an inclusive and respectful campus.

Together with Timothy J. L. Chandler, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; Maggie Reitz, vice provost; Debbie Seeberger, assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion, I reviewed hiring procedures to ensure that each search had a plan in place to recruit diverse candidates. We also we embarked on an effort to clarify the tenure process to assist in retaining faculty, and worked with faculty and students to develop diversity workshops and teach-ins that would provide spaces where current events and other issues could be discussed.

The Survey While working in the College of Education (COE), I had the opportunity to survey the faculty to determine how much they knew about diversity, inclusion, implicit bias, and microaggressions.

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Additionally, the survey asked if they • wanted professional development in these or similar topics; • perceived the campus to be respectful and supportive; • felt the University was committed to diversity; and/or • had attended any of the workshops already provided about these topics.

Faculty members were asked to complete the survey at the beginning, and again at the end, of the school year. They had slightly mixed views and levels of knowledge, but overall, they were committed to learning more.

In the survey at the beginning of the year, respondents made statements, such as, “Working on attitudes toward a deeper understanding of human differences, absolutely key to being an educator, is a lifelong commitment”; “Make sure the T-3 [the university newspaper] has information from every group on campus, as often as is possible, especially those that deal with religion, culture, sexual orientation, and any other personal identity possible”; and “We need an orientation for new students and faculty and ongoing conversations, dialogue, and project-based learning experiences.”

The Tool Kit Using the results of the survey, I developed a diversity and inclusion tool kit, which I shared at a University chair meeting, so the message would reach the entire faculty and staff through their department leaders. The Diversity & Inclusion Tool Kit provides materials related to classroom discussion, cultural sensitivity/competency, implicit bias, microaggressions, recruiting/ retaining diverse faculty, LGBTQ+, international students, religious diversity, and diverse national/ international organizations. Under each heading, there are links to videos, articles, resource guides, or other materials beneficial to people in any workforce. The Diversity &

Inclusion Tool Kit can be accessed here: https://www.towson.edu/ provost/initiatives/diversity/ index.html

The Dean’s Initiatives Over the past two years, Dean of the College of Education Laurie Mullen has provided a series of diversity-related workshops. They are presented at different times of the day, and different days of the week, to ensure that everyone can attend at least some of the sessions. Mullen has brought in well-known speakers, including public-education activist Jonathan Kozol. And she invites not only faculty, staff, and students from the University, but also people from all over the area to create a greater sense of community.

But she has not done this work alone.

Mullen organized a team to work on the College of Education’s “urban” goal—growing and accentuating multicultural and urban education content and practices in courses and internship placements. The team, led by Jessica Shiller, goes well beyond this goal by reaching out to the community for social and professional development opportunities. Events are promoted in emails to the College of Education, on bulletin boards and posters, in T-3: Towson Tigers Today (the university newspaper), on electronic signs on and off campus, and on listservs to numerous organizations. Selected events are shared on radio stations, such as NPR. In addition to events on campus, the dean arranged field trips.

For example, the entire College of Education was invited to visit the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore.

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The visit came shortly after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody and the civil unrest that followed. At the museum, the group encountered a large exhibition showing the events of that period, including a powerful image by Baltimore photographer Devin Allen that had appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Faculty members worked hard to create teach-ins, where everyone was invited to have thoughtful conversations about recent events. Dean Mullen continues to send faculty members to conferences and workshops to increase their understanding of these issues. These sessions have been extremely well received, as evidenced by the growing number of people who attend them.

End of the Year At the end of the year, faculty members indicated in their survey responses that they had a positive view of the workshops and were interested in attending more of them. As one faculty member noted, “I think the University would do well to promote more social opportunities where faculty and staff can openly talk.”

Several survey respondents said something like, “Provide more speakers and presentations or webinars.” Faculty members also shared their desire to publish in various journals, such as this one, in order to connect with and learn from others. And once again, they talked about the significant need for more diverse faculty, staff, and students.

Diversity Recruiter The dean of the College of Education has just launched a new initiative to address the

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recruitment of diverse students, and I have been selected to lead it. I have been busy researching national models for recruiting diverse students and creating a plan that will be piloted this coming year. It includes methods for finding and recruiting students, support structures to help students succeed, mentors to guide them during their college careers and after they become teachers, and professional development and leadership paths the will encourage them to stay in the field. The University and the College of Education are optimistic that both are headed in the right direction. They believe their increased ongoing research-based initiatives will be key in working toward these goals. They look forward to their future and hope you find some of their initiative ideas useful for your area of work. PDJ

Dr. Gilda Martinez-Alba Towson University Professor Chair - Department of Educational Technology and Literacy https://www.facebook.com/ TowsonUniversityISTC/?hc_ ref=SEARCH&fref=nf Director - Graduate Reading Program #5decadesofREED@COETU https://www.facebook.com/groups/ towsonreed/ Hawkins Hall 107Q Phone: 410-404-2480 Contact Information Phone: 410-704-4018 Office: Hawkins Hall, Room 216A E-mail: gmartinez@towson.edu

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Corporate Culture Shock in America Easing the Transition for Foreign Workers Susan Davidson Beyond Borders, Inc.

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xpatriates and foreign nationals who relocate to the United States to live and work often have mixed perceptions about this young nation. Those feelings are probably best described by the late Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, who referred to America as “a land of unmatched vitality and vulgarity.”

While most Americans rarely think of their country as “foreign,” the fact is that non-Americans who relocate to the United States to do business and “do lunch” are often surprised to find they experience a severe case of corporate culture shock.

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Beyond Borders, Inc., an Atlantabased cross-cultural training and coaching firm, recently conducted research with dozens of foreign business professionals working in Atlanta and other southeastern U.S. cities—both visa workers and permanent residents. The purpose of the study was to learn about foreign managers’ experiences and attitudes regarding the American business culture. More than half of this diverse group of CEOs, CFOs, vice presidents, directors, managers, engineers, and analysts were European.

Twenty-six different countries were represented.

According to survey participants, the human resource departments of multinational corporations are woefully inadequate in preparing foreigners for the American workplace. Equally disturbing is the lack of cross-cultural awareness and skills among American employees that could enable them to draw upon the diverse global talents and business experiences of their non-American counterparts.

Once the physical relocation to the United States is complete, most foreigners and their families say employers provide little, if any, assistance to help them integrate into the American community

...the cost of lost productivity due to months of isolation, confusion, and frustration is incalculable. and business environment. They often struggle up to a year or longer to adapt. The financial cost of cross-border relocations is steep, often two to four times the transferee’s salary. But the cost of lost productivity due to months of isolation, confusion, and frustration is incalculable.

The adaptation period could be reduced by 50 percent with adequate cultural orientation and training, professional coaching, and mentoring. More importantly, if corporations would simply invest an additional 5–10 percent of their relocation cost into cross-cultural orientation, training, and coaching, they could buy an “insurance policy” that protects the substantial investments they have already made in their expatriates and foreign nationals, thus ensuring a greater productivity return on their relocation investment much sooner.

Left on their own, foreign professionals frequently go through three stages of acculturation: 1. Discovery: First, they encounter the barriers and differences that create discomfort and frustration for them and their families.

2. Search: Second, they begin to look for the people and resources that can help them overcome cultural barriers.

3. Adaptation: Finally, they make the necessary adjustments to their communication style, work style, and business practices to build relationships with their American colleagues.

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Some foreigners never make it through the adaptation stage and continue to be isolated from their American colleagues or remain less than effective in their jobs.

Maslow’s Pyramid—Back to the Bottom In their home countries, most international professionals enjoy a certain degree of accomplishment and self-esteem. Upon arriving in the United States, however, they tumble down to the bottom rung of Maslow’s pyramid of needs. Physical needs become top priorities again.

Even the most basic everyday needs become major obstacles for foreign transferees. Obtaining credit is often a major hurdle, even for affluent non-Americans.

A general manager of a French company’s North American division moved from Paris to Atlanta three years ago. He described his family’s effort to establish credit as a “nightmare”: “We had no credit history here and felt like thieves.”

A French vice president also had credit problems when he moved his family from Paris to Atlanta with a global Dutch company. An Atlanta car dealer refused to sell him an automobile without a U.S. credit history, even though he had used an American Express credit card in Europe for four years. The French executive and his wife said they felt like “criminals.” They paid cash for their first used car.

Other foreigners recalled the many frustrations they encountered in taking care of basic living needs—opening a bank account, connecting utilities, choosing a long-distance company, haggling over the price of a car, and buying home and auto insurance. The marketing

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manager of a British-based international hotel chain moved from London to the American headquarters in Atlanta, only to discover that she didn’t know how to dial long distance within the United States. Neither did she know the meaning of dialing 911. Americans often take for granted the daily survival skills that foreigners must relearn when they arrive in the United States.

American English— “Sports-Speak”

Understanding American English is one of the first challenges foreigners—even native English speakers— encounter in the U.S. corporate culture.

Understanding American English is one of the first challenges that foreigners—even native English speakers—encounter in the U.S. corporate culture. American business conversation is riddled with clichés, slang, regionalisms, and sports expressions that may not be understood by nonAmericans. “Sports-speak,” with its references to American football, baseball, and basketball, is woven into business conversations constantly in the United States.

Expressions such as “slam dunk,” “home run,” “Mondaymorning quarterback,” “end run,” “curveball,” “full-court press,” and “stepping up to the plate” only serve to confuse foreigners. Many Americans are oblivious to the fact that baseball and American football are not played in Europe and other parts of the world!

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Human Resource Practices—Still Another Foreign Language The language of American human resource departments is equally foreign. Most foreign professionals come to the United States with no knowledge of managed health care or U.S. tax and discrimination law.

Americans often have difficulty understanding the complexities of U.S. health care, retirement plans, and discrimination law. It’s no wonder that non-Americans consider these employee policies and plans to be a “nightmare” and fog up when they read their HR manual full of acronyms: PPO, HMO, ADA, EEOC, FLMA, 401(k), etc.

Says one foreign executive, “You are screened by a nurse, and then you spend thirty seconds to two minutes with a doctor. You’re reimbursed and talk to computers.

All these plans, long-term and short-term disability, are extremely complex.” Rather than proactively taking the time to explain these bureaucratic plans and policies to foreigners, HR managers tend to simply respond to questions.

The American Spirit at Work—Democracy or Autocracy?

Most foreigners first come to know America through its media— our movies, music, magazines, TV sitcoms, and theme parks.

Americans are projected as fun-loving, risk-taking, rugged individuals who “get to the point”

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The single greatest discomfort that foreigners say they encounter in the U.S. workplace is dealing with the perception of business informality and the reality of corporate hierarchy, deference to job titles, and not speaking up. and “tell it like it is.” Pick up most any book about American culture and you will read about the wellpublicized open, honest, and direct communication style of Americans.

And so it seems that the bold and brazen American is, indeed, alive and well while socializing or selling. But foreigners paint a very different picture of the American at work in his corporate cubicle.

According to the research, there seems to be little place for the cherished American values of equality and freedom of speech in the workplace, especially in big corporations. The single greatest discomfort that foreigners say they encounter in the U.S. workplace

is dealing with the perception of business informality (“I’m your CEO but just call me ‘Bob’” or “business casual is what we wear here”) and the reality of corporate hierarchy, deference to job titles, and not speaking up.

“People worry about political correctness all the time to the point where they won’t say anything in a meeting because their boss is in there,” says a British manager who has worked in the United States for seven years. A Dutch marketing manager agrees: “In Europe, if you have a good idea, you bring it to the table. In the U.S., until the boss puts it on the radar screen, it’s not as important.” A German manager says, “Here, I have to package my opinions very nicely.”

Foreigners also are surprised at how Americans avoid face-to-face conflict at work. Says one German who has worked in the United States for five years, “Everyone is hiding behind policy and not getting out from behind their walls.”

A Finnish president of an Atlanta distributorship speculates that Americans avoid direct conflict because of the litigious society

they live in. “This is a big difference between America and the rest of the world. People put things in writing here if there is some conflict or misunderstanding. Frivolous lawsuits don’t exist in the rest of the world.”

Companies Can Minimize Corporate Culture Shock If global companies would take the following four actions, they would ease the transition of foreigners into the U.S. workplace and greatly enhance their productivity: 1. Provide community orientation and logistical support beyond finding housing and schools.

Help the transferees acquire basic survival skills and social ties with their community.

2. Take the time to explain employee benefits, policies, and laws. Don’t assume foreigners understand the policies and plans or the words associated with them—they are unique to America. Give them an easy way to get their HR questions answered. Be proactive instead of reactive.

3. Assign a trained American mentor or external coach to foreign transferees during the first few months of the transition process to hasten acculturation.

Foreigners in the study strongly favored this idea. “Having a coach or mentor is absolutely essential for getting direct firsthand feedback, asking questions, learning how Americans see the situation, culture,work practices, even for subtle differences. The fact is, the U.S. is different!” said a Swedish program manager.

4. Build American cultural awareness and competence by offering cross-cultural training, multicultural team coaching, and cultural events.

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Foreigners also are surprised at how Americans avoid face-to-face conflict at work.

Many foreigners in the study referred to their American colleagues as culturally “insensitive,” “ignorant,” “egocentric,” or “isolated.” As a result, the foreigners believe that Americans do not fully appreciate and use the foreigners’ unique backgrounds, talents, and global perspectives and connections.

What Foreign Workers Can Do Foreign workers can overcome corporate culture shock by acquiring the “Three Cs”: 1. Communication: The ability to speak and understand the American version of business English. This is essential to survival in the U.S. workplace, where Americans are not expected to speak a second language.

2. Connections: A support network of colleagues and friends who can offer assistance and friendship to give the foreigner a sense of belonging and well-being.

3. Coaching and mentoring: A go-to person who can provide confidential support, answers, and resources to ensure and accelerate the acculturation process. The cost of failure is high, both to the company and to the transferee.An internal or external coach can help speed adaptation to American business practices, protocol, rules, motivations, attitudes, social codes, and communication styles.

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As global mergers and acquisitions continue and as America’s multicultural workforce expands, it’s vital that both Americans and non-Americans understand each other and learn to work together to prevent cultural differences from getting in the way of good business. As Sheila Hodge states in her book Global Smarts, “The trick is to capitalize on similarities without being ambushed by differences.”

If both Americans and nonAmericans will adopt the mantra “think globally, act locally,” then their employers stand a much greater chance of bringing better ideas and approaches to the workplace and better products and services to the marketplace. PDJ Originally appeared in Workforce Diversity Reader, Spring 2004 Susan Davidson is founder and president of Beyond Borders, Inc., an Atlanta-based firm that specializes in providing cross-cultural training, coaching, and performance consulting to American and foreign businesses based in the United States.

Ms. Davidson has worked with dozens of Fortune 500 and multinational corporations during her 23- year career to improve the performance, job satisfaction, and measurable business results of employees, salespeople, and distribution channels. Her clients have included Alcan, AnheuserBusch, Bayer, BellSouth, Cingular Wireless, Delta Air Lines, Hallmark Cards, ING, Kemira Chemicals, and Sprint. Ms. Davidson is active in the International Coach Federation and has authored several articles and delivered speeches on her research findings regarding corporate culture shock in America. For more information on Beyond Borders, Inc., call 770-451-9977.

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Disney and HSF

Keep Making Dreams Come True

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he Walt Disney CompanyHSF Scholarship Fund, established in 2014 with a $1 million grant from Disney, is part of the Company’s longstanding commitment to support students from diverse backgrounds as they pursue their educational goals and dreams. Recently, Disney committed another $1.5 million to continue its support of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF).

In addition to providing financial support for students, the DisneyHSF collaboration also provides programs like the HSF Media and Entertainment Summit, which will be held for the first time in November of 2017. The Summit will be an annual event to bring HSF scholars, who are interested in the media and entertainment business, and industry professionals together.

“Disney is proud to continue our support of Hispanic college students as they pursue their educational and professional dreams,” said Latondra Newton, senior vice president of diversity and inclusion at The 44

Walt Disney Company. “Through this scholarship and the new HSF Media and Entertainment Summit, we hope to make it possible for more students to reach their goals and become leaders in their fields, including in the media and entertainment industries.”

Since The Walt Disney Company-HSF Scholarship Fund was established, scholarships have been awarded to more than 200 high-achieving college students who attend colleges and universities across the U.S., including Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, and Vanderbilt University.

The 2017 donation extends the scholarship and supports HSF’s mission to give its scholars the tools they need to excel academically, earn a degree, succeed at their chosen profession, help lead our nation, and mentor generations to come.

“We are grateful for the generous support of The Walt Disney Company and look forward to strengthening our partnership,” said HSF President and CEO Fidel A. Vargas. “While the financial commitment is extraordinary, we appreciate just as much the commitment of Disney employees who volunteer and support our students and families across the country.”

One example of how Disney reaches beyond its financial support of the Scholarship Fund to directly engage with students involves a recent visit by HSF scholars in the Bay Area to Pixar Animation Studios’ Emeryville, California, headquarters. The students toured studio facilities and met the filmmakers behind Pixar’s upcoming film Coco.

The film’s Director Lee Unkrich, Co-Director Adrian Molina and Producer Darla K. Anderson shared an early look at film footage with the students. PDJ

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People on the Move Dr. Artika Tyner’s Newest Book Will Inspire Tomorrow’s Leaders Already the author of two successful books on leadership— The Lawyer as Leader and The Leader’s Journey—Dr. Artika Tyner has recently completed her third book, a book for children titled Making a Difference: The Story of Miss Freedom Fighter,

Esquire. The central character is a young girl named Justice, who dreams big and finds inspiration in leaders who came before her.

One thousand copies of the book will be distributed to schools across the globe.

As a civil rights attorney, Dr. Tyner has always been committed to making a difference.

In addition to providing legal services and writing books, she maintains a strong social media

presence, where she has been able to build and sustain a large, diverse audience. Dr. Tyner also founded Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJLI), which promotes community, education, literacy, and leadership by inspiring and motivating young people to capture and use their strengths to promote positive social change in their local communities.

Fish & Richardson’s Deanna Reichel Now a Principal Deanna Reichel was recently elected a principal

by Fish & Richardson, a global patent prosecution, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation law firm. A member of Fish’s Litigation and

Appellate groups, Reichel has extensive experience in HatchWaxman and other life sciences litigation. She also has substantial experience with appellate practice, with involvement in many Federal Circuit appeals in various technology areas over the course of her practice.

Reichel joined Fish as an associate in 2003 and was named of counsel in 2010. Prior to

joining the firm, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Raymond Clevenger, III, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Reichel earned her J.D., with highest distinction, Order of the Coif, from the University of Iowa College of Law, and graduated summa cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, from the University of St. Thomas.

K&L Gates names Pallavi Mehta Wahi diversity committee chairwoman K&L Gates LLP has named Pallavi Mehta Wahi, partner in its litigation practice and administrative partner of the Seattle office, as

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chairwoman of its firm-wide diversity committee.

“As a proud partner of this firm, who is also a South Asian lawyer, first-generation immigrant, and mother of a three-year-old, I’m honored to lead K&L Gates’ firmwide diversity committee,” said Wahi. “I look forward to helping to foster and support the success of lawyers of diverse backgrounds,

both here at K&L Gates and within the broader legal community.”

Co-chair of the firm’s India practice, Wahi also serves on the boards of the King County Bar Foundation, the Washington Council on International Trade, and the Seattle Repertory Theatre, as well as the advisory board of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington.

Fish & Richardson Hires Kia Scipio as D&I Manager Kia Scipio recently joined Fish & Richardson, the nation’s number one patent litigation firm, as its diversity and inclusion manager. Based in Washington, D.C., Scipio will focus on embedding diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency into

day-to-day operations and work with Fish’s Diversity Committee, EMPOWER Women’s Initiative, and other strategic teams.

“Kia has stellar academic credentials and deep professional experience, and we are thrilled she is joining us,” said Peter Devlin, firm president. “Kia will be invaluable in helping to advance our mission of promoting a creative, respectful, and inclusive culture that values the diversity

of all people, and harnesses their experiences, perspectives, talents, and capabilities.”

Previously, Scipio was director of small and medium firms, and diversity and inclusion initiatives, at Georgetown University Law Center. She has also held senior professional development positions at two large law firms and served as assistant director of externship programs at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

K&L Gates’s Román D. Hernández named Latino Lawyer of the Year Román D. Hernández, a partner in the Portland office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP, has been named the 2017 Latino Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA).

Hernández represents employers across a variety of industries in

state and federal courts, as well as class action litigation. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Portland branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, a past national president of the HNBA, and founder and chairman of HNBA’s Legal Education Fund, the organization’s only charitable foundation. “[Román] serves as an example to Latino lawyers everywhere,”

says Brendan Gutierrez McDonnell, administrative partner for K&L Gates’s Portland office and fellow member of the HNBA. “Our clients and colleagues benefit greatly from his deep experience and leadership in the legal community.”

Prior to launching his law career, Hernández served in the United States Air Force for nearly five years, where he attained the rank of captain and was honorably discharged.

D&I Leader Gloria McDonald Joins ACOD The American Conference on Diversity (ACOD) has a new associate administrator, Gloria McDonald. In her new role, McDonald will oversee daily operations and help expand the statewide nonprofit’s diversity and FALL 2017

inclusion education and training services.

Prior to joining the ACOD team, McDonald served the organization as a consultant, facilitator, and ambassador for its workplace diversity programs.

“There’s nothing better than joining a team that aligns with one’s strongest beliefs and values,” McDonald said. “I’m looking forward to contributing diversityjournal.com

to the meaningful work that the American Conference on Diversity does to build inclusive workplaces, communities, and schools.”

McDonald holds a master’s in organization development from American University/NTL Institute, a master’s in library and information science from Rutgers University, and a bachelor’s from Brown University. PDJ

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Shannon Nash A Woman for All Seasons

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DJ recently caught up with Shannon Nash, CFO and COO of InsideSource, who was generous enough to grant us an interview. We wanted to share her thoughts about career, leadership, diversity, and success with you.

Shannon, how did you become the leader you are?

I’m not sure that anybody is a natural-born leader. You may be charismatic, you may be naturally friendly, but I don’t think anybody is born a leader. I think that you take little bits from other people to become who you are. People work very hard to become leaders—to manifest and build their leadership abilities.

What I’ve done is try to immerse myself in learning from the people I’ve been fortunate enough to have in my career as mentors. And maybe people who never mentored me directly, but who I wanted to emulate in some way. My leadership style is something that I’ve worked to develop, not something that I was born with.

People often assume—especially younger people—that a leader has to be someone you report to— somebody in your organization.

That’s great, when it happens.

However, some of the more impactful experiences I’ve had, have involved people I never worked for.

Take Larry Bailey. Although he’s retired now, when I first met him, he was a CPA and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington, D.C. I have never worked for Larry. Larry has never gotten me a job. None of those things have happened for Larry and me. But his impact on my success is significant and invaluable.

Larry was a pioneer—an MBA in finance from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, followed by successful

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roles with KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In the 1970s, he became one of the first African American partners at a major accounting firm.

Years ago, someone told me I should meet Larry. I did, and was intrigued by his story. At the time, I was a committee chair for the American Bar Association and helped plan continuing education programs. So I invited Larry and another man named Glen Carrington—also an African American and a tax partner at a major accounting firm—to participate in an upcoming panel.

I didn’t know either of them—I was afraid they might not even show up. But they did. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Then, while my husband and I were on an ex-pat assignment in Switzerland, we had dinner with Larry. During our conversation, he told me that if I wanted to move away from law and into business and operations, I should quit my job and make the move. I took his advice and quit, and I have no regrets. To this day, Larry moves in and out of my life and continues to be a key mentor for me.

Leader vs. boss—what’s the difference?

Everybody’s had an awful boss.

I get it. It’s not that being a boss is bad. The problem is that sometimes the boss doesn’t know how to be a leader. I think a good leader knows the difference, and knows when to be one or the other. I have found that some of my people need me to be a boss. I can’t just leave something with them and expect them to come back with anything close to what I want—they’re just not ready for that. So my job is to be a boss to that person and figure out ways to change that relationship, so that they

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eventually become someone I can lead. I have to know when to put on each hat. That is one of the harder things to learn, but it’s necessary to incorporate that into your toolbox.

Many of the people I’ve worked for have made me feel as if I worked not for them but with them. And that’s how I try to make people feel who work for me. I want them to tackle the problem and find a solution themselves. They may arrive at a different solution than I would have, but that’s what’s great. I try to provide guidance, but not micromanage them. Ultimately, I want to move and inspire others, not control them.

How do you cultivate a diverse culture?

InsideSource is probably one of the most diverse work environments I have ever been in—more than 50 percent women.

Of the five senior managers in the company, four are women. People here really value diversity. It’s ingrained in the culture, and has been from the beginning. And, as the company grows, that culture has to be managed and taught to the new members of our rapidly expanding workforce. Otherwise, some of our most important values could be lost.

The InsideSource culture is so open and inviting that even new people are often comfortable approaching managers. To encourage even more interaction, we’re about to launch Coffee with Executives—a program that lets employees sign up to have coffee and talk with executives in an informal setting—as part of our mentorship program for 2018.

One young woman with a lot of initiative gave us the idea.

She invited me to have a coffee,

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I feel like I’m being very deliberate about defining my own success. And along the way, part of success for me is leaving a legacy for the people I’m leading, so that they can pay it forward as leaders.

For me, that is the ultimate success.

– Shannon Nash, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for InsideSource

where she told me, “I’m going back to school to study HR. I don’t think InsideSource has any open positions, but if there is anything I can learn, any webinars I can attend….” She now spends a couple of hours each day working, and training, in our HR department.

That’s what we want Coffee with Executives to do—to make it easier to learn about each other’s goals in a less formal setting, over coffee.

What can you do when life gives you a kick?

The thing is to take those events that seem like steps backwards and turn them into learning opportunities that enable you to move the bar even further forward.

For me, the traditional lawyer path did not fit. I had to learn very early on, and I try to impress on other people, that your success is defined by you—nobody else. You need to figure out what success means to you. I got caught in the trap of believing that success for me would be what “everybody” said it should be. After all, everybody I

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knew went to great law schools and got jobs at big law firms. So, that was success.

And then life comes along and gives you a kick.

My kick was highly personal— my son was diagnosed with autism.

At the time, I didn’t even know what that meant, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. When your child is three and not potty trained and not speaking, and no daycare wants to take your child, that’s a whole other level of derailing your career. Fortunately, I had a good support system—my husband and I were definitely 50–50 on this. In fact, my husband was more ahead of the curve with the diagnosis—I was in denial initially. But he said, “There’s definitely something wrong with this child. Let’s find out and get him help.”

When my son was young, I needed to be able to devote a lot of time and attention to him. A law career would not have allowed me the flexibility I needed. So, I chose to use my management and operations skills to contribute in a business setting instead. I have never regretted my decision.

By the way, my son is nineteen now, doing well, and wanting to move out on his own. We’re still talking about that.

You also make movies?

While I was working for Debbie Allen and living in Los Angeles, I became very active in an organization called Cure Autism

Now (now Autism Speaks). We all had young children with autism, and shared our experiences and learned about new therapies. But, as I told the organization founder, even though my child was getting the best therapies and care because I could afford it, this was not happening for most people who looked like me. In the African American community, there were no services and support, and outcomes were not good. We talked about what we could do.

We decided to make a movie that would speak to parents in the African American community.

Through my work with Debbie Allen, I had learned about film production, so I offered to be the producer. We financed it ourselves and got Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker to play the parents of an autistic child. Tisha Campbell-Martin, LaDonna Hughley, Donna Hunter, Tammy McCrary, and I—all mothers of children with autism—also appeared in the film and shared our stories. Released in 2013, Colored My Mind was submitted to the American Pavilion at Cannes, where it was not only accepted, it also won!

Recently, I produced a second film—this time with actor/director Tommy Ford—called Switching Lanes. It’s a coming-of-age story, involving two teen girls—one black, one white—growing up in the segregated town of Summerston, who form a friendship that changes their lives and their town.

Did you say improv?

I learned how to do improv while working with Debbie Allen, and here is my advice: Take an improv class. It’s a valuable skill. Don’t take a public speaking class. Take improv.

We work with a lot of different kinds of people in different industries. We need to be able to talk to anyone in any setting. Improv prepares you to do that. It will help you think on your feet, get out of your shell, and be yourself.

How do you define success?

I feel like I’m being very deliberate about defining my own success. And along the way, part of success for me is leaving a legacy for the people I’m leading, so that they can pay it forward as leaders. For me, that is the ultimate success. If I can look back and say that I got all these people into all these amazing positions, and they passed my little bit of wisdom to the next generation, that would be awesome. That would be success. PDJ Shannon Nash is the new chief financial officer and chief operating officer for InsideSource. She brings more than 20 years of experience in business operations, finance, human resources, IT, and legal to the role. An attorney and a CPA, Nash is passionate about building companies, teams, and people.

Nash began her career as a tax attorney with KPMG, K&L Gates LLP, and Cooley LLP. She has also served as a senior attorney with Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA, executive director of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, CFO of Sunseeker Media, COO of Aspire University, and vice president of finance for Cumulus Media’s San Francisco market.

Nash holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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What Have We Learned?

2007

Exactly 10 years ago, Profiles in Diversity Journal presented a feature titled Pioneers of Diversity to its readers. Back then, these thought leaders stated their views of the current state of diversity and inclusion, shared their vision for the future, and put forward ideas that could help companies take steps to achieve their D&I goals.

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2017

In this issue of Profiles in Diversity Journal, we have the honor of presenting some of the same diversity trailblazers we featured a decade ago.

Within these pages, they share their views regarding the progress that has been made, which past initiatives worked— and which ones didn’t, how their own priorities and views

have changed, and the future they envision. We believe you’ll find useful advice, exciting ideas, and food for thought in each of these essays.

Over the intervening years, one thing hasn’t changed—the Pioneers of Diversity remain committed to principles and driven by ideals that define their work.

What Have We Learned?

10-Year Retrospective: What Have I Learned and Where Do We Go From Here?

By Mary-Frances Winters, President and CEO, The Winters Group, Inc.

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007–2017. What have I learned? We continue to

underestimate the difficulty of this work we call diversity and inclusion. Too many of us think we can get there with one type of training or another, such as unconscious bias or microaggressions or cultural competence. We don’t see that training alone (especially “oneoff ” efforts) will not get us there.

And where is “there”? We have no universal vision for what “there” looks like. Some are satisfied with equality, while others advocate for equity. And, there are some who don’t know the difference.

Some people say you cannot have inclusion if there is no diversity. Others say we need to focus primarily on inclusion, because diversity naturally exists in organizations. We continue to struggle to find a common nomenclature and develop universal concepts within the field. I have learned that we underestimate the extent of the opposition to the work, and we don’t really know how to talk about our differences. Our progress, measured by the numbers (all types of different measures, such as diversity in leadership, incarceration rates, socio-economic progress, and disproportionality rates in education), has been lackluster at best over the past decade.

What is the impact of this learning on future work in Diversity and Inclusion? I have

come to believe that we need the number of people who have a collective vision of what an inclusive world should look like to reach

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critical mass. But it doesn’t stop there. We also need a number of leaders who are willing to speak up and speak out to reach critical mass.

CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion is an example of an initiative that shows that the corporate world is becoming more socially and politically active.

Another example is the exodus of a number of business leaders from President Trump’s advisory councils in the wake of the violence that erupted in Charlottesville over the white supremacist march, and President Trump’s initial unwillingness to disavow the group’s actions.

We can no longer stay safely sequestered in our various “bubbles.” It is imperative that we increase collaboration across disciplines (e.g., corporate, not-for-profit, religion, education, government, etc.) in order to effect real change.

Training is obsolete. Education is necessary. Education is developmental, meets people where they are, and recognizes that it is a life-long journey. As Nelson Mandela said, and former President Obama recently retweeted, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

If we are to teach people about inclusion, we cannot do it with stand-alone training.

We must educate people in a holistic, integrated way, and do it consistently, over time. diversityjournal.com

The escalation of anti-inclusion incidents mandates that we learn how to have the difficult conversations about our differences, a topic I discuss in my recently published book, We Can’t Talk About That At Work!: How to Talk About Race, Religion, Politics and Other Polarizing Topics. While we have attempted to talk about our differences for decades, I contend that we have really been talking past each other, without increasing our capacity for mutual understanding.

Learning how to effectively dialogue about our differences is a skill that can be learned. However, as with any skill or competency, it takes time and practice. We do not allocate enough time, energy, or resources to become proficient at inclusion.

The unfortunate proliferation of anti-inclusion events has had a profound impact on the workplace, as people bring their fears and anxieties, and concerns about safety, to work. As I said in my 2007 piece on the future of diversity, which also appeared in Profiles in Diversity Journal, our very survival depends on us getting this right. PDJ

Mary-Frances Winters, President and CEO, The Winters Group, Inc.

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What Have We Learned?

We’ve Learned What Works!

By Julie O’Mara, President & Board Chair, The Centre for Global Inclusion

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iversity and Inclusion is a field in which there is always much to learn.

And the past decade has offered an abundance of rich opportunities to gain both knowledge and wisdom.

So, where shall I begin…

• We recognize that political strife around the world has roots in a belief in social justice, which is also the foundation of D&I work.

• The quality of online and social learning opportunities available has improved so much in recent years that participants can have substantive discussions about D&I.

• First, we now know that, when it comes to D&I, the systemic approach that many of us used as early as the 1990s, which has roots in the Organization Development field, is still the most effective.

• Second, we have found that, no matter what sector, size, region, dimension of diversity, or approach we look at, the same strategies and benchmarks (desired outcomes) deliver the best results.

• Third, we discovered that D&I work must be customized to meet the needs of the specific organization, group, or culture.

• And fourth, it has become apparent that many in the D&I field—even at the executive level—simply do not have the competencies required to be effective.

So, how does the knowledge we’ve gained translate to better and more productive D&I strategies, methods, initiatives that will enable us to take our work to a whole new level and open the doors to an exciting future?

• We know that it’s time to align our efforts with other initiatives, such as sustainability, particularly as defined by the United Nations 2030 Transforming Our World Agenda.

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• We must understand that all work is global.

• We can no longer stay away from political discussions or positions at work. In the early days, most organizations avoided any mention of political views in the workplace; however, some organizations are becoming more comfortable advocating political points of view. Nowadays, the idea that We Can’t Talk about That at Work, to borrow the title of Mary-Frances Winters’ new book, is less and less a reality for today’s workforce.

All in all, I feel confident saying “We’ve learned what works.” In fact, that is the tagline for Global D&I Benchmarks: Standards for Organizations Around the World, a free publication co-authored by myself, Alan Richter, Ph.D., and 95 Expert Panelists.

To download GDIB, follow this link: www. centreforglobalinclusion.org.

The 151 benchmarks at Levels 4 & 5 are especially valuable as answers regarding what works. GDIB is free to use; however users must sign a permission agreement. PDJ

• D&I shares a natural affinity with the B-corporation model, which operates on the premise that business can and should be a force for good and an agent of change, and that this behavior is actually good business.

• D&I must be future-focused and alert to scientific and cultural changes, such as the development of “enhanced humans” and AI.

Julie O’Mara, President & Board Chair, The Centre for Global Inclusion

What Have We Learned?

Comments on the Future of Diversity— PROFILES IN DIVERSITY PIONEERS ISSUE 10 YEARS LATER

By Dr. Edward E. Hubbard

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hat I Have Learned?

For the last 10 years, the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) disciplines/fields of study have experienced only modest growth as a profession. D&I currently enjoys an ongoing presence in the corporate landscape. However, organizations continue to focus primarily on representation as the litmus test for whether or not diversity is present.

The Utilization and Integration side of the D&I equation has not received the attention needed to leverage its asset value and make a measurable difference in organizational performance.

Diversity and Inclusion has almost completely been absorbed as an element of talent management, with little attention given to D&I as a key strategic driver of business performance. Nor have standardized systems and processes been developed that would demonstrate its utility. There have been some attempts to develop standards for the profession; however, most have not been applied in a scientific, systematic manner that would demonstrate the ROI-based impact that D&I can have in driving organizational success. C-Suite executives and others continue to have a tough time seeing the business value-proposition for Diversity and Inclusion, beyond tactics for representation, engagement, and morale.

Examples of D&I being used to drive sales beyond ethnic markets, such as improved operational processes, innovation, and core business strategies, are not as commonplace as they should be.

We still have a way to go to see D&I

performance-science solutions respected and embedded into the fabric of how business gets done. As a result, chief diversity officer budgets and inclusion on initiatives, such as acquisitions and mergers, and product R&D, are still not on par with other key strategic departments.

Look at any company’s mission statement, and you’ll likely see a phrase referring to its employees as its most important asset. Too often, that statement is “corporatespeak,” with little management action attached to it. Still, it holds a great deal of truth. Cynics often point out that, despite management assertions about employees as assets or diverse human capital, the first response to market downturns is employee layoffs. This response, it seems, stems from a misunderstanding of the meaning of diverse human capital or, more particularly, the meaning of “capital.” Capital assets are often viewed as assets only if they provide returns over a certain period. The true value of such an asset is the present value of those returns. Diverse employees (which include ALL races, ethnicities, genders, orientations, etc.) provide returns in at least two ways. First, they add value to the organization’s offerings through their labor.

Second, diverse employees create intangible assets, such as patents, relationship capital, and knowledge capital. Additionally, opportunities abound beyond representation to use D&I performance science in operational processes, such as policies, procedures, systems, and R&D.

What Impact Do These Learnings Have On My Future Work With Diversity And Inclusion?

Based upon these learnings, my work will focus even more diligently on continuing to provide practical tools and systems, as well as real-life case examples of Diversity and Inclusion driving measurable business performance outcomes.

I will continue to write books and articles, and conduct Diversity ROI (DROI®) certification training to teach competencies, skills, and standards that fortify the D&I disciplines with scientific rigor. This, in turn, will enhance the credibility of the field and its impact on business performance.

My work will also continue to concentrate on building and applying client-focused Diversity and Inclusion business-improvement sciences that are measurable and evidence based.

Finally, I will continue to encourage D&I practitioners to perform scientific and Diversity-ROI due diligence in order to create credible business solutions that operate well beyond “fad” and “faith-based” initiatives. D&I’s future viability as a business imperative depends on it! PDJ

Dr. Edward E. Hubbard Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc. DROI® is a registered trademark of Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

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What Have We Learned?

Affirmative Action to Unconscious Bias— Great Intentions…Minimal Impact.

By Stephen Young

A

fter decades of effort, what have we learned about Diversity & Inclusion?

This question plagues every D&I professional and haunts those who are the recipients of disrespectful or non-inclusive treatment in the workplace.

In essence, we have learned a great deal about activities and education, but have seen little movement in the areas of meaningful impact and results.

Having been immersed in this arena for more than 20 years, I have reflected on the abundant knowledge we have amassed. Both the “D” and the “I” have been extensively analyzed, strategized, and toiled over.

The diversity side has fundamentally been about its inextricable link with demographics. Diversity has largely concentrated on creating a collage of color and culture. This part of diversity and inclusion has been a numbers game. Inclusion has largely been about the utilization of that diverse demographic with primary emphasis on making people feel, well, included.

Maybe this D&I initiative should have been more properly labeled what it functionally has been, D&R—Demographics & Respect.

The broader strategy and supporting activities of D&I seem to have been misdirected. We should care far less about the diverse color palette of our colleagues or the prescribed behaviors of inclusion— an invitation to lunch, a warm greeting, or being asked for opinions in meetings. Instead, our attention should be far more focused on 56

identifying and addressing broadscale development that enables personal growth, higher performance levels, and advancement opportunities at equitable levels for underrepresented or targeted groups.

Although we have learned a great deal about diversity and inclusion over these past decades, our achievements have mostly fallen within the arenas of awareness, activities, and expectations—three areas that make us feel good but don’t meaningfully move the needle. These three key areas have fundamentally included the following activities: broad-scale awareness campaigns; outlining the business case for diversity, cultural awareness, and affinity programs; and highly detailed checklists and scorecards of prescribed behaviors, demographic goals, and reports of accomplishment against the identified targets.

This has been the stuff D&I is made of.

These activities have enjoyed executive support, sponsorship, and budget, and have been woven into formal compliance guidelines and incorporated into corporate legal policy. Diversity and inclusion values have even risen to the prestigious heights of being integrated into publicly stated corporate values and mission statements.

Yet, with all this infrastructure and support, meaningful and lasting progress remains elusive.

Colleagues talk the talk and even walk the walk of good intentions.

That walk, however, has largely guided employees along impressive,

well-paved but narrow paths. Good intentions have generally pushed programs in the right direction, but the employees following those paths continue circling, not hitting the critical target.

In working closely with more than 300 companies, I have frequently observed corporate programs traveling along this seemingly unending orbit. In an effort to advance inclusion, an endless array of company ERGs (women’s, African-American, LGBTQ, disability, generational, and other groups) have been created. In some companies, I found more ERGs than core business units!

Unfortunately, these represent a further extension of activities-based goals. As we all know, ERGs have largely been social networks, despite their declared business missions.

These groups could have far greater impact if their mandates were pinned to outcomes that influence corporate growth and unlock opportunities for members of their constituencies. This change would enable women, people of color, and other targeted groups to develop and raise individual performance to, or above, par levels.

Too often, D&I tells people what to do, instead of building their motivation to change inwardly. Such achievements primarily remain within the activities and awareness arenas, resulting in little meaningful behavioral change. The overall mission fails to achieve the three Primary Mission Goals (PMGs): • Achieving sustained change in workplace behavior

• Accomplishing balanced demographic representation at all tier levels • Raising the performance of underrepresented groups to par levels These should be the key objectives for any diversity and inclusion initiative. Yet, even with the full complement of support; money, muscle, and visibility, broad-scale achievement has eluded us.

So, with all that backing and support, what’s gone wrong? After all, goals are not achievements.

It seems we have been chasing the decoy, not the big game, all along.

There is a solution—a process that can redirect D&I toward more beneficial outcomes. There needs to be a formula that converts activities, education, and goals to action-based impact.

Let’s look at one example of how to convert a conventional diversity initiative into action-based solutions.

Traditional unconscious-bias training focuses primarily on concept and awareness. These programs build awareness about the mental filters we form, the underlying reasons for the positions we hold about others, and the damaging conclusions we reach.

The problem is that people don’t “do” filters—they form them, they don’t “do” positions—they hold them and they don’t “do” conclusions— they reach them. This means that unconscious bias is a state of mind.

Although interesting, educational, and informative, this style of education only builds our awareness and intellect. It doesn’t equip or motivate us to actively convert that awareness into changed, day-to-day workplace behaviors.

Unconscious-bias training needs to focus on actionable and tangible solutions that generate individual FALL 2017

growth, development, and improved performance. I’m occasionally asked by session participants if they need to stay for my session if they have previously attended some other unconscious-bias class. In response, I ask them two questions: First I ask, “What did you learn from your previous training?”

Typically, their responses go something like this: “It was fascinating;” “I learned so much about the ways people think;” “I learned about the differences in the male and female brain;” “I feel so much more aware about the reasons we exercise our biases;” ”It was fascinating to experience the optical illusions that demonstrate how our brains deceive us;” and, particularly, “I learned how we think differently about discrete groups.”

Clearly, the experience was informative and fascinating.

Then I pose the more critical second question: “What did you do differently with that new knowledge when you returned to your office the following day? In fact, what have you done differently with that new awareness right up to today?”

More often than not, there is an awkward silence and a perplexed shrug of the shoulders. Occasionally someone does say, “But I felt much smarter.”

When it comes to the Primary Mission Goals of D&I, smarter is never good enough.

There are countless data points, articles, and training programs that uncover a long history of unconscious bias in the workplace. These efforts focus disproportionately on the causes and impact of unconscious bias. They tell us about our failures, and serve up an abundance of data showing disparate treatment of certain groups, based on factors

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and behaviors of which we were unaware. Yet participants are left puzzled about what day-to-day actions they can take to remediate the behaviors.

We need to redirect our focus away from the “what” of the problem and shift our emphasis to actionable outcomes. To make meaningful strides, we must equip people with action-based skills and a genuine motivation for changing behavior and sustaining it over time. The following are two inextricably linked actions that enable us to achieve improved PMG outcomes: • Converting to action-based solutions • Creating the motivation for behavior change There is a complex, yet easily implementable, formula that can enable us to convert all diversity activities into actions that support the critical Primary Mission Goals.

I’ve observed numerous businesses restructure their diversity initiatives so that they operate within this new formula and achieve highly successful outcomes. As more and more companies adopt this new action-based outcomes formula and PMGs, we can look forward to a seismic shift that accelerates the business mission of reaching a truly inclusive workplace. PDJ

Stephen Young Senior Partner Insight Education Systems

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What Have We Learned?

Plus Ça Change…

By Judith Katz

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ver the past 10 years, much has changed in the diversity and inclusion discourse, but much more has stayed the same. Changed: a biracial president was elected; gay marriage has become law; and organizations are actually discussing GLBT issues.

The same: racism; xenophobia; Ferguson; Charlottesville; the need for #BlackLivesMatter; white backlash; sexism; and other forms of oppression.

Ten years ago in this space, Fred Miller and I suggested that inclusion would be a major factor in the survival and success of 21st century organizations. Over the past 10 years, it has become increasingly clear that the need for inclusion is only increasing.

The “looking back” and “looking ahead” nature of this essay calls to mind for me two key elements that are central to making inclusion a way of life in organizations.

1. The need to do one’s own “work” in addressing bias and privilege 2. The need to move to a more “joining” culture

It feels like our “work” is never done Do a Twitter search for #WhitePrivilege, and scroll down the tweets. There are many who still see diversity and inclusion as Affirmative Action, who question the fairness of policies aimed at leveling the playing field, and who want to keep people different from the “majority”—and from them—out of “their” organizations.

I published my first book, White

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Awareness, nearly 40 years ago.

It feels like the world is largely still on Chapter One. If we truly want greater inclusion, those of us in “one-up” groups need to continue to own our power and privilege, and be active allies for change.

We need to stop judging and start joining The destructive person-to-person and group-to-group process of judging and being judged by others has been going on since the dawn of time. It is clear how destructive and divisive a “judging culture” is in our society and in our organizations.

Over the past few years, we have been working with organizations to change that culture by creating a “joining mindset,” and encouraging inclusive behaviors, as an alternative.

In a “judging culture,” we make new team members jump through hoops before they earn our trust.

It wastes time, prevents effective communication and collaboration, and results in people thinking that judging is the way to engage. In a “joining culture,” we assume other people have something to offer, give them the benefit of the doubt, are curious about their different perspectives, and work to solve problems together.

What’s next?

I still feel as though my work has just begun, so being recognized as one of the pioneers of diversity and inclusion feels odd, but it gives me license to paraphrase Gloria Steinem on the pioneers’ behalf: “We are all part of a thin red line through history. Our work will not be done in our lifetime— as we once thought it might be.”

From where I sit today it is evident that there is much work ahead to create organizations and a world that are truly equitable and inclusive, and that value and leverage all our differences.

Here’s to the journey ahead. PDJ

Judith Katz, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group

What Have We Learned?

Diversity Revisited, 2017

By Dr. George F. Simons

D

iversity began as a moral, sometimes religious, concern for social justice— the right thing to do. It sought and found legislative implementation, so that organizations felt required to establish diversity programs and policies, and train people to carry them out in everyday organizational life. The challenge a decade ago seemed to be finding ways to help organizations understand the objectives and benefits of workforce diversity, and to eliminate obstacles to the success of targeted groups.

Resistance was often outspoken.

Diversity was not an easy sell, and those who would promote and market diversity programs sought to address and reinforce corporate objectives by showing how diversity would contribute to them. Consultants and trainers marketed their services by describing the benefits to ROI—to sales, to corporate reputation, to globalization, and so on. Meanwhile, the focus and technology of diversity interventions was branded and rebranded with such labels as “building the bottom line,” “talent management,” “inclusion,” and the latest hot label, “unconscious bias.”

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I don’t want to disparage these efforts, nor the goodwill and energy we have put into them, but what I have learned is that we have tried to act as cultural intermediaries, framing ideas and processes in the language of the corporate target audience, so that diversity appears to be a normal part of their functioning.

In short, we have accepted, and are operating within, the meta-narrative of commodification. We collaborate, consciously or unconsciously, in promoting diversity as a product to sell, in harmony with our culturally constructed, but highly unfair economic realities. Commodification has tainted our language with concepts like social capital, emotional capital, and intellectual capital, all echoing an accumulationof-wealth mentality. Our intelligence is no less biased because it embodies the social discourse of our prefabricated worlds.

Postmodern and postcolonial thinking, along with neuroscience and cognitive research, are uncovering how we actually function. They allow us to imagine operating within a different narrative than the one we have accepted as reality for several centuries. Socially constructed meta-narratives, the inner voices that individuals and diversityjournal.com

groups listen to, align our thinking and behavior with the very systems we are trying to challenge.

This crisis is almost too painful to look at. Our challenge is finding the tools with which to help ourselves and others break the rigid frames of the meta-narratives that prevent the humanization of our societies and our ecology. Some tools already exist, but we have been discouraged from using them; others start to emerge, as we better understand the integral nature of our human selves.

Internal and external resistance to any new vision is to be expected but, if we remember that resistance is pent-up energy, we can find ways to fuel a new vision, rather than reinforce the old one. PDJ

Dr. George F. Simons, Founder, George Simons International

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What Have We Learned?

The Dangers of AI: Will Our Baked-in Biases Come Home to Roost?

By Frederick A. Miller

I

n our article here ten years ago, Judith Katz and I focused on the importance of building inclusive work cultures, a process we described in our book, The Inclusion Breakthrough (2002, Berrett-Koehler Publishers). We are encouraged by how organizations are talking about inclusion and beginning to build it into their success strategies. We’re also pleased to see organizations beginning to focus on building inclusion at the level of individual and team interactions, which we described in Opening Doors to Teamwork and Collaboration: 4 Keys That Change Everything (2013, Berrett-Koehler Publishers). Our clients have seen transformational results, when they make inclusion the “HOW” for getting work done, with documented gains in productivity, error reduction, and employee engagement.

But looking forward, there is an emerging issue that may have consequences larger than anything we, as pioneers and practitioners, have faced in addressing diversity and inclusion.

Robots ≠ People Our firm, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc., has worked with computer companies since 1984, beginning with Digital Equipment Company (DEC).

We have worked with several since, and with IT functions in many organizations.

And we are worried.

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Digital technologies have transformed the way we, as humans, work and think. Whole categories of jobs have disappeared.

Remember linotype? The “steno pool”? Robots are working on assembly lines, performing repetitive tasks faster and more accurately than humans, with no worries about morale or repetitive stress injuries. Could it mean a return to the mechanistic organization models of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? Let’s hope not.

And what of the humans who have been displaced by automation?

There are indications of societal increases in anger and anxiety, with a high correlation between regions with the highest density of robot workers and the highest density of people feeling upset and forgotten.

Their expressions of loss and disenfranchisement sound like the cries of an endangered species.

If Artificial Intelligence (AI) is based on “machine learning,” what is it learning?

At the same time we’re grappling with the shift to more automation of tasks, we’re also facing new challenges brought on by Artificial Intelligence. We’re integrating the decision-making power of AI into more and more aspects of life, but we may be basing our trust in AI-driven devices on false assumptions. The most dangerous

of these assumptions is that machines, by their very nature, are objective.

Some courts use an AI program to help decide conditions for parole after an arrest, but ProPublica reporters have found that the program systematically discriminates against people of color. Self-driving cars will inevitably have to face real-life versions of the “trolley dilemma.” Whose moral judgment will go into the programming?

“Intelligent” machines are programmed either by humans (from an industry with a record on diversity issues that is spotty at best), or through “machine learning,” which may simply replicate biases built into the systems used in the learning process, such as the skewed demographics of arrest records, or language itself, including all its racism and gender bias.

This is the question that troubles me most: How can machines be made free of the biases we cannot free ourselves from? PDJ

Frederick A. Miller, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group

What Have We Learned?

Now, more than ever, Diversity needs strong and ethical leaders who will...

TAKE A STAND

By Jude Smith Rachele, CEO Abundant Sun

We are challenged to redefine what “inclusion” means. Our current times demand that our leadership becomes more engaged in equality, diversity, and inclusion, and that we take a strong and diplomatic stand against unethical practices.

– Jude Smith Rachele, PhD

W

e may ask ourselves, “What necessitated the need for the concept of organizational diversity and inclusion in the first place?” The answer is simple. It was the need to curb the detrimental effects of corrupt, exploitative, and oppressive business practices and cultures.

We have had to work long and hard to achieve equal rights, and to diversify workforces, with the help of legal protection, for those who historically have been vulnerable and exploited. But, let’s be honest, barriers and ceilings still exist for many groups. Ironically, some people believe diversity and inclusion practices themselves have been discriminatory, inequitable, and unjust. Today, we are experiencing a global backlash.

There is a brand-new category of people claiming their rights and freedoms have been unfulfilled, overlooked, or disregarded by diversity and inclusion. In wider political spheres, attempts are being made to undo the civil rights and social justice achievements of the past 50 years. As political pendulums swing in the twentyfirst century, it appears history

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is trying to haunt us. Justice for some appears to be falling by the wayside. Justice for others is in the making.

We are in crisis. We need strong, ethical leadership, both outside and within our organizations, to help see us through. We need leaders who do more than stand back and rubber stamp diversity initiatives.

Our leadership, now more than ever, needs to be involved and to stand up. We need to develop a greater capacity to think critically and diplomatically about our diversity and inclusion initiatives and challenges, and to ask hard questions of ourselves about the extent to which our traditional approaches are being truly effective.

There is a lot buzz about inclusive leadership, for good reason. Recently, several CEOs publicly stood by their personal and organizational values. They put themselves on the line when confronted with the prospect of being complicit in what they perceived to be unethical behavior.

They have shown courage and conviction, and affirmed that there is no longer any room for

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complacency in the matter of diversity and inclusion.

It would be an enormous loss if the many gains made in the twentieth century were to disappear. We have learned that history may soon repeat itself if we don’t stand up to injustice.

But we also have to understand injustice better, and what it takes to be truly inclusive. No matter how much diversity an organization has on paper, if our organizations do not have an ethical climate, and demonstrably strong ethical, engaged, and enlightened leadership, it will be very difficult to for our organizations and our societies to thrive. PDJ

Jude Smith Rachele, CEO Abundant Sun

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What Have We Learned?

The 20-Year Perspective of a Global Pioneer: Michael Stuber, the D&I Engineer When Michael Stuber started his diversity and innovation (D&I) work 20 years ago, it was a greenfield venture in Europe. So he set out to do his own research and develop a D&I consulting firm from scratch. In this article, he provides his specific perspective, learnings from the past, and perspectives for the future.

FIRST LEARNING: D&I works— like a value-creation process For many experts and practitioners, the most positive learning about D&I might be this: It works. D&I actually leads to tangible benefits for organizations and individuals, and offers a sometimes remarkably high ROI. However, it’s not simply a case of “differences equal improvement.” Over the years, more sophisticated paradigms evolved, and today, we have both empirical evidence and a wealth of success stories that show that a healthy mix, an open mindset and culture, and inclusive processes and behaviors are required to generate added value. The fact that this works consistently and systematically for each of the dimensions of diversity is reflected by the value-creation process we call The Propelling Performance Principle. It allows people to easily understand the what, why, and how of D&I. And it shows clearly that diversity and inclusion should not be seen as alternative foci or as a journey from one element to the next. Each element is equally important and all need to be in synch

THE PROPELLING PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLE

D

&

I

Differences diversity

Mind-set/vaules openness

Behaviours inclusion

D&I as a value-creation process

for success. While a “fair share” for different societal groups is an adequate political goal, the private sector should set D&I objectives regarding engagement, market share, innovation, and reputation.

Representation metrics will then tell us if our processes are actually meritocratic and also implemented in an unbiased way. Unfortunately, many of these key performance indicators (KPIs)—even after 20 years of intense D&I work—still show gaps and tell us that we must continue to improve in order to better leverage talent and foster engagement.

THIRD LEARNING: D&I means change—and must continue to change itself

It is precisely this change energy that has been lost in many parts of SECOND LEARNING: the D&I world. With hundreds of Numbers can kill D&I successful internal initiatives and external programs, D&I departments The D&I value-creation process have become quite occupied with also shows why the strong focus on their year-round work, including representation metrics has created communicating their successes. In backlash in many places. Negative reactions are strongest when numbers this busy situation, should we still aim to get to the next level and are are communicated as goals or we ready to take another, even closer objectives, rather than as indicators

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Outcome value-added

look, to find the still hidden issues that should be improved? And are we ready to unlearn some of the things that made us successful in the past?

FOURTH LEARNING: Standardization can kill D&I Successful strategies and tools have been developed and matured over the years. Just like other functions, D&I has developed widespread frameworks (some might call them blueprints) that travel from organization to organization and, within organizations, around the globe. While there are basic dynamics that work similarly in different contexts, generic strategies like “workforce–workplace–marketplace” often do not reflect enough of the specifics of various business models or cultural environments in order to create momentum. We already see a number of examples where globally unified concepts lead to a disconnect that can ultimately mean disruption. While efficient execution is surely paramount, it appears that D&I has to be better tailored to its implementation context—and it has to leave some of its comfort zones.

KEY LEARNINGS

PERSPECTIVES

D&I must be synchronised in order to be able to add value

D&I stays relevant if it addresses the individuality of people

Numbers must not represent a goal but a metric to monitor success

D&I has to apply truly inclusive strategies to engage mainstream groups

D&I must pursue a change mission and aim for improvements

Business case evidence has to be stronger than normative morale or ethics

about its own echo chamber(s) as a possible limiting factor.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: D&I must set and comply with high standards—beyond the network bubble

With the number of D&I practices and practitioners, knowledge and Global or standardized strategies or tools D&I has to role-model its own standards of knowhow in the field seems to have fail if not deployed in a contextualized way fairness, meritocracy and inclusion become a commodity. In addition, platforms and networks offer easy Summary of Key Messages access to information and contacts. In always correct such developments— FIRST PERSPECTIVE: this environment, D&I people act in a the latest on Election Day. Quite a Get out of the box— very human way that they might warn few countries have gone in different Individuality is the future of in other contexts, such as asking directions and created an atmosphere a network contact, instead of doing in which post-truth campaigning An increasing number of D&I your own research; hiring someone spreads even within companies—the who fits or happens to contact you programs today are “inclusive” in Google Memo case is probably the that they accommodate members at that moment, instead of doing an best known recent example. We in the objective rating based on criteria; or of the respective dominant group/s D&I community have to ask ourselves not making time to read fact-based (e.g., men in gender initiatives). if we contributed in any way to this However, the focus on the core input, while you invest days and days seeming reversal, and how we can go in publicity. Is it destructive or helpful diversity constituencies continues, about addressing it in the future. for legal and other reasons, and it to flag such behavior (the above continues to reinforce mental patterns examples are real)? Although I was THIRD PERSPECTIVE: Back or even stereotypes. While we criticized at times for being forthright to the roots of D&I—and an need to connect with our audiences regarding such issues, I think it is vital evidence-based rationale perceptions of diversity, the future to see where we do not walk our talk. will demand D&I frameworks that The future of D&I partly depends on Especially regarding morale and place individuality at the center. our credibility. In other words, D&I justice reasoning, D&I has always For people today have many more has to model D&I. PDJ had a normative component. This opportunities to develop their individuality in a global, digital world. can naturally create resistance, which D&I used to avoid by encouraging This has, at the same time, created self-reflection and letting people new space for traditionalist thinking experience the dynamics of difference. and the technical environment for Such open formats have become post-truth campaigns. less accepted as key learnings and action planning rule workshops.

SECOND PERSPECTIVE: Be ready to deal with post-truth We have found ways to combine the two philosophies, and we see that campaigns—proactively Michael Stuber conducted International open interaction helps to reach even D&I research and launched his consulting firm, European Diversity, in 1997. He is outspoken critics. Even more so, as For most of the D&I community, still committed to innovating, taking an we use the overwhelming evidence, it was unimaginable that societies international perspective, and basing gathered over 20 years, about how that had made enormous progress his work on evidence. It’s no surprise that he makes sure all parts of D&I D&I functions. Utilizing rational on nondiscrimination, equity, and interlock and perform—Stuber is a levers is not always considered equality could go back to open German engineer. Today, his clients very sexy, but it works well to start nationalism, racism, sexism, or include some of the most admired U.S. and European multinationals. His blog homophobia. Statistically (not from a a conversation that then can be (http://en.diversitymine.eu) boasts an mindset perspective), we thought the expanded. When it comes to hard unrivalled 1,800+ articles that reflect his evidence and integrating fact-based large combined majority of women unparalleled experience. input, D&I has to be self-critical and minority groups alone would FALL 2017

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What Have We Learned?

10 Years Later

By Trevor Wilson

W

ow, time sure flies when you’re having fun! It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago that we used this space to call for an evolution in thinking related to diversity.

A call to move beyond the superficial differences, such as gender, skin color, age, and sexual orientation, and towards a more meaningful categorization of differences—differences that may inform but never define who a person really is. In that article, we introduced the concept of human equity™, a revolutionary approach to maximizing on the total human capital available to any corporate entity.

So what has happened in the past ten years? Well, it took about six more years to research, refine, and comprehensively test the area of human equity. This journey was then documented in the book The Human Equity Advantage: Beyond Diversity to Talent Optimization.

Shortly after the publication of the book, we were approached by a number of innovative employers seeking to move their groupfocused diversity programs towards the individual talent focus of human equity. Our experience implementing human equity over the past decade has allowed us to learn several significant lessons.

age, and sexual orientation to those differences that epitomize the uniqueness of individual talent, including both tangible and intangible characteristics.

Lesson 1

Lesson 4

In order for diversity to evolve and become a critical part of today’s business dialogue, the programs must move beyond the superficial differences of gender, race, culture,

In order for diversity to evolve, its guiding principle must be equity for all versus equity for some, regardless of the legislated

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Lesson 2 Typical group-based diversity programs can frequently lead to a hierarchy of inequity which breeds destructive intergroup competition with white, middle-class women at the top of the heap and white middle-aged men at the bottom (if they are included at all).

Lesson 3 In order for diversity to be relevant to today’s business agenda, the program must first focus on the behavior of leadership. Our experience over the past two decades clearly shows that shifting leadership behavior in key areas, such as dignity and respect, ethics and integrity, equitable opportunity, leveraging talent, and openness to differences, is the lynchpin of creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for all. As we like to say, corporate cultures do not change because people think differently, they change because people (especially key leaders) behave differently.

or litigated circumstances faced by the organization.

Lesson 5 In order for diversity to be relevant to today’s business agenda, metrics must be linked to employee engagement measured through a diversity lens. It must also move beyond the usual deficit focus of human resources towards a positive psychology focus inherent in human equity.

Ten years ago, one of the pioneers featured in the first round of articles warned, “Depending on the decisions made now, diversity’s impact is likely to range from incidental to transformative.”

In light of the current political environment, it is relatively clear which side of that argument won.

However, if we heed the lessons of the past, there is still time to evolve diversity into human equity interventions that can substantially transform current and future work environments.

See you in ten years! (insha’Allah) PDJ

Trevor Wilson, Founder and President of TWI Inc.

® Profiles in Diversity Journal invites your organization to participate in our 17th Annual Women Worth Watching® special celebration issue.

Nominate one of your most influential women executives.

This special issue will showcase the 2018 Women Worth Watching from companies, organizations, and nonprofits around the world.

Those nominees selected for participation will receive a detailed and professionally written feature article in the publication, complete with their color photograph and corporate logo. The write ups dedicate an entire page to each woman and bring acclaim to their companies for promoting women's leadership within the ranks.

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®

Learn more about this special edition and review Women Worth Watching profiles at:

All Things Diversity & Inclusion

www.womenworthwatching.com FALL 2017

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Diversity Is Not Just a Concept: It Is a Mandatory Strategy

By Myrtha B. Casanova, European Institute for Managing Diversity (EIMD)

T

he evidence of global diversity as the fundamental characteristic of this era is unquestionable. But it has not spurred the corporate or political governance communities to understand that the mega-differences of peoples from different cultures, demographic profiles, and areas of the world are the cause of the major conflicts that endanger humanity.

These differences also generate innovation at companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Henkel, in which D&I management is a corporate policy.

Today’s world started yesterday … of course The roots of today’s diversity and inclusion strategies lie in the work of many scientists, scholars, business visionaries, and others. For almost half a century, thought leaders have discussed the issues, and the possibilities, raised by diversity and inclusion. The following is a list of the names of some of those who studied the topic, as well as their

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findings, strategies, and proposed models of diversity management: • In the 1970s, members of the scientific community Abernathy and Utterback identified diversity as the singular characteristic of the 21st century.

• In the 1980s, Johnston and Packard established that diversity generates conflict, which must be managed.

• In the 1990s, Cox and Blake concluded that well-included human groups generate innovation and, therefore, human development.

inclusion of diversity studies at academic institutions. Results showed that, at that time, only 3 percent of universities had introduced diversity as a subject in their institutions.

When repeated in 2008, in a research project carried out for the EU, the figure had risen to 9.7 percent—still short of the desired number. Only when diversity management is part of the academic curriculum do new graduates, as they enter corporate roles or occupy administration posts, implement the strategy in their professional lives.

• In the 2000s, Adler, Richard and Shelor, among others, shyly introduced the idea of making diversity part of the academic curriculum.

• In 2005, scientists like Nigel Bassett-Jones, Richard and Shelor, and Gonzalo Sanchez Gardey proposed models for corporate diversity management.

• In 2003, Richard Garner, founder of the Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (CSES), clearly established the business case for diversity.

• In 2011, diversity issues, which had been under the Director General of Labor and Social Affairs, were passed on to DG Justice. Ending discrimination became a social, economic, and legal mandate.

• In 2003, the EIMD conducted global research to analyze the

The world of tomorrow starts today If it was a challenge 15 years ago to describe a vision of diversity and inclusion today, forecasting the diverse dimension of the world tomorrow is pure science fiction.

Nevertheless, actions must be taken in order to safeguard equal treatment, control conflicts, and foster corporate and governance results. The following are 10 actions crucial for success: 1. Educate: Address stereotyping (unconscious bias) in order to eliminate discrimination and foster inclusion.

2. Academic activity: Conduct research and share expert knowledge regarding diversity management as a business case and as governance.

3. Start-ups: Each new company must begin with a diverse workforce as the basis for sustainability, and to ensure that it will be able to anticipate change in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) future scenarios; it is very difficult to transform corporate behavior in companies with long-established cultures.

4. Workforce: The workforce must always reflect the diversity of

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changing external agents in a continuous system of contextual transformation due to the impact of diversity in all fields of activity.

5. Blind selection: Ensure that talent is recruited and promoted based on talent and qualifications, without regard for diverse profile 6. Value talent: Consider individual efficiency and contribution to corporate sustainability, rather than time spent at work 7. Create diverse teams, in private and public organizations, to avoid conflict, support innovation, and advance toward sustainable growth 8. Quotas: Numbers should never set strategies—they should only measure whether strategies are met; “Recruit 20 percent more women� is not an efficient objective, since being female guarantees neither the talent required for a job nor the value contributed to corporate results. Companies must recruit and select the best-qualified candidates.

If this results in a 30 percent increase in hiring women, it is evidence of the richness of diversity. This is equally valid

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when addressing profiles of age, ethnicities, disability, cultures, religions/beliefs, languages, or sexual orientation.

9. Visibility: Share the strategies and results of organizations that successfully manage diversity and inclusion in order to spur a desire to emulate their diverse and transformational scenarios.

10. Scenario building: Companies must include forecasting as a constant corporate activity in order to know how to select and prepare leaders who can take the company into a sustainable future of exponential diverse growth. PDJ

Myrtha B. Casanova, European Institute for Managing Diversity

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CORPORATE INDEX BOLD DENOTES ADVERTISER BLUE PAGE NUMBER OF AD Abundant Sun ................................................................................................................................................................................. 61 American Conference on Diversity ........................................................................................................................................ 47 Beyond Borders, Inc. ................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Catalyst ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 CVS Health ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 European Diversity Research & Consulting ......................................................................................................................... 62 European Institute for Managing Diversity ......................................................................................................................... 66 First Horizon National Corporation ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Fish & Richardson ........................................................................................................................................................... 24, 46, 47 George Simons International .................................................................................................................................................... 59 HARMAN .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 HCA Healthcare ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28, 29 HP ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc. ............................................................................................................................................................ 55 IAC Applications ............................................................................................................................................................................ 30 IHS Markit ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 InsideSource .................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Insight Education Systems ........................................................................................................................................................ 56 Johns Hopkins ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5, 14 K&L Gates LLP ........................................................................................................................................................................ 46, 47 KPMG ........................................................................................................................................................... inside front cover, 16 Moss Adams ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Nelson Mullins ................................................................................................................................................................................. 32 New York Life .......................................................................................................................................... 20, inside back cover Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute ................................................................................................... 46 PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ..................................................................................................................... back cover Robins Kaplan LLP ....................................................................................................................................................................... 33 SAP ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP ............................................................................................................................................................. 35 The Centre for Global Inclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 54 The German Marshall Fund of the United States ............................................................................................................... 12 The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. ................................................................................................................. 58, 60 The Walt Disney Company .................................................................................................................................................. 18, 44 The Winters Group, Inc. .............................................................................................................................................................. 53 Towson University ......................................................................................................................................................................... 38 TWI Inc. ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 64

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combining our strengths can lead to greater opportunities.

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