Diversity Journal - Spring 2019

Spring 2019 $14.95

Inside this issue WHERE ARE THEY NOW… Elevating Today’s Workforce to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges:

A Case Study

Growing Momentum to Shrink the Gender Pay Gap

Inclusion.

Because balance comes from the strength of many.

At KPMG, we are committed to building a diverse workforce. We believe in our culture that strives for equity and values the unique experiences and qualities essential to leadership, innovation and success. We achieve this goal by providing valuable career opportunities for everyone. kpmg.com

© 2019 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. All rights reserved. The KPMG name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. NDPPS 848076

PUBLISHER'S COLUMN All Things Diversity & Inclusion FOUNDER/CEO/PUBLISHER

James R. Rector VP OF OPERATIONS

James Gorman DESIGNER

Stephen A. Toth ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Dear Readers, We’re kicking off the 2019 with an exciting new feature titled “Where Are They Now…”. This feature, inaugurated by our editor, Teresa Fausey, follows up on past Women Worth Watching® awardees to let us know how each is progressing in her career. For this issue, Teresa researched 24 of PDJ’s past Women Worth Watching Award recipients and reports on where their careers have taken them. This feature begins on page 20.

Teresa Fausey EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Elena Rector WEBMASTER

David Toth

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Profiles in Diversity Journal Gemini Towers #1 • 1991 Crocker Road, Suite 600 • Westlake, OH 44145 Tel: 440.892.0444 • Fax: 440.892.0737 profiles@diversityjournal.com

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REPRINTS: profiles@diversityjournal.com

For this issue’s cover story, we are honored to present an in-depth look at Freddie Mac’s current diversity and inclusion initiatives. It’s always exciting when an organization comes forward to share their D&I work with our readers. We can all learn from sharing these initiatives. Front cover stories are a hallmark for the PDJ, and over the years many organizations have shared their successes and the people and teams who made such important contributions. You can begin reading this article on page 10.

Our editor has been looking into a couple of interesting topics for this issue— Why Isn’t Tech More Inclusive?, which discusses the lack of women in tech and STEM fields; and We Have Come a Long Way…, a look at the state of women at work, what they can look forward to in the coming year, and a list of interesting of women’s firsts in America. These articles contribute to our emphasis on Women Worth Watching and acknowledge the increased media coverage of women in the workplace and in society. We will continue adding more articles along these lines as time goes on.

We will continue to include Commentaries in all our forthcoming issues. We feel it is important that Diversity & Inclusion leaders share their ideas, perspectives, discoveries, and strategies. With this informal benchmarking, it is often possible to glean relevant ideas and methods for making this work more efficient and more productive. Several diversity consultants have agreed to provide regular columns in all 2019 issues.

EDITORIAL: profiles@diversityjournal.com PHOTOS & ARTWORK: art@diversityjournal.com

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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 21 years, we have helped to stimulate organizational change by showcasing the visionary leadership, innovative programs, and committed individuals that are making it happen.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and may or may not represent the views of the publisher.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

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We are gearing up for the summer issue, which will feature our annual Women Worth Watching Awards. We will be honoring 166 women as Women Worth Watching for 2019. This unique collaboration between organizations and PDJ is a staple of the magazine’s participation in the recognition and advancement of women in the workplace. Over the past 18 years, more than 2,000 deserving women have been awarded PDJ’s Women Worth Watching distinction.

Enjoy the issue!

James R. Rector, Founder and Publisher, and the incredible team at Profiles in Diversity Journal

www.diversityjournal.com

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IN THIS ISSUE

01 05 10 20 48 72

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PUBLISHER’S COLUMN EDITOR’S COLUMN FREDDIE MAC WHERE ARE THEY NOW ARTICLES CORPORATE INDEX

Where are they now...

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Freddie Mac's Expanded Focus on Inclusion In this in-depth piece, Freddie Mac takes you along on its journey to in·clu·sive en·gage·ment: establishing meaningful connections with people unlike yourself.

From describing the organization’s first-ever Inclusion Summit to advice for establishing principles, unlocking the potential in new talent, engaging diverse suppliers, and more, this article offers a roadmap for inclusion success.

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The singular power of diversity

Dechert is a global law firm that achieves dynamic results by embracing diversity and innovation. At the core of our firm’s culture is a dedication to seeking and nurturing diverse viewpoints and experiences to develop the highest caliber of talent, leadership and service for our clients. dechert.com/diversity

D

Diversity and Inclusion

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 20

Where Are They Now… We catch up with twenty-four of PDJ’s Women Worth Watching from past years to see what they’ve been up to and where they are today.

PAGE 48

Elevating Today’s Workforce to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges: A Case Study There’s no doubt that automation and technology are redefining work and the workplace. This author offers a solution based on the experiences of his own employer, and shows leaders the steps they can take to not only survive the changes ahead, but to thrive in tomorrow’s world.

PAGE 52

Inspiration: The Outside Perspective Meet Michael Stuber, PDJ’s guest columnist for 2019. As a European D&I engineer, Stuber has a unique approach to D&I, which he will be sharing with readers throughout 2019.

PAGE 54

Growing Momentum to Shrink the Gender Pay Gap The author discusses the current state of gender pay disparity in the United States and elsewhere, the emergence of pay disparity laws, the importance of conducting pay disparity studies, the need for pay transparency, and the value to your business of closing the gap.

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EDITOR'S COLUMN

Are We Making Progress? I Think So. One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.

– Franklin Thomas, first African American President of Ford Foundation

When I was growing up…

• Many women my mother’s age still didn’t drive—and most didn’t work at paying jobs.

• Although there were no laws preventing a woman from buying a car or other big-ticket items on her own, there was also no law that said car dealers and others had to sell to her, and they often refused to. A “responsible” man—husband, father, or brother—had to co-sign or to make the purchase.

• Women who had jobs could be, and often were, fired if they married. And those who managed to work after they were married could be fired if they got pregnant. No laws protected them.

• Many jobs and careers were simply not open to women.

• In the 1960s, companies could refuse to issue a credit card to an unmarried woman; married women needed their husbands to cosign.

Also in the ’60s…

• Women earned 59 cents for every dollar men earned.

• There were major and bitter fights over whether women should have access to “the pill.”

• It wasn’t until 1973 that women were allowed to serve on juries in all 50 states.

• When I was in graduate school, women were routinely ignored in class. Or we were told our answers were wrong, only to hear male students who gave identical answers be told they were right—brilliant, in fact. This is still far too common—in academia and at work.

Women have worked hard, and sometimes fought, for the gains we have made—gains that have been sporadic and incremental, gains that have had to be won again and again. And often, there have been steps backward and frustrating defeats.

But we women are a resilient lot. We persist. And, yes, we are making progress.

So, keep your chin up and…thanks for reading.

Teresa Fausey Associate Editor, PDJ www.diversityjournal.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 56

We Have Come a Long Way… Women have always been finding, making, or demanding new avenues to greater opportunity, education, autonomy, and freedom. Although there are still hurdles to overcome, there is reason to expect some good things on the horizon for working women.

PAGE 60

Isn’t that Just Good Management?

This article talks about why implementing diversity, inclusion, and equity strategies requires more than the “just good management” companies have employed in the past. Since some groups still don’t benefit, it’s time to do more…and the author tells you how.

PAGE 62

Do White Men Have a Role to Play in D&I? Yes, they do. And the author explains how white male leaders can become engaged and excited about this work, and how that newfound enthusiasm and understanding will make white males some of the most powerful and effective allies for women and people of color.

PAGE 64

Equity or Bust The author explains that, while equality is guaranteed by doctrine or codified in law, equity only comes about as the result of a personal or organizational commitment to give each individual his or her due—to treat each person with justice and fairness.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 66

Bringing the Curtain Down on Affinity Groups These contributors argue that affinity groups may have outlived their usefulness and become silos that members retreat into rather than avenues to greater inclusion and opportunity. Instead, they say current BRGs should replaced by cultural equity teams, positioned to play a primary role in creating a culture of equitable respect.

PAGE 70

Why Isn’t Tech More Inclusive?

Tech seems to be one of the last of the boys clubs. This article takes a look at the current state of the business and attempts to discover why companies aren’t more welcoming to women and minorities—and why women and minorities sometimes shy away from tech.

WOMEN WORTH WATCHING

®

2019 PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITY • Stand out in your commitment to advance and support women in leadership • Congratulate your Woman Worth Watching on her career and personal achievements • Relay a powerful, authentic message to discerning women candidates

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Help us celebrate the success of these exceptional women and their accomplishments!

For Space Reservations contact James Gorman Email: jamesgorman@diversityJournal.com Phone: 440-606-6116

Freddie Mac’s Expanded FOCUS ON INCLUSION

l-r: Dominica Groom Williams, Freddie Mac VP of the Office of Inclusive Engagement; Jacqueline Welch, Freddie Mac Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer

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in·clu·sive en·gage·ment: Establishing meaningful connections with people unlike yourself

F

reddie Mac is a majorityminority company, and women make up nearly half our workforce. As a company with a strong track record in diversity, we accept the challenge of thoughtfully defining and executing sustainable next practices in inclusion and diversity.

On a fall day in October 2018, the summer greenery on our campus in McLean, Virginia, was being replaced by bright hues of orange and yellow typical of the season’s transitioning foliage.

The change in the season hinted at an important evolution happening inside. Walking among the employees on that morning were diverse suppliers and community

partners preparing to attend our first-ever Inclusion Summit.

The Summit was the brainchild of Jacqueline Welch, Freddie Mac Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer, and Dominica Groom Williams, Freddie Mac VP of the Office of Inclusive Engagement. The Summit’s goals were lofty but attainable: Bring together and engage a diverse group of people invested in Freddie Mac’s mission and harness their unique perspectives to help us realize our inclusion ambitions. More than 200 attendees listened to Freddie Mac’s leadership highlight various aspects of our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion, offering historical context, connecting it to what we are doing

presently, and explaining why it matters for our future success.

As each leader spoke, he or she shared how we were more keenly expanding our focus on inclusion.

What happened next helped drive the message home and transitioned the audience from passive attendees to active participants. A member of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Innovation Lab took the stage and explained a process many in the room had not been exposed to— design thinking. This process1, with origins dating back to the 1950s, is a creative problem-solving process that places human need at the center of solutions development.

Design thinking is used by organizations to develop products,

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“Tell me about a time when you did not feel included.�

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Freddie Mac Inclusion Summit participants completed a design-thinking activity to help identify potential inclusivity solutions.

services, and solutions with the end-customer’s needs in mind.

By putting the human at the center of development, organizations can develop solutions more quickly, learn and adapt faster, and create innovative solutions that may have otherwise been overlooked.

The Innovation Lab facilitator used the design-thinking process to include the attendees and harness their unique ideas and perspectives. After walking the audience through the stages of design-thinking, the facilitator asked the audience to think about one common problem statement: “Tell me about a time when you did not feel included.”

This specific problem statement pushed the participants to place themselves at the center of the problem-solving process. From there, the facilitator was able to lead the attendees through the various stages of design-thinking, from empathizing to ideation and, ultimately, to experimentation to resolve the problem statement.

At the start of the activity, many people were in quiet reflection as they faced a time in which they did not feel included. As they made their way through each stage of the process, hushed tones soon channeled into exciting, productive conversations as they pushed the boundaries of their thinking. The outcome of the activity resulted in more than 200 potential proto-

types of ways the company could be more inclusive.

At the close of the Summit, Jacqui and Dominica cemented Freddie Mac’s next step in our diversity and inclusion journey by introducing our new approach called inclusive engagement, defined as establishing meaningful connections with people unlike you. It’s a simple, but not always standard, practice, even for a company as diverse as Freddie Mac. The Summit demonstrated how inclusive engagement could be applied.

This piece will share our diversity and inclusion journey along with more applications of inclusive engagement.

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Freddie Mac’s headquarters.

Freddie Mac’s Diversity and Inclusion Journey Every journey has a starting point. Freddie Mac’s occurred in 1970, when we were created by Congress to make homeownership and rental housing more accessible and affordable. In this same year, the United States was undergoing massive change, as the country addressed systematic injustice and inequality. During this period of history, the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act were passed to address inequalities affecting racial minorities and women.

Presidential executive orders and federal legislation were created requiring government agencies

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“Diversity and inclusion are more than a business imperative; they’re right priorities.” and their contractors to work with minority-owned companies, which launched what we now know as supplier diversity. It’s against this backdrop that Freddie Mac was created. A commitment to diversity and inclusion has been part of our DNA since our inception. It’s probably why our leaders are quoted as saying: “Diversity and inclusion are more than a business imperative; they’re right priorities.”

For nearly 50 years, our leaders have understood the value of diversity and inclusion (D&I), and their efforts have paid off. Walk among our employees, and you will see racial and gender diversity.

Peek into a training room, and you will see visible diversity among the suppliers partnering with our business areas. Listen to business strategy discussions, and you will hear D&I referenced as a competi-

tive advantage. And while there is always more to be done, generally, we do a good job of the “D” in D&I. However, studies2 show that diversity alone doesn’t drive inclusion. As part of our ever-evolving journey, we are further exploring how to expand on the “I” in D&I. Our goal is to more sharply focus on making people feel included.

For us, this is not another initiative or program; instead, it’s a mindset, cultivated by thoughtfulness and executed strategically. D&I programs and initiatives do drive change. But embedding an inclusive mindset drives sustainable change. On our journey to be more inclusive, we will address biased systems, ignite innovation through diverse perspectives, and further instill a culture where people feel comfortable to be their authentic selves.

An Inclusive Mindset Delivers Meaningful Results Separately, inclusion, defined as the intentional act of making people feel included, and engagement, defined as providing the culture and tools people need to be at their best, are two aspirations many companies share.

With our inclusive engagement approach, the two concepts meld into one, igniting innovation in ways not seen before.

As our Inclusion Summit highlighted, bringing together diverse people and creating an environment where they can work together to tackle big challenges

can yield innovative and meaningful results. Those are characteristics of inclusive engagement. At the 2019 HRO Today Forum—HRO Today Magazine’s national human resources conference—Jacqui’s keynote outlined three ways to embed an inclusive engagement approach.

1. Make inclusion a leadership principle.

2. Ask the important, actionable questions.

3. Search for and address biased systems.

Here are some examples of how we are using these principles to advance a culture of inclusion at Freddie Mac.

Unlocking the Hidden Potential in New Talent Pools In today’s labor market, where unemployment is at an all-time low, the competition for top talent is ever increasing. We have built an effective talent pipeline by widening talent pools and investing time and money with targeted diversity partners to help ensure a diverse candidate slate.

One example is our initiative to engage with people with autism3. In 2012, a former Freddie Mac executive read a news article about college-educated people with autism who were struggling to find full-time employment.

She asked the important and actionable question: “How can we be more inclusive of people

with autism?” In response, two members of the company’s senior leadership shared their experiences with children on the spectrum and provided the support to create our intern initiative.

Since launching our intern program, we have engaged nearly 20 individuals with autism and 50 percent of them have converted into full-time roles that support our mission. The majority of these employees still work at the company. The program provides vital corporate experience for these employees—real work in a real corporate setting. Even if they don’t stay at Freddie Mac after the internship ends, it’s a great jump start for their careers.

To welcome the interns and support their success, we teach our neurotypical employees how to be more inclusive of their new co-workers. We quickly realized that this learning is useful for neurotypical employees, as well— just good human practice. We also reexamined our HR processes and ensured we are being more inclusive—even at the interviewing stage. Candidates with autism have asked to have interview questions emailed ahead of time or to be shown their new workspace ahead of time. Once interns start, we place them with mentors from the Abilities employee resource group, who help them navigate the corporate landscape. The internship program has proved fruitful for all involved. Employees have learned additional best practices to help others be at their best,

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Members of Freddie Mac’s Rising Leaders Employee Resource Group.

and it has helped our HR division evolve and be more thoughtful about engaging neurodiversity.

Presently, we are expanding our efforts to be more inclusive of all neurodiversity groups, such as people with dyslexia.

and personal development for people who shared similar characteristics. Today, these groups tend to be more closely connected to the business and help drive positive outcomes across various business needs, including areas like talent acquisition.

Inclusive Employee Resource Groups as Business Drivers

As part of our approach to inclusive engagement, we have evolved our employee resource group (ERGs) model by asking leaders, typically at the senior or executive vice president level, to serve as the group’s executive sponsor. For example, a white male leads the ERG where most members identify as black or advocates for issues that affect the black community. And a male leads the

Often, one of the first tactics companies leverage to advance diversity in the workplace is the establishment of employee resource groups. Dating back to the 1960s, Xerox4 was one of the first to institute “workplace affinity groups.” In these early years, the groups were designed to provide professional

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ERG for women and those who advocate for women’s issues. This approach encourages the concept of allies and helps cultivate inclusion as a leadership principle both for the executive sponsor and the ERG members. This small action has a large impact. More ERGs are organically partnering to co-sponsor events acknowledging intersectionality5—the interconnections of various characteristics such as race, gender, sexuality, etc.

These partnerships expand ways in which ERG members engage with not only their affinity but also with others.

How does this approach help drive business outcomes? A member of the PRIDE employee

Diverse suppliers participate in the Freddie Mac Vendor Academy.

resource group asked an important question outside her area of expertise: “What don’t we know about LGBT homeowners and renters?”

This question prompted her to partner with our business lines to commission a first-of-its-kind study to better understand the LGBT housing experience in the United States. The findings6 of this study were compelling and actionable; members of the LGBT community are less likely to own a home, are more mobile, fear discrimination when buying a home, and prioritize living in LGBT-safe neighborhoods.

It was her inclusive mindset that prompted her to ask the tough questions and her willingness to collaborate with the right people that enabled her to take action.

Developing Diverse Suppliers A commitment to supplier diversity gives us an opportunity to engage with suppliers that may have been previously overlooked.

Diverse suppliers help us to be more competitive and innovative in our day-to-day work, creating healthy competition and challenging the status quo. While we do measure our efforts based on spend, we also engage with this group through an innovative learning and development initiative: The Vendor Academy.

For each incoming Vendor Academy class, we work with targeted business divisions to identify

business needs and attract the right mix of diverse suppliers to the program. The suppliers participate in a five-month program, where they network with business leaders, learn how to do business with Freddie Mac, and grow their business—not only with us, but with other companies as well. The results have been promising, with more than 40 percent of all Vendor Academy graduates earning contracts with us after successfully completing the program. It is an innovative take on the classic adage: You can give a (wo)man a fish or you can teach a (wo)man how to fish. In doing the latter, we are extending our reach and deepening our impact.

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Freddie Mac women participate in a Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia Women Build to support the local community.

Community Engagement as Inclusive Engagement We’ve also applied the concept of inclusion to our community engagement efforts and even embedded our community engagement team within our diversity and inclusion team. Engaging inclusively with our community partners is a two-fold effort. By working together to serve our diverse communities, we create collaborative environments that allow our people to learn more about each other and also make a sustainable impact in the communities where we live and work.

For example, we have a decades-long partnership with Habitat for Humanity affiliates that

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enables us to pick up a hammer, climb a ladder, and literally make home possible. We’ve evolved these team-building events into inclusion-building events. For Women’s History Month7, Jacqui led a group of diverse women, representative of our various employee resource groups, in contributing their sweat equity to a local Habitat home.

Another example is a pilot program we recently launched that pairs Freddie Mac employees with local organizations to help teach credit best practices.

Freddie Mac employees learn our CreditSmart®8 financial literacy education curriculum and partner with community organizations to

share this knowledge with underserved communities.

From “Next” to “Now” Diversity, defined here as representation, will always remain important. Employees, suppliers, and community partners must continue to reflect our customers and the world in which we live.

Our broad goals are to maintain and, where possible, increase our diversity representation, while simultaneously maximizing the inclusion of the diversity we have.

The examples noted above show that inclusion can’t be a one-and-done program. Instead, it must be a mindset, driven by:

Freddie Mac volunteers put in “sweat equity” with Habitat for Humanity affiliates to help make home possible.

1. A willingness to ask the important, actionable questions 2. A culture that makes inclusion a leadership principle 3. A commitment to search for and address biased systems When done effectively, real sustainable and positive change can happen. We’ve been on this journey since 1970, and we will continue to move resolutely toward future possibilities, driven by the inclusive engagement of our employees, suppliers, and communities. Together, we will best be able to deliver on our mission of making home possible for families nationwide.

Endnotes 1. Design Thinking. (n.d.) Interaction Design Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking.

2. Sherbin, L. and Ripa R. Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion. (2017, February 1).

Harvard Business Review: Ideas and Advice for Leaders. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from https://hbr.org/2017/02/diversity-doesnt-stick-without-inclusion.

3. Uncovering Hidden Potential. (2018). Retrieved May 21, 2019, from https://www.workingmother.com/sites/workingmother.com/files/attachments/ 2018/06/wmi_hidden_disabilities_update_0.pdf.

4. Employee Resource Groups. (2018, March 6). Diversity Best Practices. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from https://www.diversitybestpractices.com/employee-resource-groups.

5. Kelly, W. S., PhD and Smith C., PhD. What if the Road to Inclusion Were Really an Intersection? Deloitte Insights. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/topics/talent/multidimensional-diversity.html.

6. LGBT Homeownership Rates Lag Behind General Population. (2018, October 1).

Freddie Mac. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from http://www.freddiemac.com/research/ consumer-research/20181001_lgbt_homeownership.page?.

7. We Can Do It! Raising Walls with Habitat NOVA. (2019, March 27). Retrieved May 21, 2019, from http://www.freddiemac.com/careers-blog/community/20190327_raising_walls_ with_habitat_nova.html.

8. CreditSmart®. (n.d.) Freddie Mac: Single-Family Business. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from http://www.freddiemac.com/creditsmart/.

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Where are they now...

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Over the past 18 years, PDJ has recognized more than 2,000 Women Worth Watching in the pages of our magazine. For this issue, we decided to find out what some of our past Award recipients are up to now, and share the news with our readers. In the following pages, we catch up with 24 past Women Worth Watching, who have been promoted, started their own companies, taken on new roles, or moved into entirely new fields of endeavor. These are dynamic women who welcome challenges and embrace change. Read on, and discover where their professional journeys have taken them.

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Tujuanna Williams

Founder & Principal, Tujuanna Williams Consulting LLC

2010

Tujuanna Williamns, a Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2010, recently founded and serves as principal of Tujuanna Williams Consulting, a company that promotes an inclusive, equitable culture that engages employees and ensures staff diversity at all levels. She previously held leadership roles at Fannie Mae and Verizon, as well as serving as vice president of diversity and inclusion at Freddie Mac, a role she held in 2010. Williams also founded and was managing partner of New Season Consulting Group. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising & public relations from Middle Tennessee State University.

Where are they now...

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Where are they now...

Ann Yom Steel

Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

2010

Ann Yom Steel, a 2010 Woman Worth Watching, is currently the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. She previously served in leadership roles at Rice Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and Ogilvy Australia, as well as deputy assistant director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of State and Local Coordination, a job she held in 2010. Steel earned her JD from Washburn University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa. She also studied comparative international law at Temple University–James E. Beasley School of Law’s Japan campus.

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Where are they now...

2010 Mary Tuuk

President and CEO, Grand Rapids Symphony A 2010 Woman Worth Watching, Mary Tuuk now makes beautiful music as the president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Symphony, which presents more than 400 performances each year.

Before joining the Grand Rapids Symphony, Tuuk served as chief compliance officer and senior vice president at Meijer and vice president of corporate service and board secretary at Fifth Third Bank, a position she held in 2010. She was previously an associate at Chapman and Cutler LLP. Tuuk earned her JD and MBA at Indiana University Bloomington, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business and music at Calvin College.

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Susan Tousi

Senior Vice President, Product Development, Illumina

2010

Since Susan Tousi was named a Woman Worth Watching in 2010, she has been named Illumna’s senior vice president of product development. Prior to joining Illumina, Tousi served as general manager and corporate vice president, as well as R&D director at Eastman Kodak. Earlier in her career, she was R&D manager at Phogenix Imaging, LLC (joint venture of Hewlett–Packard and Eastman Kodak, developed the world’s first digital inkjet minilab—the DFXPhotofinishing System) and R&D development manager and engineer at Hewlett-Packard. Tousi earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering at Penn State University and an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

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Carrie Young

Founder & CEO, Unravel My Travels

2011

Carrie Young, a Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2011, is the founder and CEO of Unravel My Travels, a company that provides quick access to online travel itineraries that will meet any traveler’s needs. Prior to launching her own company earlier this year, Young held the position of senior director of corporate operations services for Salt River Project. She also served in the United States Air Force for 20 years. Young earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Chapman University and her master’s degree in information systems engineering from Western International University.

Where are they now...

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Where are they now...

2011 Tammy Weinbaum

Executive Vice President Global Client Group, American Express This 2011 Women Worth Watching Award recipient was recently promoted to the role of executive vice president in charge of American Express’s Global Client Group. Since she joined with the multinational financial services corporation as a supervisor 26 years ago, Tammy Weinbaum has achieved success in several increasingly responsible roles, including senior vice president and general manager for Phoenix and Salt Lake City, positions she held in 2011. A graduate of the University of Florida, Weinbaum earned her MBA at Nova Southeastern University.

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Where are they now...

Karen Sledge

Vice President of Finance, Edge Communications

2011

A few years after she was recognized as a Woman Worth Watching in 2011, Karen Sledge stepped into the role of vice president of finance for Edge Communications, where she is responsible for finance, accounting, legal, and contract administration. Before moving to Edge, she served as vice president controller for the Broadcast Communications Division of Harris Corporation—a position she held in 2011.

Earlier, she served as vice president of finance for multiple divisions of Nortel Networks. Sledge earned her BBA in accounting at Baylor University and her MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas.

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Jill Wyant

Executive Vice President & President of Global Regions and Global Healthcare, Ecolab Inc.

2011

This 2011 Women Worth Watching Award recipient is now Ecolab’s executive vice president and president of global regions and global healthcare. Since joining Ecolab as vice president of global strategic planning in 2009, Jill Wyant has filled several leadership roles, including senior vice president and general manager, food and beverage, Asia Pacific and Latin America, the position she held in 2011. Prior to joining Ecolab, she held several leadership positions at General Electric.

Wyant earned her bachelor’s degree in international marketing and Japanese studies from the University of St. Thomas, where she graduated summa cum laude. She received her MBA, with highest honors, from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

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Gabrielle Toledano Executive in Residence, Comcast Ventures

2012

A Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2012, Gabrielle Toledano was recently named executive in residence at Comcast Ventures. She also currently sits on the boards of Namely, Glu Mobile, and Visier Inc. Previously, Toledano held the positions of executive vice president and chief talent officer at Electronic Arts, positions she held in 2012, and chief people officer at Tesla. She has acted as advisor or consultant for, or has sat on the boards of, several companies. Toledano earned her bachelor’s degree in modern thought and literature and her master’s degree in education at Stanford University.

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2012 Josie Thomas

Executive Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, CBS Corporation Josie Thomas, a 2012 Woman Worth Watching, was recently named executive vice president and chief diversity officer for CBS Corporation. Previously, Thomas served as senior vice president and chief diversity officer for CBS. During her tenure at CBS, she has held several key positions, including vice president of business affairs for CBS News. Thomas began her career at Anderson, Russell, Kill and Olick and later practiced intellectual property law at Weiss, Dawid, Fross, Zelnick & Lehrman.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard College, and a JD from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley.

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Where are they now...

Wendy Shen

President/CEO, Nygala Corp/FLOMO President/CEO, Glitzzie, Inc.

2012

Since being named a Woman Worth Watching in 2012, Wendy Shen has been busy. In addition to serving as president and CEO of Nygala Corp/FLOMO, Shen developed, and is president and CEO of, Glitzzie, Inc., an online lifestyle shop that offers products meant to enhance living spaces. She continues in her role at Nygala Corp/FLOMO, where she has worked for over 27 years. Shen earned her BBA at the University of Miami and her MBA at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. She also completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Navarra’s IESE Business School, and attended Wen Zao Ursuline University.

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Guylaine Saint Juste

Executive Director, National Capital Region, Year Up

2012

This 2012 Woman Worth Watching is not only the executive director of Year Up for the National Capital Region. Guylaine Stain Juste is also the founder and current co-chair of George Mason Women in Business Initiative and sits on the board of Goodwill of Greater Washington. She previously served as senior vice president, business banking–Virginia market executive for Capital One Bank, a position she held in 2012. Saint Juste earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations from George Mason University and her graduate degree in retail banking management from the University of Virginia.

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Christina Varghese

Registered In-House Counsel, San Diego Zoo Global

2013

Christina Varghese, a 2013 Women Worth Watching Award recipient, took on the role of registered in-house counsel for San Diego Zoo Global in 2016. Before joining the Zoo team, Varghese served as director of employee advocacy, diversity, advice, and counsel, as well as senior associate counsel, labor & employment, for Aflac. Early in her career, she was an attorney with Rutherford Mulhall P.A. and Stearns Weaver Miller, and managing partner at Solambit Law Group PLLC. Varghese earned her JD at University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

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2013 Heather Thiltgen

Senior Vice President–Strategic Markets, Medical Mutual Healther Thiltgen, a 2013 Woman Worth Watching, was recently named senior vice president of strategic market by Medical Mutual. Thiltgen previously served as the company’s senior vice president of individual and government programs and vice president of individual sales and marketing, the position she held in 2013. Before joining Medical Mutual, she was vice president of consumer marketing at CUNA Mutual Group, head of acquisition and onboarding strategy at USAA, and marketing consultant for M/A/R/C Group. Thiltgen earned her MBA at Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management and her Bachelor of Arts in government and economics at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Where are they now...

Karine Uzan Mercié Group Head of Tax, LafargeHolcin

2013

A 2013 Woman Worth Watching, Karine Uzan Mercié serves as group head of tax for LafargeHolcin.

She was also appointed to the board of Lafarge Africa Plc in March 2019. Before joining LafargeHolcin in 2017, Mercié held several positions at Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., including vice president of tax and corporate initiatives (a position she held in 2013) and vice president of public affairs & communication– France. She was also vice president of tax at Alstom and an international tax attorney at Ernst & Young in Paris, France. Mercié earned her law degree at University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas.

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Nicole Theophilus

Chief Human Resources Officer, West Corporation

2013

Nicole Theophilus, a Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2013, has since joined West Corporation as the company’s chief human resources officer. Previously, Theophilus held positions at ConAgra Foods, including vice president of human resources and chief labor and employment counsel. In 2009, she was promoted to chief human resources officer (a position she held in 2013), where she led the Human Resources and Communications departments through 2015. Earlier in her career, she was an attorney with Husch Blackwell LLP, where she specialized in labor and employment litigation and advice. Theophilus earned her bachelor’s degree from Drake University and her JD from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

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Rosa M. García Piñeiro Vice-president, Alcoa Sustainability President, Alcoa Foundation

This 2014 Women Worth Watching Award recipient was recently named Alcoa’s sustainability vice-president and president of Alcoa Foundation. In 2014, she served as Alcoa’s director of regional affairs and sustainability for Europe. Rosa García Piñeiro, who joined Alcoa in 1999 as an environmental engineer, holds master’s degrees in industrial engineering from University of Vigo and environmental engineering from the University of Madrid in Spain, as well as an executive MBA from the University of Geneva and a master’s degree in commodity trading from the Geneva School of Business in Switzerland.

2014

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Maggie Chan Jones Founder & CEO, Tenshey, Inc.

2014

A Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2014, Maggie Chan Jones recently founded and is currently CEO of Tenshey, Inc., a leadership development startup whose mission is to advance gender diversity through executive coaching. Senior vice president of North America Marketing for L-3 Communications in 2014, Chan Jones was recently named to the Avast Software board of directors. She has served as a mentor with Founder Institute, and is an angel investor for Golden Seeds, an early-stage investment firm with a focus on women-led businesses. Chan holds an MBA from Cornell University.

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Where are they now...

Frances Allen CEO, Boston Market

2014

Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2014, Frances Allen was recently named CEO of Boston Market. She was recently president of Jack in the Box, and has held positions with Dunkin’ Donuts, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, PepsiCo, and Frito-Lay. In 2014, she was chief brand officer for Denny’s. Born and raised in Basingstoke, England, Allen served as an officer in the Royal Army Corps before launching her career in advertising in London. She also worked in Asia before coming to the United States. Allen is a graduate of the University of Southampton, where she studied math and actuarial sciences.

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Sona Chawla President, Kohl’s Corporation

2014

A Woman Worth Watching for 2014, Sona Chawla was recently named president of Kohl’s Corporation, after having served as Kohl’s Department Stores’ first-ever chief operating officer since 2015. In her current role, she oversees all store operations, logistics and supply chain network, and technology, as well as e-commerce strategy, planning, and operations.

Previously, Chawla spent seven years with Walgreens in several senior leadership roles, including president of e-commerce, the job she held in 2014. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and a holds a graduate degree from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Where are they now...

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Stacey D. Stewart President & CEO, March of Dimes

2015

This 2015 Woman Worth Watching joined March of Dimes in 2017, where she currently serves as president and CEO. Stacey Stewart previously held several positions at United Way Worldwide, most recently serving as U.S. president of United Way—the position she held in 2015.

Earlier in her career, she was chief diversity officer and senior vice president for the Office of Community and Charitable Giving at Fannie Mae, as well as president and CEO of Fannie Mae Foundation. Stewart holds an MBA in finance from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Georgetown University.

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2015 Deborah Roberts

Initiative Deployment Leader, Honeywell A Women Worth Watching Award recipient in 2015, Deborah Roberts recently stepped into the role of initiative deployment leader at Honeywell. Previously, Roberts served as government segment CEO and senior vice president of facilities at Sodexo, her position in 2015. Earlier in her career, she held several increasingly responsible roles at Johnson Controls, including vice president of sales force development and sales enhancement, and vice president and general manager of global workplace solutions–Asia. Roberts earned her bachelor’s degree at University of North Dakota and her MBA at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s Lubar School of Business.

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Where are they now...

Jennifer (Norris) Green CFO, Jordan Foster Construction LLC

2015

Named a Woman Worth Watching in 2015, Jennifer Green currently serves as CFO for Jordan Foster Construction. Previously, Green served as chief knowledge and information officer for Pepper Construction Group, the position she held in 2015, as well as treasurer. Earlier in her career, she held positions with Pepper Construction Company, including CFO, vice president, and corporate controller. She also served as auditor for Berry & Associates and was an accountant for Alltel. Green earned her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Arkansas State University and her MBA at Northern Illinois University.

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Building relationships that help build the world Your trust, your future, our commitment MUFG wasn’t built in a day. We’ve spent over 360 years committed to serving businesses and communities by building lasting client relationships that have made us a leading global financial group.

With operations in more than 50 countries, approximately 3,000 locations, and over 180,000 experienced professionals, MUFG empowers clients with comprehensive financial solutions. Gaining continued success in their industries, our clients are building their futures, one day at a time.

Learn more at mufgamericas.com/careers

MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

A member of MUFG, a global financial group

©2019 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The MUFG logo and name is a service mark of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., and is used by MUFG Union Bank, N.A., with permission. Member FDIC.

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Alex Johnston

Vice President of strategy, public affairs, CBC

2015

Before this 2015 Woman Worth Watching became the CBC’s vice president of strategy, public affairs last year, Alex Johnston spent three years as executive director of women’s advocacy group Catalyst Canada, the position she held in 2015. Earlier in her career, Johnston served as executive director of policy for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and practiced law as a member of the firm of Goodmans LLP in Toronto. She was a founding member of the first student-run sexual assault center in Canada and served as a legal advisor at a shelter for women and children. Johnston earned her bachelor’s degree in history and her BCL/LLB from McGill University.

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The path to better health At CVS Health, we share a clear purpose: helping people on their path to better health.

Through our health services, plans and community pharmacies, we’re pioneering a bold new approach to total health. Making it simple, accessible, and more affordable, to not only help people get well, but help them stay well in body, mind and spirit.

At CVS Health, we are committed to building an environment of inclusion and acceptance that values diversity across all areas of our business.

Learn more at cvshealth.com.

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Elevating Today’s Workforce to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges:

A Case Study

By Donald Fan

T

he world is changing at an accelerated pace because of technology disruption and digital transformation. The future has arrived, driven by macro-trends like digitization, automation, AI, machine learning, an internet of things, and interconnectivity. The magnitude of the shift is significant for corporate America. But surprisingly little empirical evidence has captured either the magnitude of digital and technology disruption to our workforce and how work gets done or how we should react on a broad scale. We know we have a challenge, but we have little guidance regarding the right course of action. I have written this case study to share some examples of how we might prepare for tomorrow’s challenge related to business, talent, and work. I offer it as food for thought and a starting point for further discussion, rather than a solution.

1. Readiness as a Future Enterprise Technology is transforming the landscape of corporate America.

The average lifespan of an S&P

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Summary The challenge: Technology and automation are redefining the enterprise, the workforce, and how work gets done. How can corporate America prepare for and respond to these unprecedented shifts, and ensure women and people of color are not falling behind?

The approach: The challenge requires corporate America to embrace a growth mindset and cultivate an inclusive and learning culture; offer an ecosystem with upskilling and reskilling opportunities, and resources for next generation talent; and leverage digitization and automation to maximize the full potential of an innovative workforce.

The impact: Digital transformation mandates lifelong learning as a strategic and growth imperative for corporate America.

500 company is now less than 20 years—down from 60 years in the 1950s, according to Credit Suisse.

For business to thrive in the digital era, we must disrupt ourselves and replace our current business model with a new ecosystem. We must cultivate an inclusive culture that embraces

innovative thinking and acts with agility and connectivity.

Winning today requires going beyond outperforming our competition. It requires winning in the marketplace, community, and society. Business exists to serve society because, in the long run, the interests of business and society converge. By striving to

2. Readiness as a Future Workforce

advance three bottom lines (people, planet, profit), companies can collaborate with their stakeholders to reshape global systems and tackle the complex challenges before us.

Faced with challenges driven by automation, Walmart partnered with McKinsey & Company, and other stakeholders, to initiate a study entitled America at Work: A National Mosaic and Roadmap for Tomorrow. The recently released report explores the impact of automation on future work and recommends ways in which communities might respond, based on the belief that business success depends on a sustainable workforce, strong local talent development, and thriving communities with a solid customer base.

Key insights from the research include: • The future of work is not a dichotomy of urban versus rural or the coasts versus the American heartland.

• Almost 190 million people (about 60 percent of the U.S. population) live outside the metropolitan areas, which have the greatest capacity to respond to increasing automation.

o building and maintaining infrastructure; o creating new jobs; o modernizing the social safety net; and o strengthening education.

• Responding effectively to automation will require community-level collaboration by multiple stakeholder groups.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have also invested in NGOs and community organizations to support programs that accelerate cross-sector upskilling efforts for incumbent retail workers across the United States.

Gone are the days when you work for 40 years at one job and retire with a good pension. Now, the average time in a single job is 4.2 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What’s more, 35 percent of the skills a worker needs will have changed by 2020, regardless of industry.

Employees can no longer master a single skill set and expect to skate by for the rest of their careers.

Success in today’s business world calls for a continuous approach to learning.

To build a winning workforce, we must assess, curate, and engage an innovative workforce.

Incubating a diverse and inclusive workforce is even more crucial for tomorrow’s business success.

Companies have historically focused on external acquisition to find talent for new roles, but with the current growing skill shortage and low unemployment rates, we know that acquisition alone is not enough to access the capabilities we need. When employers were asked, in a recent Deloitte survey, how they would prefer to deal

• Automation means that jobs will get done differently, not that jobs will disappear.

• Six principal responses to automation include: o reskilling and upskilling; o boosting mobility in the labor market;

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with issues of job redesign, more leaned toward training than toward hiring to obtain the talent they need.

Some companies are reskilling their workforces as a value unlock.

AT&T has invested $1 billion in retraining nearly half its workforce for jobs of the future. SAP involved one-third of the employees in a major business unit in reskilling activities that included individual sixto eight-month learning journeys, and instituted workforce planning.

By providing the platform and resources to build learning agility, Walmart launched the Live Better U, bringing a suite of education benefits together to make it easier for all employees to learn about and access options designed to help them unlock their futures.

The initiative includes Walmart’s $1 a Day College Program and tuition-free high school diploma or GED completion, as well as tuition discounts on advanced degrees, foreign language learning, and much more. Part of the Walmart Academy development program, Live Better U also allows employees to earn college credit for training they receive on the job.

Hundreds of thousands of Walmart employees have already undergone skills training equivalent to more than $317 million in college credits. In 2018, 500,000 field employees enrolled in 200 Walmart Academies to improve their skill sets and competencies, 62 percent of whom were female and 36 percent over the age of 45.

Academy graduates are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in the competitive retail landscape

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of the future. The initiative successfully introduced virtual reality (VR) technology to enhance and improve the learning experience.

Walmart is currently providing 17,000 VR devices to U.S. stores, which will enhance the training of 1.4 million employees.

Pathways, another Walmart training program, serves entry-level frontline employees. Every new employee enters the program within six months of hire and learns essential customer-service, merchandising, teamwork, and communications skills. To date, Walmart has trained more than 400,000 employees using the Pathways program.

In the past couple of years, Walmart has invested $2.7 billion to ensure the readiness of its future U.S. workforce.

3. Readiness as Future Ways of Working The nature of work is changing quickly. According to a report from the World Economic Forum, the development of robots and automation in the workplace could

create 58 million new jobs in the next five years.

According to McKinsey & Company, as the demand for physical and manual skills declines, the need for technological skills, as well as social and emotional ones, will rise quickly in every sector.

A future enterprise must quickly change how it approaches work if it is to maximize workforce potential. To gain the advantage over its competitors, a company must employ cognitive and digital automation, as well as learning, unlearning, relearning, and applying knowledge.

Walmart is positioning itself to become a digital company in the future. The company was the third-largest investor in technology worldwide in 2018, recording 1,500 patents in the past few years and adding 1,700 IT professionals to its technology team in 2018 (another 2,000 IT professionals will be added in 2019). The company has also joined the CTA Apprenticeship Coalition, created

by IBM and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, to

help its employees train for new IT jobs. With training conducted on the job, apprentices don’t have to invest as much money up front to learn the necessary skills.

Walmart is recognized as a pioneer in the application of technology and automation to elevate business. Robots, currently operating in hundreds of its stores, include Auto-C, a floor polisher and cleaner that only needs minimal help from humans in the form of prep work; Auto S, a robot that scans store shelves to make sure items are in the right place and have been priced correctly; FAST Unloaders, auto-unloaders that work in conjunction with Auto S to scan and sort inventory, so that what is needed most can be moved from truck to backroom to shelf in the fastest way possible; and Pickup Tower: an auto-vending machine that enables in-store customers to pick up their previously placed online orders in under a minute.

The use of robotics frees employees from mundane and repetitive tasks, allows them to better serve customers on the sales floor, and gives them more time to learn and apply new knowledge and skills.

The Walmart research mentioned earlier states that increasing automation means that jobs will get done differently, not that jobs will disappear. By raising employee readiness for different roles, Walmart is well positioned to create new jobs. In 2018, for example, the company created 30,000 new grocery delivery and pickup service jobs.

Neuroscience indicates that scenario-based learning can effectively teach hard and soft skills, and develop situational awareness, using cognitive (prefrontal cortex), emotional (amygdala and other limbic), and behavioral (basal ganglia) methods. Coupled with the application of various VR modules, Walmart adopted gamification to make reskilling and upskilling fun and engaging, while helping employees learn, retain, and apply new knowledge to a variety of in-store roles. One of the games was developed to train dry goods department managers. So far, it has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. The game puts the player in charge of the dry goods department in a Walmart store. The player faces a variety of challenges that a department manager might deal with daily. As a player successfully overcomes each challenge, he or she advances to the next level.

Conclusion To conclude, I’d like to share the following call to action issued by the World Economic Forum’s Preparing for the Future of Work project: • Foster a culture of lifelong learning in your company/ industry

o Encourage a lifelong learning mindset among all employees through the right incentive structure, leadership example, and communication strategy

o Build tailored training and upskilling programs relevant to jobs in your company and the industry more broadly, and make them

widely available to all employees o Define certifications for key

skills that enhance talent mobility • Facilitate job transition pathways with targeted reskilling programs o Create strategic workforce

planning and skill-mapping

to identify gaps and opportunities

o Clearly communicate the benefits of reskilling, and create a sense of urgency for employee action

o Develop reskilling programs to enable job transitions from declining jobs to relevant growing jobs, and from current relevant jobs to emerging jobs requiring scarce skill sets

To thrive in the digital era, we must proactively prepare for and invest in the future by embracing change, adaption, and innovation.

By reconfiguring business models, redefining jobs and work, retraining the workforce, and creating an inclusive and learning culture where employees and technology work together to achieve goals, we can get ahead of the game.

Thus, we can turn a challenge into a promising opportunity, in terms of higher productivity, rising wages, and increased prosperity. PDJ

Donald Fan serves as Senior Director in the Global Office of Culture, Diversity & Inclusion at Walmart Inc.

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Inspiration: The Outside Perspective Michael Stuber, the European D&I Engineer, becomes a PDJ columnist for 2019

S

ince we launched Profiles in Diversity Journal more than twenty years ago, D&I has grown from an innovative niche topic to become a widely accepted and broadly tackled issue. At the same time, it has become more difficult to create attention for D&I, find new approaches, or increase the success of existing strategies. One pioneer, who started out about the same time as PDJ, deals with these questions in a specific way. He is European D&I Engineer Michael Stuber. And PDJ has invited him to become a columnist in 2019.

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To introduce and frame Mr. Stuber’s upcoming contributions for our readers, PDJ conducted the following interview: PDJ: How has your definition of diversity changed since you started to work on the topic in 1997?

MS: Our analysis shows two paradigm shifts that are quite fundamental. On the one side, diversity now embraces more topics than ever before, including business-specific criteria, and also explicitly includes all individuals of any given dimension. On the other side, diversity today is clearly positioned as a resource and a part

of the D&I value chain. Its elements and tangible benefits were quite vague in the beginning.

PDJ: You have always advocated a European framework for D&I. Which specifics do you see today, in the context of globalization or vis-Ă -vis the United States?

MS: In the beginning, we first had to understand if diversity was as relevant and powerful in Europe or EMEA as in the U.S., where it first started. Then, the differing legal and national contexts got integrated and, at the same time, globalization also demanded more universal approaches. After twenty years,

we initiated a pan-European study that confirmed that a European D&I framework exists. It reflects some specifics that relate to the EUwide non-discrimination regulation and to the integrated nature of the single market and a European identity in the concert of world regions.

"

Diversity today is clearly positioned as a resource and a part of the D&I value chain. Its elements and tangible benefits were quite vague in the beginning.

"

PDJ: Does that mean there are significant differences between Europe and the United States in D&I today?

the future D&I agenda will have a lot in common regardless of where we work on the topic and will have to change in similar ways as well.

research, publications, and consulting work you do. Can you give our readers a sense of how your approach has changed?

MS: In fact, we have observed an increase in shared Diversity & Inclusion “household” programs across North America and EMEA. This even meant that little attention was eventually given to persisting and, in part, increasing differences. These become apparent in the governance of D&I, the language, no-go areas, or the acknowledgement of prevailing barriers to be addressed. For example, the European concept of quota or the importance of diverse slates in the U.S. are often not fully understood or decoded by the respective other side of the Atlantic.

PDJ: What are some of the changes that you have identified for the future of D&I?

MS: It is true that we want to practice what we preach, and therefore we also had to revise some of the work we had done in the past. The result is our new ENGINEERING D&I approach that focuses on having an impact on each individual organization we work with. In order to achieve this, we combine the three i’s: Insight-based, international, and innovative. This means that we are rigorously using the huge body of research, also to react to populist messages or existing myths. Then we leverage international expertise and experience to make sure we create contextualized learning. And finally, we check each element for embedded assumptions and try to create out-of-the-box solutions that best address a given issue. This also describes the spirit in which I look forward to contributing to your journal in 2019!

PDJ: This analysis could imply that different regional foci or strategies should be established.

Do you see more overlap or differences going forward?

MS: The overlap is more significant than the differences. For the most part, this is due to the global megatrends including digital transformation, ongoing globalization of business, and increasing complexity. Unfortunately, populism and increasing resistance or even backlash against D&I also form part of the common ground we see in many parts of the world. Overall,

MS: In fact, we have spent significant effort over the past four years to understand how we have to refocus D&I in light of the changes just mentioned. Some of them are not necessarily appreciated by D&I practitioners, and some need to be positioned differently, depending on the world region where you work. We see two main redirections. First, D&I has to become more integrated.

This means we need to connect, and eventually dissolve, silos in our programs, measurement, and messaging. We have to make sure that each individual feels that he or she belongs to and benefits from our D&I frameworks in the same way. Secondly, D&I has to become more specific. This requires tailoring programs more to individual business models and organizational cultures, and copying less of the peer-group-related initiatives that lead to top ratings or rankings in indexes or awards.

PDJ: It sounds as if you have also revamped and refocused your own approach to D&I and to the

PDJ: Thank you Michael. We look forward to your contributions.

PDJ Michael Stuber’s company hosts a D&I knowledge blog called DiversityMine, which contains more than 1,900 articles.

He contributed an article on the future of D&I to the fall 2017 issue of PDJ and wrote about diversity and group think for the magazine’s fall 2018 issue.

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Growing Momentum to Shrink the Gender Pay Gap

By Lorraine Hariton, President & CEO, Catalyst

I

n my recent travels throughout the UK and Canada, and back home in New York, one subject keeps coming up: the pay gap between women and men.

Twenty-three years ago, when the United States had its first Equal Pay Day, women were paid 74 percent of what their male counterparts made. That number has barely budged, with women earning, on average, 80 percent in 2017.

So, it might surprise you to learn that I am optimistic about the prospect for change.

At Catalyst, we are hearing from more and more global companies that feel the need to take strong action to tackle the pay

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gap if only because if they don’t, legislators will require it.

An Emerging Trend: Pay Transparency Laws During my trip to the UK, I spoke with several corporate leaders about the Equality Act, which requires companies with more than 250 employees to publicly disclose salary information.

The government is betting that publishing pay data will force companies into action and will empower employees to press for greater pay equity.

Germany also recently passed a law that lets women and men who work for companies with more than

200 employees learn the salary of coworkers in the same job. And, in 2018, Canada introduced pay equity legislation for the federal jurisdiction, requiring employers to examine compensation practices and ensure that women and men working in federally regulated workplaces receive equal pay for work of equal value.

Back in the United States, some companies are also getting candid about their pay gaps. Citigroup recently revealed that median pay for women employees was 29 percent less than for men in the company.

Why publish such data? The reason is simple: they understand that you can’t improve what you don’t measure, and they are setting goals for improvement. Bloomberg’s 2019 Gender-Equality Index, which lists

global companies that voluntarily share gender diversity data and practices, has more than doubled in size in the span of a year. And at Catalyst, 62 CEOs have now joined Catalyst CEO Champions For Change—a two-year-old initiative that involves sharing data on women’s advancement, so we can collectively measure and report progress.

Pay Inequity Is Bad for Business The bottom line: More companies are stepping up because they know that it’s not just the right thing to do; it’s good for business too. In the era of #MeToo, when gender issues are in the spotlight, employees, investors, and customers are increasingly expecting companies to walk the talk. They also know that companies that embrace diversity and inclusion will be more successful at attracting talent.

And, they know it won’t be long until companies that fail to address fundamental inequities are left behind.

So far, the United States hasn’t adopted pay transparency regulations, but that could soon change; a federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to reinstate a 2016 initiative requiring companies to report how much they paid workers based on gender and race. Advocates of this initiative (including Catalyst) believe that collecting this data will encourage employers to correct pay disparities.

Whether the Trump Administration will appeal the ruling is unclear, but what is very clear is that companies should get off the sidelines. More than 40 percent of

U.S. mothers are sole or primary breadwinners; getting paid equally is a basic right.

Many years of research show that organizations can close the pay gap if they do the following: • Conduct internal pay equity studies/analyses. You can’t fix what you don’t measure.

• Implement a “no negotiations” policy for men and women; studies show that when women negotiate for higher salaries, people react more negatively than they do when a man asks for more money. This directly contributes to the wage differences between women and men.

• Publish salaries or salary bands, along with explanations, and facilitate discussions to ensure lines of communications are clear and honest.

• Evaluate recruitment, promotion, and talent development systems for gender bias.

Gap Inc. took these measures and became the first Fortune 500 company to publicly disclose and validate that it pays men and women equally for equal work.

(Which is why, in part, Gap won the Catalyst Award in 2016.)

For years, there has been broad consensus that women should be paid equally. Now, it is time for employers to back that up with policies proven to eradicate the gap. Those who don’t may soon find they no longer have a choice.

PDJ Lorraine Hariton is President & CEO of Catalyst, a global nonprofit working with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Lorraine’s extensive career includes senior-level positions in Silicon Valley, as well as leadership roles across the private, nonprofit, and government sectors.

Catalyst’s vision and mission have long been a passion for Lorraine and she is honored to lead the organization at this crucial time and to help write the next chapter in its 56-year legacy of accelerating positive change for women.

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We Have Come a Long Way…

By Teresa Fausey

BIG PICTURE POLITICS AND CULTURE The editors of Politico Magazine recently asked several women leaders, “What Are the Biggest Problems Women Face Today?” Although the respondents focused on different specific issues, the

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general consensus was that, even in the United States, where women have the ability to pursue educational and career opportunities, greater access to money and credit, more independence and mobility, and entrée to the political system, they continue to face deeply entrenched, and sometimes insidious, roadblocks

to growth, success, autonomy, and freedom.

According to Keisha N. Blain, who teaches history at the University of Pittsburgh and is author of Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom, the biggest challenge facing

AMERICAN WOMEN FIRSTS (collected from Wikipedia)

women in the United States today is patriarchy, especially in politics. Blain says that “regardless of a woman’s experience, education, or abilities, the patriarchal nature of U.S. society fosters the perception that women are less qualified and less competent than men. What patriarchy has done is convince people that a strong and intelligent woman represents a problem; a disruption to the social order rather than an integral part of it.”

Rebecca Traister, a writerat-large for New York magazine and The Cut, also sees specific issues as representative of a larger, systemic problem, an “extremely potent combination of sexism, racism, and economic inequality…. All of the individual challenges we may be tempted to rank are symptomatic of these massive systemic power imbalances, working in tandem.”

Center of American Progress President Neera Tandan voiced even more dire concerns regarding the overarching forces affecting women in the political domain. “The greatest challenge confronting women in America,” she says, “is a campaign to normalize misogyny and take women’s rights backward.”

However, at least in the workplace, there is some good news.

Harriet Tubman

Victoria Woodhull

1647: Margaret Brent–first American woman to demand the right to vote.

1739: Elizabeth Timothy–first woman to print a formal newspaper and the first female franchise holder in the colonies.

1756: Lydia Taft–first woman to vote legally in Colonial America.

1776: Margaret Corbin–first woman to assume the role of soldier in the American Revolution and receive a pension for it.

1784: Hannah Wilkinson Slater–first American woman granted a patent.

1845: Lowell Female Labor Reform Association opened in 1845 as the first major labor union.

1850: Harriet Tubman–first American woman to run an underground railroad to help slaves escape.

1869: Arabella Mansfield–first female lawyer in America; admitted to the Iowa bar.

1870: Louisa Ann Swain–first woman in the United States to vote in a general election.

1872: Victoria Woodhull–first woman to run for United States President.

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EMPLOYERS GET IT

1923: Florence King–first woman to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court (Crown v. Nye).

Although business entities, and other organizations, vary in their approach to gender equality and support for women, with some going all in and others resisting any substantive change, it’s surprising and gratifying that so many large corporations and nonprofits are taking the lead in this area. Not only are these entities committed to doing the right thing, they understand that their commitment to gender equity also works to the organization’s advantage.

Clients demand workforce diversity in vendors, suppliers, and consultants, while companies with diverse workforces are more innovative and more profitable. Gender equity is a case of doing well by doing good.

1933: Frances Perkins–first woman cabinet member (Secretary of Labor), under Franklin Roosevelt.

A LOOK AHEAD—2019

Carro Clark

Lettie Pate Whitehead

1900: Carro Clark–first American woman to establish, own, and manage a book publishing firm—C. M. Clark Publishing Company.

1916: Jeannette Rankin–first woman to hold high office in the United States—elected to Congress, as a Republican from Montana.

1920: Marie Luhring–first woman in America to become an automotive engineer.

1934: Lettie Pate Whitehead–first woman to serve as a director of a major corporation (The Coca-Cola Company).

1942: Anna Leah Fox–first woman to receive the Purple Heart (wounded in the attack on Pearl Harbor).

1948: Esther McGowin Blake–first woman in the U.S. Air Force.

1955: Clotilde Dent Bowen–the U.S. Army’s first black female physician to attain the rank of colonel.

1959: Arlene Pieper–first woman to officially finish a marathon in the United States when she finished the Pikes Peak Marathon in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

1963: Maria Goeppert Mayer–first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics; she shared the prize with Eugene Paul Wigner and J. Hans D. Jensen.

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According to “5 Predictions For What Women Will Experience In The Workplace In 2019,” written

by Fairygodboss CEO and Forbes Women contributor Georgina Huang, and posted January 22, 2019 by Forbes.com, women can look forward to five key changes in the workplace. What follows is a condensed version of those changes: 1. More employers will start taking actions to improve gender diversity at work, which may take the form of hiring more women, starting employee resource groups for women, or improving benefits and

policies intended to attract and retain women.

2. Employees will organize more often and more effectively to create change.

In 2018, we saw more employees organize in the form of public walkouts and open letters to management. In 2019, we can expect this trend to continue and grow.

3. Sexual harassment will remain in the news, which will create conversation in the workplace. However, many employers will probably continue to make incremental changes.

4. Historically unprecedented female representation in Congress, and in politics generally, may mean legislative changes more supportive to women at work—especially, policies related to childcare or family leave.

5. Women will continue to see progress on boards—an outgrowth of the progress for women on boards in the past couple of years, with African-American women and Asian women in particular making inroads.

All in all, things may be looking up for U.S. women at work in 2019. Of course, progress in the work, political, and personal lives of women will continue to require each of us to step up, speak out, and reach higher.

Luckily, women are always up to the challenge. PDJ

The Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor, justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, is shown, June 24, 1985.

(AP Photo/Lana Harris)

1964: Isabel Benham–first female partner in R.W. Pressprich & Co.’s 55-year history, which also made her the first female partner at any Wall Street bond house.

1972: Katharine Graham–first female Fortune 500 CEO, as CEO of the Washington Post Company.

1976: Emily Howell Warner–first woman to become an American airline captain.

1981: Sandra Day O'Connor–first woman United States Supreme Court justice.

1985: Libby Riddles–first woman to win the Iditarod.

1994: Judith Rodin–first permanent female president of an Ivy League university (University of Pennsylvania).

1999: Carly Fiorina–first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company (Hewlett-Packard) 2000: Lucille "Pam" Thompson–first AfricanAmerican woman to be a U.S. Coast Guard Special Agent.

2009: Jeanne Shaheen–first woman to hold the offices of Governor (New Hampshire, 1997–2003) and U.S. senator (New Hampshire, since 2009).

2016: Adena Friedman–first female CEO of NASDAQ. 2018: Stacey Cunningham–first female President of the New York Stock Exchange.

The achievements listed here include gains in business, education, politics, athletics, the military, science, and more.

Some were outliers—one-time wins for one specific woman, not to be repeated for years. However, every gain made helped pave the way for the next generation of women to move the sticks down the field toward the ultimate goal.

Women today are stepping up and stepping out as never before. They are also working together and organizing as never before. And we are seeing the results—as never before.

www.diversityjournal.com

59

Isn’t that Just Good Management?

By Janet Crenshaw Smith and Gary A. Smith Sr., PDJ columnists for 2019

I

t’s funny how often that question is asked when we are implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and programs for our clients. In fact, the question has become somewhat predictable.

We’ll start here by first answering the question, and then we’ll explain more. The simple, direct, and most appropriate answer is, “Yes!” But you probably already know, it’s never quite that simple or direct.

We have successfully designed and executed programs that accelerate professional opportunities for women and people of color (and other

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groups who are underrepresented at the top). These programs are created not because the racially or gender diverse employees are in any way deficient, but because their workplace experiences are sometimes different or even subpar. The differences in their experiences can be attributed to numerous factors, including lack of opportunity, unconscious bias, lack of relationships or familiarity across differences, or even human capital systems that have bias built into them.

Take something as simple as performance feedback.

Everyone needs to know what

they’re doing well and what needs improvement. Yet time and time again, organizational assessments reveal inequities in the frequency and quality of feedback. We continue to find statistically significant results by race and gender, and sometimes other dimensions of diversity. The differences in their experiences may be attributable to a leader’s discomfort providing feedback across difference. The gaps created by those experiential differences can prove to be meaningful and impactful with regard to opportunities for women and people of color.

In an effort to close the gaps, we often suggest that strategies and programs be implemented that focus on the most impacted groups.

It’s this focus that usually generates questions.

• Why do we need to focus on diversity?

• Why is this even being classified as diversity?

• Isn’t that just good management?

Remember, from the very beginning we said the answer is, “Yes, this is good management.” The problem is that “good management” isn’t being provided consistently to everyone.

Disappointing questions come next.

• What if we’re not good at doing this for anyone?

• What if our managers don’t manage well?

• Why would we focus on specific groups?

• Shouldn’t we just implement this initiative organization-wide?

Those are trickier questions.

First, we would LOVE to have organizations invest more heavily in people. We dream of organizations that provide managers with the time and resources to teach, coach, and nurture their staff. Second, the “we suck at managing everyone” argument overlooks the fact that you are indeed sometimes good at doing these things. Not consistently, not for

“Yes, this is good management.” The problem is that “good management” isn’t being provided consistently to everyone. everyone, but someone is getting the feedback, the mentoring, the coaching, the development, the special stretch assignment, the opportunity. We know because we see it—and other employees see it—being done well for some but not for others. It is the inconsistent execution that creates the gaps in employee experiences in the first place.

If all employees were valued, treated equitably, and the beneficiaries of good management practices, then diversity, equity, and inclusion might not ever be necessary. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way.

Yet when we launch initiatives to close the statistically significant gaps in how different groups are cared for, led, and managed, the notion of improving good management for all emerges. So while it is good management, if it isn’t being applied consistently, or in a way that avoids creating gaps in the employee experience, then why does it only come up when we set out to address the inequity? Why isn’t equity a driver of diversity and inclusion instead of a counterbalance to it?

Consider this: Many office buildings installed ramps because the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) required public buildings to make adjustments that would make them accessible to ev-

eryone. While the ramps were installed for people with mobility issues, who until then could not easily have building access, today many others also benefit from those ramps. For example, when we’re rolling luggage, we appreciate them. A solution intended for a smaller group also benefited a larger one.

If your diversity, equity, and Inclusion efforts can drive a sea change in how your organization prioritizes people management, that’s great! But remember how you got here; you identified inequities. So begin with a focus on closing those gaps. Identify the biases in the systems, norms, and practices that caused those gaps. Then design strategies and programs for groups who have been missing out. “Good management” could be a byproduct of your D&I programs.

PDJ

Janet Crenshaw Smith and Gary A. Smith Sr. are the cofounders of Ivy Planning Group, a 29-year-old consulting and training firm. Ivy won Profiles in Diversity Journal‘s 2018 Innovations in Diversity Award. Profiles in Diversity Journal has also named Gary and Janet Diversity Pioneers and Diversity Leaders.

www.diversityjournal.com

61

Do White Men Have a

Role to Play in D&I?

By Lor N. Lee, Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Mayo Clinic

I

“

don’t know Lor. What do I have to offer to the work of diversity and inclusion?”

“I’m just going to not mentor any women because I don’t want to be accused of sexual harassment when behind closed doors.”

These are only two of the kinds of statements I hear when talking to white male colleagues who want to help advance people of color and women but don’t know how or are afraid. Whatever the reason

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for their hesitation, the result is that they end up staying on the sidelines. In a 2017 Ernst and Young survey, approximately 35 percent of respondents reported that they felt the growing conversation around diversity and inclusion tends to overlook white men and the role they play in advancing this work.

Yes, white men still hold a majority of corporate C-suite and other leadership roles, but the people who make up their teams are becoming more

and more racially and gender diverse. Due to changing demographics, and organizations giving more air time, effort, and energy to advancing diversity and inclusion, “white normativ¬ity is being challenged, and not only on one front, but on four: political, economic, cultural, and demographic,” according to Tim Wise in his book Dear White America. Wise goes on to explain that the narrative whites— especially white men—grew up knowing is being redefined and retold from perspectives that challenge their norms.

As diversity and inclusion practitioners, we know that when implementing D&I initiatives, there will be challenges to and conflicts surrounding what we are trying to accomplish. It is crucial that we do not alienate white men in this work or we’ll find ourselves facing pretty powerful opposition. We need to understand these challenges and address the conflicts if we want to be successful in our efforts. Here are three ways we can better work with white men to achieve our D&I goals—and theirs:

become aware of their blind spots and do a better job of checking them when they are making big, important decisions.

2. What’s in it for them?

I often hear the following: “Of course I want to create inclusive teams, but that means we are spending time away from our core work,” and “How does focusing on diversity and inclusion help advance my own career?” There is a lot of confusion as to the real value and impact D&I

"

white male leaders in your organization to be executive sponsors of Employee Resource Groups. If they can start to build work relationships, gain confidence, and see how those who look different from themselves can be successful, they are more likely to see employees of color and women as people they can mentor, promote, and sponsor.

Once white male leaders in your organization are engaged in and excited about this work, you have created allies! This is

Once white male leaders in your organization are engaged in and excited about this work, you have created allies! This is the BIGGEST role that white men can play in advancing diversity and inclusion.

1. No shame. No blame.

We must engage white men in the conversation around diversity and inclusion, but not shame and blame them for “getting us here.” It is our role as D&I practitioners to help them listen to and understand the concerns of the people of color and women on their teams. It is our role to help them see that it is not their fault, but that it is our collective responsibility to do things differently. When we drive a car, we know that there are many blind spots we must remember to check.

It is our role as D&I practitioners to help white men

efforts have, especially when “things have been fine for the last 100-plus years.” Using quantifiable measures helps leaders demonstrate that their efforts to build inclusive teams lead to improved employee retention and lower recruitment costs, which result in an improved bottom line and greater customer satisfaction.

Leaders who achieve these results will be seen as more effective. That’s what’s in it for them.

3. Engage them in leading D&I efforts. One great way to do this is to tap

"

the BIGGEST role that white men can play in advancing diversity and inclusion. Once they feel they can use their own voices, power, and stature to champion change, your work is well underway. PDJ

Lor N. Lee is the Administrator/Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Mayo Clinic. He has over 18 years of experience in leadership positions with responsiblities for the development and implementation of diversity, inclusion and cultural competence initiatives.

www.diversityjournal.com

63

Equity or Bust

By Melissa B. Donaldson

A

s a diversity and inclusion strategist for more than a decade, I’ve noticed a number of subtle and not-so-subtle changes in the profession over the years—some disconcerting, some encouraging, and some, frankly, confusing. One change that encompasses all three of these reactions, in one way or another, is the insertion of the word equity in the titles of many practitioners. It is encouraging because it elevates an important distinction in the work. It is disconcerting due to the confusion that arises in the minds of listeners. Full disclosure, equity is not part of any title I have held while leading this work. However, it is definitely something I am absolutely

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committed to as a byproduct of my efforts. Equity or bust is my aim.

Here’s why it should be yours, too.

What exactly does equity mean?

Equity often gets confused with equality. Equity is defined by Merriam-Webster as “justice according to natural law or right; specifically freedom from bias or favoritism.” Merriam-Webster defines equality as “the quality or state of being equal.” Equity speaks to justice. Equality speaks to a state of being, well, equal.

Pardon some bottom-lining here from a non-lawyer: Equality is afforded to human beings by Constitutional law to guarantee in-

dividuals equal opportunity void of discrimination—equal opportunities for access to education, to public places, and to housing, food and protection; and yes, equal opportunities for employment, which should be upheld regardless of whether a diversity and inclusion office exists.

Equity is not guaranteed by any doctrine or law. It comes by way of a personal or organizational commitment to giving individuals their due, presuming all prerequisites, such as educational achievement, technical preparation, and consistency of accomplishments, are met. Such a commitment should essentially justify upward mobility unencumbered by bias or favoritism.

Equity is not guaranteed by any doctrine or law. It comes by way of a personal or organizational commitment to giving individuals their due, presuming all prerequisites, such as educational achievement, technical preparation, and consistency of accomplishments, are met.

Personal dimensions of diversity, such as gender, race, ethnicity, alma mater, accent, hairstyle, physical ability, or creed, should not be a deterrent to career growth or promotions. What matters most is an objective assessment of performance and potential. Yet oftentimes, objectivity is defeated by bias and harmful favoritism.

Inclusion mission, aborted.

The formal emphasis on equity (e.g., the establishment of Offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is indeed encouraging. However, it is important to understand the distinctions between equality and equity, both for practitioners and clients.

When “in-equity” goes unchecked, it is harmful to the credibility of your practice and your employer’s reputation. It is critical to be vigilant regarding both outcomes. Diversity takes commitment. Inclusion requires intention. Equity demands vigilance and action. The most lucrative, beautifully architected diversity and inclusion strategy will fall victim to an environmental toxicity fueled by unchecked bias (conscious or unconscious), and negative treatment—aka, “in-equity.” Benjamin Franklin once said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” Now that we’ve labeled it, we must combat it.

So what can we all do to elevate equity? Here are three things to consider: • Realize that words matter.

• Pay attention to language and word choices.

• Disallow the use of the word diverse as an all-encompassing label for the organizationally underrepresented.

Identifying someone as a diverse candidate, diverse employee, diverse customer, or diverse hire screams, “You are not my equal so I must treat you differently.” It also green-lights both inequity and inequality. When these phrases are uttered, simply ask the speaker to be more specific as to whom they are referring. Offer gentle assistance if they appear uncomfortable when responding.

Ask more questions, and challenge your assumptions. How well are interventions working? What’s the impact on promotion rates? Stay curious. Periodically check in to see how groups within the workforce are fairing—particularly targeted women and professionals of color in challenging departments. Try to stay abreast of their progress and any unusual career stall outs. Check in with their managers, too. Remember the message repeated in airports all over the country, “If you see something, say something.” Bias and favoritism can be masked, so open communication is important. Take your suspicions to someone knowledgeable who can help connect the dots if you believe there is cause for alarm. Carefully consider all stakeholders when considering options.

Be an advocate, not a vigilantly.

Learn more about more people.

Hear their stories. Find out if there have been instances in which they felt victimized by the two-headed bias-favoritism monster. How were they affected? How did their stories impact you? What did you learn?

What surprised you? Listen for patterns across the workforce.

Discreetly take any worrisome insights to your up-line, and begin crafting interventions. Senior leaders cannot address what they do not know about. The more aware you are of how pervasive inequity is, the more you can help your firm mitigate potential risks.

Equity is about justice and fair treatment. It is not necessary to add equity to titles to direct our efforts.

Measuring programmatic outcomes and trusting our instincts regarding foul play will be our keys to success.

The workforce and the workplace are depending on us to get this right.

PDJ Melissa B. Donaldson is an executive diversity and inclusion strategist with more than thirteen years as a corporate practitioner.

She has worked in multiple industries, including retail, technology, and financial services, where she currently serves as a chief diversity officer. A writer, speaker, facilitator, and adjunct graduate school instructor, Donaldson is an alum of Wright State University, Central Michigan University, and Northwestern University.

www.diversityjournal.com

65

Bringing the Curtain Down on Affinity Groups

Cultural Equity Teams Wait in the Wings

By Stephen Young & Barbara Hockfield, PDJ columnists for 2019

W

hatever you call them—BRGs, ERGs, or affinity groups—these employee organizations have created safe havens and solace for many marginalized groups in the workplace. But have they reached the age of retirement?

Over the years, business resource groups, otherwise known as BRGs, have done great work infusing diverse perspectives into workplace culture. However, in order to ensure

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[Note: This article highlights Phase 1 of a three-phased reengineering process for the creation and implementation of Cultural Equity Teams.]

a continued and growing impact on culture change as business evolves, has the time come for a seismic shift in structure?

BRGs originated to support the needs of employees who shared common demographic and cultural profiles. At their inception, they served an important purpose. But today, are they keeping pace with a rapidly evolving, multicultural and intersectional landscape?

As workplace culture advances, has their appeal and effectiveness

diminished, regardless of their proliferation across businesses?

If these organizations fail to stay in touch with the forward momentum of business, they run the risk of slipping into stasis, irrelevance, or decline. If you fail to evolve, you will diminish.

For decades, the NAACP made undeniable progress for social change. But as culture and technology have evolved around this great cultural institution, its influence has waned.

The SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), led by the icon himself, Martin Luther King, once played a powerful role in the advancement of the American Civil Rights movement, but is virtually unheard of today.

Affirmative Action played a vital role in improving workplace and academic demographics for African Americans, but is now an initiative relegated to obsolescence.

These, and other notable cultural advancement organizations, made progressive strides, but as global markets, technology, work environments, and multiculturalism evolved, their value and relevance dimmed because they failed to keep with the speed of change.

The first corporate affinity group appeared in 1970 at Xerox Corporation. It was formed as a caucus group to address workplace discrimination and employee development for African Americans. Such affinity groups, known as BENs (Black Employee Networks), rapidly proliferated across the corporate landscape and became a major force in abating racial discrimination in the workplace.

The stage was set. Other groups quickly formed across a broad array of cultural and special interest groups, including Latinos, women, LGBTQIA+, and others. Their primary mission was to provide comfort, camaraderie, self-development, and a platform to share common experiences of workplace exclusion and marginalization.

They sought to create a safe haven for those who found themselves excluded, discriminated against, and

perceived as other at work. By 2007, more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies had formed BRGs. For their members, it was comforting to be part of a group that shared common sentiments, interests, and workplace experiences, and offered a brief respite from the exclusion and discrimination they experienced in the workplace. The groups became effective mechanisms for easing racial tension, but the ‘BRG buffer’ had only marginal influence in achieving deeper and more meaningful workplace culture change.

other enriching cultural awareness and education events.

But the critical question remained: What did this cultural knowledge really do to create meaningful and measurable change for their respective groups?

The clear answer was—not much of anything.

Although blatant acts of discrimination had been addressed, and a token number of jobs filled, the train of equity and inclusion had barely begun to leave the station.

Reflecting on many years of managing those cultural events, as chief diversity officer for one of the largest banks in the United States, I grappled with this question. Our many Black History Month celebrations left people remembering the African drums, but not so much the strong beat of talent resonating from bank employees.

Sometimes the slightest forward motion—particularly when one has not been moving at all—can appear as significant progress.

During one of our Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations, I was enjoying churros and chimichangas with a senior white manager. At one point he turned and asked, “How is this helping Latinos develop and succeed here at the investment bank?”

While affinity group members felt good about the work being done, the greater corporate community began to view these groups as a type of company-sanctioned social club.

In response, to strengthen their image and reach beyond this impression, BRGs expanded their mission to include professional development, career counseling, and the introduction of cultural celebration months meant to raise awareness and appreciation of the contributions of their respective cultures. BRGs became stewards of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and a myriad of

In retrospect, not only did the smorgasbord of Latino cuisine not generate any meaningful inclusion progress, it actually served up a dish of regression by isolating the group and obfuscating their value as contributors to the business.

This regression reared its ugly head again at a succession planning meeting I attended. An employee’s name came up for review. When asked if anyone on the panel knew him, one executive exclaimed, “Yes, definitely! He was the chimichanga guy!” Sadly, that employee and his professional status had become inextricably linked to a fried burrito.

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This kind of disconnect plagued many of these cultural celebrations.

For example, learning about the great accomplishments of women may have been inspiring and educational, but did little for establishing pay equity for women or increasing their numbers on the high-potential list for succession planning. Instead of creating meaningful and measurable advancement in principal areas of diversity (demographics) and inclusion (behavioral change), affinity group events and activities were serving primarily as safe havens and purveyors of cultural education but not as catalysts for change.

"

Once we’ve learned that a person is an African American, transgendered female, is there something I should do differently when interacting with her at my next staff meeting?

Other than using her preferred pronoun, should I write my emails differently? Should I support, or disagree with her, differently?

Should there be any change at all

advancing the reengineered entity’s image, impact, and value to the business.

In the months that followed, the company dismantled their existing BRG silo structure, replacing it with the new model of CETs. The impact was seismic and ignited a cultural cascade of change.

Unlike BRGs, the CET was not viewed as a social group, safe-haven, or venting platform. Instead, it was positioned to play a primary role in setting a culture of Equitable Respect—a central ingredient for achieving a competitive market advantage.

The ultimate mission should be to strive for Equitable Engagement—ensuring that all aspects of the ways we communicate exude acceptance, appreciation, and value across all groups and dimensions, equitably.

While delivering a seminar on unconscious bias at a Fortune 100 company, I was informed there would be representatives attending from their 15 BRGs. Yes, they actually had 15 different groups, serving African Americans, women, millennials, boomers, new hires, LGBTQIA+, non-binary gender, veterans, single parents, non-exempts, Latinos, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and differently-abled—all operating within their individual silos.

After the session, I had an opportunity to speak with each of them.

Although their experiences were somewhat different, their core shared objective was the desire to be treated in a way that made them feel valued and engaged.

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I’ve often wondered, after one has learned the detailed differences between cis-gender, transgender, race, non-binary identification, and other groups, what exactly should change in our behavior when interacting with a particular individual.

Spring 2019

in our workplace interactions, once we’ve learned those profile details?

Although the knowledge does make us more aware of differences, that knowledge should have no tangible effect on the ways we engage with our colleagues at work. Instead, the ultimate mission should be to strive for Equitable Engagement— ensuring that all aspects of the ways we communicate exude acceptance, appreciation, and value across all groups and dimensions, equitably.

What an opportune time it was to introduce to each of those 15 BRGs a reengineered infrastructure—Cultural Equity Teams (CETs), intersectional and positioned to accomplish their common objectives, while

"

Management embraced the CET’s unified and expanded mission focused more closely on supporting the company’s core business—impacting external branding, corporate culture, and employee and customer experience, as well as marketing. By reengineering and aligning their mission to current and future business trends, CETs have solidified their future as a respected and vital business entity.

Cultural Equity Team Formation: Phase 1 Phase 1 dismantles the old BRG silo structure and replaces it with a amalgamated single structure that combines all BRG interests into one

more influential force—the cultural equity team.

• Employee and Customer Experience

CETs sharpen the focus on driving meaningful change.

Representatives for the new CET are sourced from each of the previous BRGs. It is essential that formation of the new CET pay particular attention to include intersectionality. Intersectional theory asserts that people are often disadvantaged by multiple dimensions of exclusion. Typically, these include race, gender, identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, and other identity markers. In this way, the CET is better positioned to address current trends and multicultural needs of evolving business and workforce culture.

• Inter-Cultural High Potential Development

This new construct makes the CET an invaluable business contributor, a true catalyst for change and far better positioned to support the demands of both the current and future workplace.

Unlike BRGs, the new CET structure is more closely aligned with the broader core business mission, as it takes on the following added mission goals and responsibilities:

• External Branding • Competitive Market Advantage Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the process take into consideration the unique dynamics of a company’s culture, operating principals, and the industry in which it operates.

At many corporate board meetings, the topic of corporate culture is being more closely examined as an important factor in assessing the state of the business and its future direction and success. It is clear these oversight governance teams will view CETs as a vital part of that mission.

By distilling the needs and objectives of the various siloed diversity groups,

For more information contact: Insight Education Systems www.insighteds.com

PDJ

Stephen Young is Senior Partner and Barbara Hockfield is the Executive Managing Director at Insight Education Systems.

www.diversityjournal.com

69

Why Isn’t Tech

More Inclusive?

By Teresa Fausey

T

echnology is nothing.

What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them. – Steve Jobs So, why is it that in tech, and perhaps to a lesser extent in other fields, that “faith” Jobs mentions in the above quote is so often not extended to women? From childhood to college to work, women who pursue educational experiences and careers in STEM fields aren’t assumed to be “good and smart,” and aren’t given the tools or the support they need “to do wonderful things.”

In fact, they are less likely to be listened to, less likely to be hired, less

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likely to be recognized or promoted, and more likely to be criticized, ignored, and excluded in school and at work. As a result, many women and minorities, who have dedicated themselves to a STEM discipline, earned advanced degrees, and worked hard in jobs they say they love, will eventually quit their STEM jobs and seek other careers.

A report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, published in 2016 and titled Diversity in High Tech says that over time, more than half of highly qualified women working in science, engineering, and technology companies quit their jobs. The report goes on to say that although 80 percent of U.S. women working in STEM fields say

they love their work, 32 percent also say they feel stalled and are likely to quit within a year. And, according to a study by the American Association of University Women, just 26 percent of computing jobs in the United States were held by women in 2013, down from 35 percent in 1990.

Why Haven’t We Made More Progress?

In an article that appeared in the Harvard Business Review (March 24, 2015), “The 5 Biases Pushing Women Out of STEM,” author Joan C. Williams points to bias as the force that pushes women out of STEM jobs, rather than pipeline issues or personal choice. Based on a survey of and in-depth interviews

with women in STEM jobs, Williams concluded the following: • Two-thirds of all the women surveyed, and three-fourths of black women, reported having to prove themselves over and over.

• Thirty-four percent of all of the women, and 41 percent of Asian women, reported being pressured to play a traditionally feminine role. Fifty-three percent of women reported backlash from speaking their minds or being decisive, and they were perceived as angry when they failed to conform to female stereotypes—particularly black and Latina women.

• Almost two-thirds of women with children said their commitment and competence were questioned and opportunities decreased after having children.

• Three-fourths of women surveyed said that women in their workplace supported each other; one-fifth said they felt as if they were competing with women colleagues for “the woman spot.”

• Isolation is a problem: 42 percent of black women, 38 percent of Latinas, 37 percent of Asian women, and 32 percent of white women agreed that socializing with colleagues negatively affects perceptions of their competence.

Although women enroll in graduate education at a higher rate than men, and have done so for the past 30 years, they receive bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at a lower rate than men.

And here are some of the reasons why….

According to an article entitled “Why Women Quit Science” (on line title: “She Wanted to Do Her Research. He Wanted to Talk ‘Feelings.’”) written by A. Hope Jahren and published by the New York Times (March 4, 2016), “Women reported both isolation and intimidation as barriers blocking their scholarly path; and while 23 percent of freshmen reported not having experienced these barriers, only three percent of seniors did, suggesting that this reaction to women in science education is a lesson learned by female students over time.” Jahren goes on to say, “In a survey of 191 female fellowship recipients, 12 percent indicated that they had been sexually harassed as a student or early professional.”

Harassment, devaluation, and exclusion are powerful disincentives, especially when they are experienced regularly over time. The message women often receive as students and, if they survive their “educational” experience, on the job is not that they aren’t capable, but that regardless of their abilities, they are never going to be let in to the club.

Leaving the Pipeline Early–Bias in Education

There Is Reason for Hope

The Report goes on to say that women begin to leave the pipeline during their time at university.

Tech companies that dominated the field early on, such as HP and IBM, were actually fairly diverse—

IBM named its first female vice president in 1943. But today’s tech giants seem to have taken a step backward. Only about 30 percent of the employees at Facebook and Apple in 2014 were women, and the numbers for other tech giants are no better. The good news is that these and other tech companies are beginning to make their workplaces more diverse. For example, as a result of a concerted effort on the part of Apple, half of all recent hires at that company (2016–17) came from minority groups.

For the past five years, Google has published the Google Diversity Annual Report in an effort to better understand issues related to diversity, inclusion, and equity that exist inside the company, to gather and publish demographic and other relevant data, and to measure progress, which according to this year’s Report is accelerating. The Report is also part of Google’s commitment to greater transparency, responsibility, and improvement—the idea being that what you measure, and make public, gets changed.

Even universities are taking baby steps toward bringing women into introductory computer science courses—and presumably, into a major in computer science— by describing the courses in language more appealing to women.

And it seems to be working: when UC-Berkeley changed the title of its introductory computer science for non-majors to “The Beauty and the Joy of Computing," female enrollees outnumbered male ones for the first time ever. These changes won’t address the problems women face once they are in class, which were discussed earlier in this article, but it’s a start. PDJ

www.diversityjournal.com

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CORPORATE INDEX

BOLD DENOTES ADVERTISER BLUE PAGE NUMBER OF AD

Alcoa Foundation........................................................................................................................................................................... 38 American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore................................................................................................................. 23 American Express........................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Boston Market.................................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Catalyst............................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 CBC....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 CBS Corporation.............................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Comcast Ventures.......................................................................................................................................................................... 30 CVS Health.............................................................................................................................................................. 47 Dechert LLP.............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Ecolab Inc.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Edge Communications................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Freddie Mac....................................................................................................................................... 10, back cover Glitzzie, Inc........................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Grand Rapids Symphony............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Honeywell.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Illumina............................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Idaho National Laboratory........................................................................................................ inside back cover Insight Education Systems.......................................................................................................................................................... 66 Ivy Planning Group........................................................................................................................................................................ 60 Jordan Foster Construction LLC.............................................................................................................................................. 44 Kohl’s Corporation........................................................................................................................................................................... 41 KPMG............................................................................................................................................ inside front cover LafargeHolcin................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 March of Dimes................................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Mayo Clinic........................................................................................................................................................................................ 62 Medical Mutual................................................................................................................................................................................. 35 MUFG Union Bank, N.A........................................................................................................................................ 45 Nygala Corp/FLOMO..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 New York Life........................................................................................................................................................... 7 San Diego Zoo Global................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Tenshey, Inc....................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Tujuanna Williams Consulting LLC........................................................................................................................................... 22 Unravel My Travels......................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Walmart, Inc..................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 West Corporation........................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Year Up................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33

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Spring 2019

WHERE YOU BELONG Idaho National Laboratory promotes a vibrant culture of inclusive diversity that fuels growth and drives innovation.

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SVP and Women’s Interactive Network Employee Resource Group member

Mark wanted more in his career.

He found a company that actively draws on the widest variety of perspectives to best understand customer needs and deliver the most effective, innovative and competitive solutions.

Freddie Mac is his destination.

Learn more at FreddieMac.jobs