COVID-19 Blog 4: Will corporate diversity initiatives go down the tubes during and after the pandemic?

Are your diversity initiatives going downhill during these trying times?

I really do have a fear that the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts across many organizations will be set back several years during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. If DEI is truly a strategic initiative for organizations to thrive and grow into the future, why should things stop now?

In January, before all this COVID-19 stuff really started, I wrote a two part blog series:
Part 1 (Link): Huge Gaps in Diversity in Business Leadership – A Systemic Issue Needing a Systemic Approach
Part 2 (Link): Five Tactics to Address the System Issue of the Lack of Diverse Business Leaders

In Part 2, the 4th tactic I shared was “never letting up”. I shared that often executives see a little progress (“we now have an African-American in the c-Suite, women in management has gone up from 18% to 20%”) and then the budget gets cut and work stops. Then things will take their natural course and revert back to the old pattern. Dr. Vida Robertson, professor at the University of Houston, often states “you cannot take the foot of the gas or the vehicle will stop.” In this case, since it is an uphill battle, the car will go backwards once you take your foot off the gas!

Over the past 3 months, I have seen every in-person diversity training initiative I had scheduled between March and June cancelled, with little or no effort to reschedule or consider going web-based. In fact, even one 4-week webinar training series was cancelled since the organizers felt people would have too many other things to worry about instead of diversity.

My largest fear is that when we slowly reopen the country, that many corporate budgets will be slashed to try to turn out a decent annual profit statement, and diversity efforts will be one of the first items severely cut.

And then the ramifications could end up being:
• The predominately white male senior leadership will retain more of the leaders like themselves, impacting employment and promotion opportunities for under-represented minorities. And it wouldn’t be deliberate or mean-spirited, but simply unconscious bias taking its natural course.
• Diversity recruiting efforts may be cut resulting in less hires of qualified diverse candidates.
• Respectful workplace training would be cut, and some employees may revert back to old habits of forming non-diverse teams and making their diverse co-workers feel unwelcomed.
• Some companies may experience additional revenue drop as they fail to effectively sell and market to diverse customers.
• Philanthropic giving to diverse community organizations may be curtailed.

Interaction with diverse people may be less frequent during these days of social isolation.

Organizations need to realize that in challenging days, an increased focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is warranted. Tactics you may want to consider at this time include:

• Offering web-based DEI training to your employees, especially those who may have a decreased workload at this time and capacity to take some online trainings. In fact here is one being offered on June 9th: Introduction to LGBTQ+ Workplace Equity.  Options can include general offerings or having your own customized training.
• Doing some strategic work and planning and how you can advance DEI initiatives in a more virtual workplace.
• Encouraging diversity councils and employee resource groups to meet virtually during this time.
• Encouraging one-on-one virtual employee connections or mentoring relationships be formed with a focus on connecting with dissimilar people.

Embrace diversity even more during these challenging days!

LGBTQ+ Workplace Equity Toolkit Launching February 2020 with a Training of Trainers Session!

Coming very soon! A turnkey open source LGBTQ+ Workplace Equity Training Solution to empower employees to provide meaningful training and dialogue within their companies.

NOTE: This blog is loaded with links – do explore them.

In January, I wrote a blog (link) about a project coordinated by Pride in the Triangle, a collaboration of Triangle, NC area LGBTQ+ employees and allies from various corporations coming together to share best practices, work together on LGBTQ+ issues in our corporations and in North Carolina, and network with other out employees and allies. You can link to this initial blog to get:
• The history of the project
• The goals of the LGBTQ+ Workplace Equity Toolkit
• The contents of this total turnkey solution which will enable LGBTQ+ employees to set up and provide high quality trainings in their organizations.

We have also been actively soliciting sponsors to underwrite this work, and we thank these 5 generous sponsors:
• GOLD: SAS Institute and RTI International
• SILVER: BlueCross BlueShield NC, Dude Solutions and RW Baird – The Allman Bobbie Group

NOTE: Even though we are “Pride in the Triangle” in North Carolina, corporate sponsorship is welcomed from anywhere and you can still come to our area for the two-day “trainer of trainers.”

And though we have not reached our fundraising goal and still welcome additional sponsors, we have enough to start the work and commit to holding our training of trainers session on the SAS Institute Campus in Cary, North Carolina February 4 – 5, 2020.

Katherine Turner (left) of Global Citizen, LLC and myself from Total Engagement Consulting have been engaged to develop the toolkit and hold the trainer of trainers session.

The Training of Trainers, facilitated by Katherine Turner of Global Citizen, LLC and myself will be a robust 2-day training that will include:
• An overview of effective training skills
• A review of all the materials in the toolkit including going through all the slides
• “Teach backs” where participants will present parts of the presentation and give and receive feedback from other participants
• How to plan a session in your company, including engaging leadership, inviting employees, setting up a session timeline and more.

In addition to seats in the class being provided to the sponsors, we now have opened up registration to everyone. There is a class fee sliding scale from $449 – $849 based on non-profit / profit status and size of company. A $100 early bird discount is offered to all who register by October 31st. Check out the Registration Link for more details.

Space is limited, so do consider becoming a sponsor or enrolling in this training soon!

Please contact me to become a toolkit sponsor, or if you like to fund a scholarship to someone who may be unable to afford the fee. [email protected] 919-787-7315