DEI Beyond the Boardroom Archives | The Inclusion Solution

DEI Beyond The Boardroom: Three Hard Truths in the Aftermath of Election 2020

by Brittany J. Harris | Dec 12, 2024 | 0

Lately, I have been experiencing a strong sense of indifference and uncertainty related to our work — diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. Black people are dying, white nationalism and supremacy are embodied within the highest offices of government and, in more subtle ways, within most organizations. This is deeply troubling, yet unsurprising. I’ve been grappling with a few hard truths as we experience this segment in history — hard truths that have implications for DEIJ work more broadly.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Hashtags Won’t End Police Brutality—Your Policy Dollars Might

by Brittany J. Harris | Dec 12, 2024 | 0

As I write this post I am frustrated. It is September 23, 2020, and a few hours ago, I learned that one of the three Louisville, KY, police officers who were involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor was charged for the risk he posed to white people, not the life he stole from Breonna Taylor, a Black woman. It says a lot about what appeals to America’s whiteness’ moral compass, and the devaluation of Black women’s lives. Whiteness is only moved by Black death that is visible and that it can see. I am so over this system.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Our Faith Communities

by Leigh Morrison | Nov 19, 2020 | 0

By nature, religion and religious institutions are steeped in traditions – which are part of what brings us meaning in engaging with them. By the same token, uncritical embrace of “tradition” at times risks obscuring the ways that institutions may be upholding inequities and elements of systems we seek to dismantle. As members and leaders of religious institutions navigate the role of faith in this work, it is critical that we unpack these nuances – even if they present us with questions that elicit discomfort.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Environmental Justice is Racial Justice

by Scott Ferry | Nov 12, 2020 | 0

While it has receded into the background recently, environmental justice — a broad umbrella covering issues such as climate change, corporate waste, water cleanliness, oil drilling and urban green spaces — is a critical component in ensuring equity and justice long-term. To put a finer point on it: environmental justice is racial justice.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Strategies for Election-Related Tensions

by Thamara Subramanian | Oct 29, 2020 | 0

Election day is fast-approaching, and it’s likely that anxieties and tensions are or will be running high in the coming days. While we are experiencing global crises and unprecedented polarization that are unlikely to subside any time soon, we would like to offer several strategies for managing stressors that may arise professionally and beyond the boardroom, in our communities.

DEI Beyond the Board Room: Forge Long-term Partnerships to Undo Systemic Racism

by Mary-Frances Winters | Oct 22, 2020 | 0

Recently, I presented a session on anti-racism to a leadership team of research scientists at a large pharmaceutical company. During the discussion they lamented that the pool of Black research scientists is very small. I asked what they were doing about that, and they did not have an answer. Beyond the boardroom requires innovative partnerships and collaborations with long-term — even perpetual — commitments in order to effect systemic change.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Leading with Your Why—Using Collective Purpose to Drive Systemic Change

by Scott Ferry | Oct 15, 2020 | 0

There is an inherent tension in DEIJ in identifying and leading with our ‘whys’. What drives an individual often stands at odds with what may drive a company. In order to mitigate, or even eliminate, these potential problems, it’s crucial that organizations know and name their own why for doing equity and inclusion work. Adapting Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework is a particularly useful place to start when identifying your collective why.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: History Untold, History Unlearned

by Leigh Morrison | Oct 8, 2020 | 0

I would argue that, despite studying heroic Black figures, I did not learn about Black excellence — but rather about a romanticized notion of Black resilience in the face of systemic racism. I learned about Blackness if and only if it was acceptable, meaning centering white comfort. I now understand how these omissions were an enormous disservice to my own learning and understanding as a white person. The only beneficiary of these representations being absent from school curriculum is white supremacy.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: It’s Now or Never – Calling OURSELVES Out on Cough Cough Capitalism

by Thamara Subramanian | Oct 1, 2020 | 0

First, kudos to Dana Peterson and the team at Citi behind their report on The Economic Cost of Black Inequality in the U.S. But it also poses darker questions: Wasn’t it enough that systemic racism disproportionately impacts the lives and economic prospects of people of color? Is addressing racism only worth addressing if it ALSO affects the pockets of White folks? How are we ever going to dismantle racist systems if we keep centering GDP?

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: How Organizations Can Help Upend Mass Incarceration

by Scott Ferry | Sep 17, 2020 | 0

Voter suppression in the form of felon disenfranchisement is not the end goal of mass incarceration, but it is a related secondary effect and speaks to the larger consequence of mass incarceration: the further oppression and marginalization of the poor and of BIPOC. Mass incarceration is inequity and injustice made manifest. What, then, can an organization that is truly committed to equity and justice do?

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Voter Suppression is Systematic Oppression—Do Something About It.

by Thamara Subramanian | Sep 10, 2020 | 0

Is it “We The People of the United States,” Or We the (white, wealthy, and worthy) People of the United States? Is it “With Liberty and Justice for All,” Or With Liberty and Justice for All (who have a car, can get off work, who have a permanent address, have time to wait in a line if need be during work hours, have an ID that matches their current residence, access to a birth certificate and social security card)?

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: An Introduction

by Leigh Morrison | Sep 3, 2020 | 0

There are no two ways about it: a siloed approach to “workplace D&I” devoid of attention and action to the rest of our world is not just flawed, it is fundamentally failing to bring about the progress we need. In our forthcoming “Beyond the Boardroom” series, we take an even wider view of the racial justice work that must be done outside of the workplace. We challenge organizational leaders to engage outside of the boardroom in a far-reaching, justice-driven campaign to combat systemic racism.

Category: DEI Beyond the Boardroom

DEI Beyond The Boardroom: Three Hard Truths in the Aftermath of Election 2020

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Hashtags Won’t End Police Brutality—Your Policy Dollars Might

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Our Faith Communities

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Environmental Justice is Racial Justice

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Strategies for Election-Related Tensions

DEI Beyond the Board Room: Forge Long-term Partnerships to Undo Systemic Racism

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Leading with Your Why—Using Collective Purpose to Drive Systemic Change

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: History Untold, History Unlearned

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: How Organizations Can Help Upend Mass Incarceration

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: Voter Suppression is Systematic Oppression—Do Something About It.

DEI Beyond the Boardroom: An Introduction

Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy and Belonging Across Differences

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! (Second Edition)

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