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ARTICLES
Charting the Path to Equity in the Workplace
The following article was written as a follow-up to an article by the same author that appeared in the fall 2020 issue of PDJ. To read the original article, entitled “Four Essential Levers CEOs Can Adopt to Achieve Racial and Gender Equality,” go to the PDJ homepage (diversityjournal.com) and click on Fall 2020—Diversity Journal.
By Donald Fan, Senior Director, Global Office of Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Walmart
More and more organizations have recognized the significance of advancing equity as a strategic imperative and competitive advantage. In my article, which appeared in the fall issue of this publication and was entitled “Four Essential Levers CEOs Can Adopt to Achieve Racial and Gender Equality,” I discussed how the following four essential factors play an integral role in cultivating an equitable and inclusive culture: leading purposefully; making a cultural change; fostering an ecosystem; and focusing on actions and changes. In order to spark further discussion and exchanges of best practices, I will share some programmatic approaches my employer, Walmart, has taken and what we have learned along this journey.
Leading Purposefully
Business executives set the tone and lead the change through an overarching outlook, explicit expectations, and unwavering grit.
In June 2020, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced a fiveyear, $100 million commitment to establish a Center For Racial Equity. This pledge is part of an ambitious effort to influence and lead change in society by investing resources and developing strategies to increase fairness, equity, and justice in aspects of everyday life. The investments are particularly focused on racial equity in our nation’s criminal justice, education/workforce, financial, and healthcare systems. We will find the areas where our core business can help change systems that perpetuate racism and discrimination. This is in addition to the work we have been doing to build a more inclusive company.
Since June, we have extended and accelerated societal impact through the new Center for Racial Equity. The center’s initiatives fund research, advocacy, innovation of practices and tools, and support the work of Black philanthropic leaders and organizations that serve Black communities. The center also has provided counsel across Walmart to increase understanding and improve efforts that promote equity and address the structural racism that persists in America. Earlier this year, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation distributed the first $14.3 million to 16 nonprofit organizations that advance racial equity in education, health care, and more.
Additionally, four Shared Value Networks (SVNs) were created to help society address the root causes of racial disparities in these systems. SVNs are teams of Walmart associates who come together to help solve societal problems by identifying the natural overlaps between Walmart capabilities (products, services, technology, sourcing, jobs, advancement, etc.) and opportunities to advance racial equity at scale.
Walmart CEO participated in multiple national pledges and committed to achieving racial and gender parity across all levels in the workplace. In an email to our associates, Doug said, “As an associate at Walmart, you are expected to truly, authentically, and more deeply embrace inclusion. We must work together to actively shape the culture to be more inclusive and not just accept our differences but celebrate them—all the time—within every team. We have made a difference in the world in so many ways. We can make a meaningful, lasting difference in racial equity, too.”
Doug chairs the President’s Inclusion Council to improve our talent pipeline and diverse representation in senior leadership by operationalizing practices, principles, and processes related to Walmart’s culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy, including talent lifecycle integration, modernizing measurements, building an inclusive brand, and activating the culture.
The following four guiding principles improve the company’s health in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and ensure that we maintain our commitment to racial and gender parity: • Objectivity–Minimize subjectivity to reduce the risk of bias in talent processes. • Transparency–Increase access to information through communication and collaboration. • Data-driven decisions–Collect and analyze data and generate verifiable insights to make better decisions. • Accountability–Promote action through ownership and acceptance of responsibility for inclusive behaviors.
Our CEO leverages the monthly diversity and inclusion report to constantly engage the executive committee members and urge impactful change through continuous dis-
cussions and action plans, using data stories to uncover WHAT (issues that stand in the way); employ insight and intelligence to explain WHY (root cause); and commit to HOW (action plans to tackle the problems and sustain the progress). Every corporate officer has access to the Enterprise DEI Dashboard, which provides indepth visibility of the talent composition, mobility, and movement trending for their organization. The data is updated each month, so business leaders can respond in a timely fashion to localized and current challenges. And the PeopleBot mobile app, supported by AI and machine-learning, allows them to reveal DEI stats and insights right away with voice or keyword commends.
Making a Cultural Change
Advancing equity and inclusivity calls for a cultural change. Walmart Chief Global People Officer Donna Morris said, “Ultimately, the role in building a more inclusive culture starts with every associate working at Walmart, and we’re taking steps to make that happen every day. We will win in retail and business through our humanity, and we’ll display our humanity when we do our best to be open, understanding, kind, and accepting of others as their authentic selves.”
We push ourselves harder to create an inclusive and equitable culture at Walmart—for each other, for our customers, and for our communities. Our collective beliefs and behaviors will make a difference.
Our new DEI playbook adopts upstream thinking—exploring and resolving root causes through committed action and targeted change to prevent issues from arising. Like the first principles in physics, pivoting on uncovering the essence of the world rather than assumptions driven by superficial appearance, this approach aims to discover and implement a system- and process-based solution. It starts with cultivating an equitable and inclusive work environment.
Another determining factor of making a cultural change is psychological safety. In his latest book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, Adam Grant indicates that without psychological safety, people hide mistakes and withhold ideas. They aim to prove themselves and protect their image. With psychological safety, people admit errors and voice suggestions. They strive to improve themselves and protect their team.
Walmart proceeds with open and honest conversations, fosters trust-based relationships, nurtures an inclusive environment, and takes action to mitigate racial and gender inequity and injustice. The Associate Resource Groups utilize monthly events and listening sessions as feedback loops to elevate their collective voice and connect with diverse talent.
As part of a multitude of efforts in driving racial justice, Walmart’s CEO recently initiated a video series titled, On the Journey: Conversations with Doug About Racial Equity at Walmart. He hosts candid conversations with Walmart leaders on various racial justice topics and explores opportunities to build a culture of inclusivity and equity in our workplace and beyond the four walls of our company.
Walmart launched the RACE Ahead (Raising Authentic Conversations on Equity) series in June 2020 with a panel conversation that featured senior company leaders discussing Walmart’s response to racial inequity and the disparate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. Each session seeks to create a safe space for transparent, relevant, and solutions-oriented conversations that are respectful and inclusive of all perspectives.
We believe we are stronger as a company and a society when people
are heard, included, and empowered. Not just hoping for that change, we are acting boldly to create that culture change.
Fostering a Supportive Ecosystem
According to a study by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org, white men still hold 66 percent of C-suite positions and 59 percent of senior vice president posts nationally. White women hold the second-largest share of such positions, though they lag significantly behind their male counterparts, filling only 19 percent of C-suite jobs and 23 percent of senior vice president spots. Men of color account for 12 percent and 13 percent of such roles, respectively, while women of color hold only 3 percent and 5 percent. To turn it around and accelerate equity in the workplace calls for a supportive ecology.
At Walmart, our DEI vision is to include everyone. By fostering an interconnected ecosystem, where everyone is—and feels—included, everyone wins. The stakeholders in this support system depend on each other but share a common purpose and collaborate to achieve the overarching objective. Getting everyone engaged is essential for winning the game.
We introduced MARC, Men Advocating Real Change Workshop, a Catalyst initiative to inspire our male executives to leverage their unique opportunity and responsibility to be advocates and change agents for equity. The research-based, experiential learning disrupts traditional DEI approaches to enhance gender partnership and accelerate inclusive workplaces. The participants developed a deeper understanding of the dynamics and implications of inequity, practiced skills to proactively of color. This program brings a suite of education benefits together to make it easier for our associates to learn about and access options designed to help them unlock their futures. It includes Walmart’s $1 a Day for College Degree Program, tuition-free high school diploma or GED completion, tuition discounts on advanced degrees, free foreign language learning courses, and LinkedIn Learning courses.
Our DEI Toolkit introduced fair, equitable, and bias-free processes, policies, and practices to our talent lifecycle—in recruiting, hiring, talent review, promotion, performance evaluation, and posting open positions internally first in order to drive talent development and mobility. Investing in these critical moments enriches the career experience of our diverse talent, increases their engagement, and elevates their performance. life’s biggest moments. And as we take care of our associates, they focus on the care of our customers and communities worldwide.
Focusing on Mindset and Behavior Change
Organizations with a growth mindset are more mentally primed to approach and take on challenges, take advantage of feedback, adopt the most effective problem-solving strategies, provide developmental feedback to subordinates, and be persistent in accomplishing goals. Next-generation leaders must develop and demonstrate a growth mindset with an ever-evolving set of characteristics and inclusive leadership skills to achieve business results and personal career growth.
We promote the 6C model of inclusive leadership, originated by Deloitte, by asking the following
challenge exclusionary dynamics, and committed to building a more inclusive workplace. We keep reminding ourselves if we do not consciously include everyone, we will unconsciously exclude someone.
Walmart invests in associates by supporting them throughout their career journey to unleash their full potential. Our leaders empower store associates to think like entrepreneurs, treating each area of the store as its own small business. That mentality drives autonomy, accountability, and most important, leads to more career opportunities. When our associates know what they own and why, there is nothing they cannot do.
We are encouraged by growth and development specific to our Live Better U (LBU) program. Since its launch in 2018, more than 60 percent of the participants have been women, and 47 percent, associates
We hold leaders accountable to make a difference in identifying opportunities to further enhance diversity across all levels in the organization. Each CEO direct report develops his or her customized DEI action plan to sustain the progress. To expand the sphere of influence at scale, we have recently evolved our office’s role to be a strategic partner and advisor to business units—a trusted coach, problem solver, and change agent.
The well-being of our associates continues to be one of our top priorities. Being part of the Walmart team means our associates experience the “live better” promise firsthand. We are focused on three primary forms of well-being—physical, emotional, and financial. By combining worldclass benefits with competitive pay, we are focused on supporting our associates and helping them through core questions and encouraging desired behaviors: 1. Commitment: Can I articulate
Walmart’s commitment to DEI, hold others accountable, and make DEI a personal priority? 2. Courage: Do I stand up against non-inclusive behaviors and microaggressions, challenge the status quo, and lead DEI by example? 3. Cognizance of Bias: Do I know my blind spots, understand flaws in the system, and work hard to be fair, equitable, and inclusive? 4. Curiosity: Do I demonstrate an open mindset, listen without judgment, and seek empathy to understand those around us? 5. Cultural Intelligence: Am I attentive to others’ cultures and adapt as required?
6. Collaboration: Do I empower others by obtaining diversity of thoughts, providing psychological safety, and concentrating on team cohesion?
To develop Inclusive Leadership and cultivate allyship at Walmart, more than 72,000 of our managers have Inclusive Leadership Expectations each year. They are required to do the following: • Participate in approved Inclusive
Leadership Education offerings • Actively mentor at least 2 associates, host a mentoring circle, or participate as a mentor in a program such as Lean In
Mentoring Circles • Complete the Unconscious
Bias in Hiring module • Participate in using diverse slates/panels and internal posting standards
A Mentor-Matching tool backed by AI facilitates both mentors and mentees to find the right peer based on individual career interests, developmental needs, and personal profile. Walmart’s inclusive leadership curriculum and content library offers our team leads and managers training sessions and self-learning materials on various topics related to DEI. We recommend that all associates participate in the self-paced Race & Inclusion Learning Paths. And we encourage our male associates to choose from among more than 1,000 Lean In Circles, to have more dynamic conversations and become advocates in advancing gender equity in our work environment.
The pathway for change involves leadership sponsorship, champions as role models and first followers, a sense of purpose, and grit for execution. By applying design thinking, we become intentional in devising programs and initiatives that contribute to mindset and behavior change. was named a Top 32 Company for Diversity by DiversityInc in 2020 and among the Top 11 in Fortune’s World Most Admired Companies 2021.
We know we have more work to do. We will continue to invest in our associates, and help them remove barriers and achieve their career aspirations. We will concentrate on listening, learning, and elevating our associates’ voices, ensuring that we drive changes that will create a Walmart where everyone feels included and valued, and has an equal opportunity for growth, development, rewards, and impact.
Chief Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer Ben Hasan said, “If this year has taught me anything, it’s that none of us knows what tomorrow will bring. What I do know is that if we’re all committed to listening, learning, and leading, there’s hope that tomorrow will be a little more inclusive and equitable than today.” In sharing this common purpose,
Conclusion
Today, 40 percent of our CEO’s direct reports are women. In our U.S. operations, women make up 55 percent of our workforce, 47 percent of management, and 32 percent of corporate officers. Associates of color make up 47 percent of our total workforce, 37 percent of management, and 27 percent of corporate officers. Walmart we all understand our obligation, feel part of the larger story, and are proud of our accomplishments along the journey. PDJ
Donald Fan serves as Senior Director in the Global
Office of Culture,
Diver¬sity, Equity & Inclusion at
Walmart Inc.’
Five Ways Women Can Help Women
(Including Themselves) SUCCEED in the WORKPLACE
By Vickie Thrasher, Senior Vice President Human Resources – Organization and People Capability, Oracle
It’s hardly news that the can help themselves do well in as quickly as possible. Some comCOVID-19 pandemic has hit the workplace, based on my two panies call these buddy programs. the workforce hard worldwide decades of experience as a human Whatever the name, the goal is to or that it has disproportionately resource professional. support the new employee on her impacted women, including women of color. During the pandemic, this group suffered involuntary layoffs or were forced by childcare considerations to leave their jobs in 1 1: Be Curious–Ask questions, early and often. Asking questions and, equally entry into the work environment. In my opinion, the gender of the mentor isn’t important, as long as he or she is a person who is willing and able to share time and knowledge, and huge numbers. In September alone, important, listening carefully to the takes an active interest in pushing the 865,000 women left the U.S. workforce—that is four times the number of men (216,000) impacted in the same period, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics. 3protégé’s career agenda. 3: Build your networks Besides her immediate workgroup, responses, is something HR professionals and hiring managers value in potential hires. I especially appreciate it if Ms. Newhire shows creativity in what she asks. As a prospective
Last fall, an executive with a hire, if she takes the reins and de- Ms. Newhire should seek out other U.K. charity that serves disadvan- parts from the usual FAQs about pay, networking opportunities at the ortaged women estimated that benefits, and duties, and asks me, ganization. Large companies like Orpandemic-related loss of school for example, about the hardest and/ acle, for example, sponsor Employee and daycare services will set women or best parts of my job, I see a person Resource Groups (ERGs) for Women, back 10 years in terms of employ- who wants to know about me and my LGBTQ+, Black, Hispanic, and Asian ment opportunities, according to role, as well as about the niceties of employees, as well as groups for vetThe New York Times. the position she’s applying for. Never erans, cross-generational employees, In this context, it behooves all of us to accelerate our efforts to support women, particularly women from underrepresented communities, in their efforts to enter the workforce 2a bad thing. 2: Find a Mentor I am a big proponent of menand those with diverse abilities. These groups can be founts of information and support in navigating how to work best at a company. And, depending on Ms. Newhire’s and succeed once employed. torship. New employees, like Ms. area of expertise, it can be rewarding
Here are some suggestions for Newhire, should try to find a for her to join other workgroups set how women—in this case represented person who shares her interests up around that specialty, both inside by the fictional Susan Newhire— and can help her get up and running and beyond the company. I would
recommend, however, that she start with groups inside her organization, “Organizations that explicitly or inadvertently while she acclimates to the new culture, before extending her reach marginalize the voices of women or other to outside organizations. underrepresented groups don’t just hurt the
As she builds her personal network at the company, it is also affected employees. They also impact their extremely smart for Ms. Newhire own ability to sell products and services to to keep in touch with colleagues who move on to other opportunities, the broadest possible audience.” both within and outside the compa4 5 ny. It’s high time that women build a better and more powerful “old girls’ network,” after all. 4: Read the room Women often face genderbased obstacles in the workplace. But not all offenses are equal. If, for example, a male coworker repeatedly “mansplains” or talks over Ms. Newhire, whether she is his colleague, subordinate, or even his manager, it’s useful to try to suss out what drives his behavior. It is possible that the mansplainer is not even aware of his tendency. If the interaction takes place in a collegial group, Newhire’s best response might be something tinged with humor, such as: “Wow, I agree with that, but maybe you should say you’re agreeing with me because I said the same thing five minutes ago!” If the man in question is doing this unconsciously, he will likely try to do better. (And if not, Newhire should keep prodding.) If the atmosphere is not so friendly, she may be better off taking the conversation offline, perhaps soliciting advice—discreetly, of course—from coworkers. At some point, she may need to take him aside to say that his habit makes her job harder and stifles creativity. If that effort fails, Newhire should consider talking to his supervisor or, if the situation warrants it, to someone in HR. 5: Share, share, share Women sometimes tend to be less forthcoming about pushing their own thoughts and ideas for possible improvement. This may be due to a culturally induced sense of deference or lack of confidence. The sooner we all understand what might seem like a silly idea can lead to creativity and breakthroughs, the better for everyone. Many innovative products we use today, started off as ideas that were initially thought to be “unrealistic.” That’s why it’s extremely important for employees like Ms. Newhire to be proactive about sharing their thoughts for improving internal workflows and processes, as well as for products and services sold. And, getting back to that “old girls’ network”…. Once Newhire has achieved success in carving out her career, she needs to share her experiences with women who come after her, whether that is through mentorship, participating in ERGs, or through her professional networks. Why this matters to everyone We live in a hypercompetitive world in which every company— whether in high tech, manufacturing, entertainment, financial services, or retail—needs to expand its potential customer base for continued success. Organizations that explicitly or inadvertently marginalize the voices of women or other underrepresented groups don’t just hurt the affected employees. They also impact their own ability to sell products and services to the broadest possible audience. That is simply not good business. PDJ
Vickie Thrasher currently serves as Oracle’s senior vice president of HR. In her current role, she leads Oracle’s Organization Talent Development, Diversity Compliance and Inclusion, Employment Practices, Oracle Women’s Leadership, Top Talent Development, HR Strategic Communications, and Organization Design and Insights. Vickie joined Oracle Corporation in 1996 as an HR consultant and in 2000, she was promoted to vice president of business HR for North America Sales. As Oracle experienced exceptional growth, she was given additional responsibility, ultimately responsible for Business HR for the Americas. She has directed and led a variety of major initiatives in the areas of Talent and Performance Management, as well as M&A integration. With more than two decades of HR experience, Vickie has led HR teams across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, health care, telecommunications, and information technology.
Vickie attended Michigan State University earning a B.A. in Social Science, Labor and Industrial Relations and Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania earning a M.A. in Industrial Relations. She currently lives with her husband Greg, in the DC metropolitan area.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Looking inside and out for change in 2021 By Teshia Levy-Grant
In recent years, many organizations have focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. But renewed national attention on social justice is paving the way for more and greater change in 2021.
Data from employment and recruiting site Glassdoor shows that DEI-related job openings across all industries have risen by 55 percent since June 2020.
Hiring DEI leaders is the first step, but continuing the momentum requires more action and support from leadership.
Given the changing landscape and national awareness, the time is now for companies to engage and think outside the box to respond to the growing focus on diverse talent.
Internally, your organization’s DEI philosophy should be connected to your values. At
Webster Bank, we are dedicated to respecting the dignity of every individual and acting with responsible and ethical behavior. These values are at the core of who we are, and our DEI efforts flow directly from them.
We know that the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our bankers enable them to help our customers, and the communities in which we live and work, to achieve their financial goals.
Externally, it’s important for companies to specifically assess processes and procedures to ensure truly diverse employee populations, from recruiting new employees to retaining existing ones.
Recruiting Diverse Talent
• Certify your frontline. From the very first contact potential candidates have with your frontline recruiters, they should recognize your company’s commitment to DEI.
With diversity certification from providers like Advanced
Internet Recruitment Strategies (AIRS), recruiters have the knowledge they need to build talent acquisition strategies and partnerships that can help locate diverse and under-represented candidates to fill open positions. • Expand external networks.
To fill entry-level positions, look beyond the official career centers at colleges, and broaden your searches to include other groups. These are some of the ways that
Webster is enhancing recruitment strategies: o Campus multicultural centers. These organizations include people with diverse backgrounds and interests, and they have built trusted relationships with students. The leaders will usually know of individuals who might be a good fit for the positions you want to fill. o The Federal TRIO Programs. Connecting with student services and reaching out to programs for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds as part of your recruiting efforts will allow you to include a larger population of low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and in some instances, students with disabilities. o Professional associa-
tions and college net-
works. Tap into organizations centered on diversity, equity, and inclusion recruiting, such as local alumni networks, and sororities and fraternities, as well as professional recruiters in the DEI space.
• Invest in young talent
programs. Internships are a good way to create a diverse talent pool for your organization. They provide college students or recent graduates with experience that will offer insights into your industry, and can help to identify students who might continue their careers at your company after they graduate.
• Partner with your commu-
nity. Engaging in community networks can also lead to stronger diverse pipelines.
One untapped source in most communities is churches, which can serve as a great vehicle for engagement and information sharing. You can also connect with philanthropic teams to partner in their efforts and build off their networks within the communities you serve. Reach out to your current employees
Make sure everyone, starting with senior leadership, is working toward integrating DEI into the way you do business, develop talent, engage employees, and get involved in the community.”
because many are engaged in community efforts and can serve as vehicles for information sharing, relationship building, and advertising. • Consider remote positions.
With widespread use of virtual tools to maintain remote and productive workforces during the
COVID-19 pandemic, think beyond your general geographical area to broaden your search and potentially fill openings with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Retaining a Diverse Employee Population
• Align all areas with your
DEI philosophy and goals.
DEI into the way you do business, develop talent, engage employees, and get involved in the community. • Practice what you preach.
It’s not enough to give the corporate line regarding what is right. Your organization must live it. At all levels, everyone should be aware of all the ways your company lives its DEI philosophy, whether it’s knowing that your CEO chairs the diversity committee or that your organization donates money to support marginalized communities and work that centers addressing issues of racial inequity. • Encourage mentorship. An effective approach for support and encouragement, mentoring can help guide employees along a positive and successful career path.
So, make it easy for managers and leaders to mentor those coming up through the ranks with similar interests, backgrounds, and experiences.
• Make employee resource
groups more robust. Many organizations offer various groups (e.g., LBGTQIA+, veterans, multicultural, etc.) that allow employees to explore individuality in an environment of personal and professional growth, and mutual respect. However,
ERG success isn’t defined by increasing the number of groups your organization offers. It’s achieved by increasing engagement with the groups you already have.
Ensure that they have executive sponsors and empower them to be allies in addressing the larger DEI goals and strategies of the organization.
• Expand educational events
and activities. To encourage dialogue among employees, provide judgment-free opportunities. Book clubs and speaker series are just two ways you can educate employees regarding DEI issues and allow them to be heard while sharing their perspectives in safe spaces. • Assess results. It’s not enough to mine data from your DEI efforts. In order to send a signal to the entire organization that DEI efforts are
indeed important, you must analyze the data and use it as the basis for change.
Looking Ahead
As we move into a new year, it’s important to realize that DEI efforts should not be performative, or a checkbox on a to-do list. Implicit bias is real. Empowered DEI officers will play a strong role in minimizing (and ultimately, eliminating) bias from organizational processes. That means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable—especially when it comes to ensuring that there is a diverse team of people at the table who are empowered and heard, and who feel valued and included in the decisionmaking processes.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to DEI. However, if you’re not explicit about your company’s stance, then you can be seen as complicit. Now is the time to think about how your organization approaches relationships and partnerships, and use these ideas to shape your own diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. PDJ
Teshia Levy-Grant is senior vice president and diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, at Waterbury, Connnecticut-based Webster Bank. Levy-Grant leads Webster’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council and oversees the bank’s efforts to promote a diverse workforce in an open, inclusive environment.
Belong to Something Beautiful
Nearly two years ago, Sephora debuted its “We Belong to Something Beautiful” campaign, a public articulation of its longstanding company values. Through this, the company promised that it would continue working to make Sephora a place where all people feel they belong. At the same time, Sephora recognized that racially biased and unfair treatment exists broadly in our society, affecting all retailers, including its own stores.
Sephora’s diversity and inclusion mission is simple: to champion all beauty fearlessly, and to build inclusive environments for our employees, consumers, and communities. In 2020, Sephora established its holistic Diversity and Inclusion Heart Journey to support the vision of becoming the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Champion in the retail industry.
The Black Lives Matter movement and the global conversations regarding racial justice last year only increased the urgency of this work and made it clear that we all have more work to do.
Sephora’s Diversity and Inclusion Heart Journey focuses on three key pillars: employees, consumers, and communities. The retailer will dedicate its efforts, now and in the future, to creating spaces and opportunities that celebrate, respect, and honor everyone’s unique beauty.
Below are some of the most recent actions taken by Sephora to continue driving toward the retailer’s goal of becoming the world’s most inclusive beauty community: • In mid-January, Sephora released the results of the firstever large-scale U.S. study on
Racial Bias in Retail, which was commissioned in 2019. The goal of the study was to measure the
problem of racially driven bias as it affected the shopper experience and identify opportunities to end unfair treatment and create an environment that truly serves all. Drawing upon the Diversity and Inclusion Heart Journey and the study’s findings, Sephora designed an action plan focused on three key areas—marketing and merchandising, the in-store experience and operations, and talent and inclusive workplaces— with the goal of mitigating the negative effects of bias. To learn more about the study’s findings and the resulting action plan, please visit: www.sephora.com/ diversity-and-inclusion
talent pools and fostering a more inclusive workplace for all. Sephora has created accessible environments that welcome talent with disabilities across its five distribution centers. By the end of 2021, people with disabilities will account for 12 percent of the workforce in its distribution centers. • In June 2020, Sephora was the first major retailer to take the 15 Percent Pledge and dedicate 15 percent of its assortment to
Black-owned brands. By the end of 2021, Sephora is committed to doubling that percentage. • Each month, Sephora features key nonprofits within its marketing channels, building awareness for their efforts to drive equity and inclusion, and inviting Sephora clients to join. Clients may contribute by redeeming their Beauty Insider points as donations; they have redeemed more than 150 million points as donations since this program’s launch in 2020. • In August 2019, Sephora established Equity Advisors and Partners, an advisory group consisting of leading individuals and top social justice and civil
• Sephora also participated in the
Pull Up for Change challenge, disclosing leadership demographics and committing to increasing representation across all levels of the organization. To build on this, Sephora’s goal is to double its representation of Black leaders to mirror the number of Black employees, who currently make up 14 percent of its workforce.
Sephora will broaden recruitment and career advancement processes for employees of color by expanding upon its existing partnerships, while also launching customized coaching and mentoring programs. • The retailer is also leading the way in offering career opportunities to underserved • Building on this, Sephora recently announced its 2021
Accelerate Cohort, which was originally founded to cultivate female-owned brands, but has since evolved to focus on
BIPOC-founded-and-owned brands. The program will offer a robust curriculum, as well as mentorship, merch support, potential funding, and investor connections, to all involved. The goal is to provide these founders with a community and ecosystem that supports their launch and long-term growth at Sephora.
Sephora is committed to supporting equity, justice, and inclusion within our communities through charitable giving initiatives and strategic partnerships, including these: rights organizations who work at the intersection of race, equity, and culture. Their counsel helps shape Sephora’s work on equity and the way the retailer shows up in the beauty industry and beyond.
Sephora is prepared to hold itself accountable to the community and its team members. As such, the company is implementing a new D&I In-store Experience Dashboard that will provide analytics on client service and feedback to stores on a monthly basis in order to measure employee training participation and efficacy. Sephora will also share its progress broadly bi-annually against these actions on Sephora.com.
Please visit www.sephora.com/ diversity-and-inclusion to learn more. PDJ
EXERTING THE POWER YOU HAVE. RIGHT NOW.
By Janet Crenshaw Smith and Gary A. Smith Sr.
It’s easy to feel helpless and out of control right now. We have been through so much. We did not see the pandemic coming, often feel like we can’t do anything about it, and we can’t be sure what’s next. Amid the crisis of the pandemic, we’re still experiencing social unrest that is continuing to fuel more interest in and expressions of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It has been almost one year since the public killing of George Floyd. Many of us have not yet seen proof of the DEI improvements that were promised.
But know this: When it comes to the topic of DEI, you are neither helpless, nor out of control, nor powerless.
Now is the time to exert the power you have.
The power to say something when you see something
We had to admit that we had underappreciated the huge volume of people who are having a brand-new, very-first-time, awakening about the realities of inequities in the workplace and beyond. A generation of Baby Boomers who were taught to be “colorblind” evidently took that literally. They did not notice race (and other diversity dimensions) and when it was absent in boardrooms and leadership teams, excluded from opportunities and awards, and overrepresented in poor performance ratings, penalties, and punishments, they assumed it was due to fair systems doing their thing of filtering out the inferior and welcoming in excellence. Some of you are pausing and calling “foul!” or maybe even thinking “that’s bullsh*t” right now. I get it. But imagine, just for a moment if you can, that many folks truly did not realize what was happening. What if they did not understand the inequities in decision-making and outcomes? And what if no one was telling them? Two very different realities coexisting at the exact same time. “I didn’t know,” literally colliding with, “How could you not know?”
There have been severe breakdowns in the systems that should have documented and reported gaps and inequities. Many organizations are undertaking quantitative assessment work for the very first time. They are often surprised and shocked with
the findings. They didn’t know. They believed they were operating meritocracies—fair, merit-based systems that different people simply weren’t good enough to succeed in. They never questioned the stories they told themselves, assuming they even took the time to ask the question, “How can whole groups of people be missing?”
So where and what is your power in all of this? Say something. Humans who have unconscious bias create biased systems that lead to inequitable outcomes. You have the power to put a spotlight on the gaps, to create awareness, which is the first step in dismantling biased systems. Speak up and declare, “This is not fair. Let me tell you how things work here.” Reveal, “We are not a meritocracy, and here’s how the subjectivity shows up.”
The power to make referrals
Employee referrals, and unpublicized jobs via word of mouth, continue to be the largest source of new hires for most companies. Employees sourced from employee referrals tend to stay at the organization longer, onboard more easily, and are usually a better “fit.” That’s not only because of the candidates themselves. It’s often because the referred candidate knows more about the organization and its culture than a typical candidate. Here’s the problem. People of color are disproportionately underrepresented in the referral process. They are not referring at the same proportional rates, nor are they being referred. When someone says, “I can’t find anyone,” dip into your diverse network and identify people to refer. Pay attention to the story you tell yourself about why you are not referring more people. Don’t sleep on this one.
The power of feedback
Feedback—specific, timely, and direct—is a gift. Yet when you’re different, you often miss out on helpful insights and guidance that others receive. It’s not easy to give anyone feedback, but it’s even more difficult when diversity is involved. What makes it difficult? Sometimes it is believing that the receiver may become defensive, show emotions, or perceive that you are criticizing them because they are different. Other times it is difficult because it’s not your official role and you don’t want to get involved.
Create a culture where feedback is seen as a gift, where withholding feedback is withholding something that has value. That means growing in our ability to give and receive feedback. If it’s the gift we say it is, then whether giving or receiving, there are no losers when feedback occurs. Then do your part. Make a difference.
The power to take care of yourself
Whether taking care of yourself means saying yes or saying no, exert your power to examine your needs and do your best to provide for yourself. Now more than ever, it’s time to care for yourself—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Pay attention to the resources available to you that you may have, up until now, ignored. Ask for help. The irony here is that asking for help requires being self-aware, secure in yourself, and willing to be vulnerable—the very traits and behaviors that may leave us in difficult times. It is okay to say to yourself, “I’m going to take care of me.”
The Serenity Prayer is commonly quoted as follows: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
May you be granted the serenity to recognize your power and find your authentic voice, and use them both wisely for the benefit of yourself and others. PDJ
Janet Crenshaw Smith and Gary A. Smith Sr. are the cofounders of Ivy Planning Group, a 30-year-old consulting and training firm. They were recipients of PDJ’s 2020 Black Leaders Worth Watching Award, and were named Diversity Pioneers. In 2018, Ivy Planning Group won PDJ’s Innovations in Diversity Award.
Exploring Diversity via
Discussion and Introspection
By Michael Bugeja
Over the course of my academic and professional career, I have tried several methods to increase awareness about diversity and inclusion in my large-section media ethics and technology classes. I also am a frequent speaker in business and organizational meetings. The challenges are the same. Typically, lecturing about the importance of diversity is insufficient. While speeches do inform about concepts associated with racism and stereotypes, too often they fail to inspire discussion and introspection, necessary components of engagement.
Engagement involves emotions. But emotions can backfire in the classroom if they involve persuasion, politics, and passion, especially by the instructor. Students distrust persuasion, politics evoke correctness, and passion entails risk of offense. Any one of those outcomes can stifle or silence discussion.
Emotional intelligence asks us to feel, affirm, and question our own perceptions, values, and convictions.
In 1988 at Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism, I asked students of color to meet privately with me before class. I shared what I intended to do in my predominantly white classroom, inquiring whether they would participate in an exercise that might change attitudes. They agreed. I provided each with a slip of paper and asked them to remember a time when they
As you can see, the question has little to do with diversity and inclusion, but much to do with experience and emotion. Students of color didn’t respond during the initial discussion. Others raised their hands, recalling myriad disappointments. I put each of their words on the chalkboard.
When discussion ended, I circled words my students of color had previously provided, explaining my motive—how racism feels. Although I did not record student responses the first time I tried the experiment, I do recall that several words (“angry,” “demoralized,” “frustrated”) appeared on both lists.
I used that original list each year in ethics classes at Ohio University and, later, at Iowa State University.
I tell my students, “You might not experience intolerance or bias, but now you can relate to how it feels—the first step in understanding racism, bias, and exclusion. Now imagine if you felt this hurt on a regular basis. How might that affect you?”
White students who shared words about disappointment had no idea they were participating in a diversity exercise. Afterwards, the entire class discussed the cumulative impact of hurtful words, associating them now with exclusion. Discussion became more focused and insightful, indicating higher levels of emotional intelligence.
I have used the list in speaking engagements with professionals with similar results. It has
experienced racism, jotting down one word that summarized the experience.
They provided me with this list:
Broken
Discouraged
Confused
Disheartened
Defensive
Angry
Betrayed
Demoralized
Crushed
Shattered
Hurt
Frustrated
Then, we entered the classroom.
About 100 students were assembled in the Scripps auditorium. I announced the following from a prepared script:
“Remember a time when you had important news to tell to someone you trusted or felt was your friend—a parent, a coach, a pastor, a cleric, a counselor, a roommate, a partner, a boyfriend, or a girlfriend. It could be an achievement. Perhaps an exciting internship or travel opportunity. You shared that news enthusiastically. Your confidant didn’t celebrate with you but said something completely unexpected—a put-down or negative response—exactly the opposite of what you had anticipated. In one word, how did that make you feel when it happened?”
always proved to be a great discussion starter.
Open discussion inspires introspection as we explore who, what, where, when, why, and how attitudes about race were formulated.
Journaling allows people to express or record their feelings in private. Writing about feelings and experiences often elicits important hitherto unexplored truths.
Here’s the exercise, which can work in any academic or professional setting:
BIAS BAROMETER
I. Personal Assessment. Contemplate the following:
1. List the highs, lows, and turning points about race, sex/gender, disability, and social class in your: • Life • Family • Workplace • Community
2. Analyze your list by addressing the following: • What epiphanies, truths, or lessons did you learn from each high, low, and turning point? • What falsehoods, if any, were associated with each? • How do incidents, truths, lessons, and falsehoods relate to diversity (or lack thereof) within your life, family, work, town, country, world? • How have they enhanced or biased your conscience? • How have they enhanced or biased your consciousness? • How can you apply lessons based on truth in your life?
II. Personal Valuation. Contemplate the following:
• When introducing truths about race, sex/gender, disability, and social class or other such societal concerns, do you present your best or your ordinary self to others?
For example, how do you introduce such material at work, at home, at school? Do your representations differ in each venue, and if so, why? • Are you avoiding discussion of sensitive or potentially controversial issues and if so, why? Peer pressure? Fear of mistakes? Anger? Approval-seeking? What can educators, coworkers, and supervisors do to make you feel more comfortable engaging in discussions about race, gender, or social class?
III. Summary Assessment. Writing Assignment:
• Based on your truths and analyses in sections I and II, and without violating your own or someone else’s privacy, write a short essay explaining how this exercise helped you understand your feelings about bias, whether people or events in your past shaped your attitudes, and why you do or do not speak out about diversity and inclusion.
I do not share or respond to assessments out of privacy concerns. The exercise is ungraded for that reason. But they do inform me about what I should cover in class to make a lasting impression. Often, dominant factors shaping attitudes and beliefs stem from family upbringing, peer pressure, chance encounters, or inadvertent race-based mistakes and subsequent embarrassment. Over time, assessments increased my own awareness, informing lectures and discussions. PDJ
Michael Bugeja, distinguished professor of journalism, won his college’s 2017 diversity award. He also has twice won the distinguished Clifford Christians Award for Research in Media Ethics. Under his directorship in 2015, Iowa State’s Greenlee School won the national Diversity and Equity award bestowed by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
Bugeja, who teaches media ethics, and technology and social change, has published 24 books across genres, including three books by Oxford University Press: Interpersonal Divide: Searching for Community in a Technological Age; Interpersonal Divide in the Age of the Machine; and Living Ethics Across Media Platforms. His latest work is Living Media Ethics: Across Platforms, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2019.
Diversity Includes Disability
By Meenakshi Das
Idon’t think people realize how many different types of disabilities there are. People in wheelchairs or wearing hearing aids are noticeable. However, people with invisible disabilities, such as chronic illnesses or depression, are harder to spot. And those of us with a disability find it surprisingly difficult in what purportedly is an “inclusive and diverse” society to find companies that want to hire us.
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, disabled people are still challenged to find jobs that fit their education and training. But, it’s a two-way street. We don’t know how to ask for what we need because what we need hasn’t been invented, or we are afraid we won’t get hired or could get fired if we do. On the other hand, companies don’t always understand what workplace modifications or assistive technologies may be required. They may fear that such modifications will be expensive (although some workarounds are surprisingly inexpensive) and worry about the extra time required to make them. They may also wonder how we really would “fit in.”
Hiring disabled people might appear to be just “one more thing,” but data show it’s worth the effort on many levels. The most important reason to hire disabled people to make products and provide services is this: Companies want to sell their products and services to the one billion disabled people on this planet. My experience
I grew up with a severe stutter since the age of five. Fast forward to my first campus job interview in 2015; the recruiter assumed that my stuttering was a sign of low proficiency in English. More important, even though I have a bachelor’s degree and am now working toward a master’s degree in computer science, some people think my disfluency is a reflection of low intelligence. Microsoft disagrees. After obtaining my master’s, I will be working there as a software engineer.
Many teachers silenced me when I was a child and excluded me from activities because I took too long to speak. But I dreamed of studying in the United States and was given a
scholarship to study here because someone believed in me. Mentoring meant everything.
Early in my college experience and internships, I suspected I was not the only one whose disability had been mistakenly seen as a sign of subpar intelligence. I decided to become an advocate for people like me, and I started a blog and social media accounts to help disabled individuals in tech. I represented Alabama as a young disability advocate on the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (https:// rudermanfoundation.org/link20/ celebrating-30-years-of-ada/) In 2019, I founded a support every day—but not every piece of technology is disabled user-friendly.
As I became more interested in how companies might embrace disability inclusion, I became a spokesperson and advocate for the cause. Forbes magazine mentioned me in a 2019 piece on disability rights, as did CNET and ABC News during the pandemic. “Disabled people are innovative because they already know of solutions to work around their disability to get work done,” I told ABC News. The statistics from an Accenture report titled Getting to Equal 2020: Disability Inclusion stated, “Among the companies
group called Working with Disabilities (now, with more than 1000 disabled members) after being a council member for Disability:IN, a leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide.
Calling attention to the issue
Through the years, I realized that there was a lot of misinformation. “Assistive devices” that were crazy expensive ($5000+) could easily be replaced by a $2 or $3 phone app. In my case, I use a Delayed Auditory Feedback phone app while giving presentations. Technology empowers disabled people in our study, the organizations most focused on disability engagement are growing sales 2.9x faster and profits 4.1x faster than their peers.” Meanwhile, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN have both said that U.S. GDP could get a boost of $25 billion if more of people with disabilities join the workforce. Many organizations and people with disabilities seek ways to level up and find ways to access this win-win.
My advice
If companies want to attract and hire disabled employees, they need to go beyond including the phrase “Equal Opportunity Employer” in their outreach, and make every part of their hiring process inclusive, starting with an accessible job portal. Disability disclosure is a personal choice, and one does not need to disclose a disability to request accommodations. Nevertheless, companies must strive to create a sense of trust and inclusion among employees. Senior leadership must work to remove any barriers to, and secure buy-in for, accessibility throughout their organization.
Being an advocate and mentor for disabled people in the workplace has been very
satisfying. And I think I’m making a difference. In the end, diversity and inclusion are not just about good business. They are the right thing to do. PDJ
Meenakshi “Meena” Das is a master’s student studying computer science at Auburn University. She draws on her life experiences as a woman who stutters and her education in computer science to explain why it’s critical for us to work toward accessibility in academic institutions and the tech field. For more information, please email Meenakshi “Meena” Das here: meenakshidas1112@gmail.com.
