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Strategic Approaches to Advancing Diversity

How do we create workplaces where diverse employees feel safe and supported in bringing their full selves to work? How do we create mentorship and sponsorship programs tailored for the needs of up-and-coming diverse leaders? How do we ensure that communities of color are participating equitably in wealth creation?

These are some of the questions posed -- and answered -- at the Society for Diversity's Diversity 3.0 Conference. I am inspired  by the knowledge, skills and passion for creating opportunities for advancement among diverse communities, particularly people of color.

The professionals and leaders that I met represent a variety of industries, from financial services to broadcasting; from higher education to high teach. Many are changemakers in their organizations, always determined to push the envelope a little more to continue the forward momentum of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Others are ready to take the next step -- or flight, if you will -- into the great and exciting unknown of leading their own business, taking charge of their destiny.

Thought leaders in corporate diversity efforts emphasize the importance of  the "business case." Many decision-makers in profit-driven organizations are only concerned with dollars and cents, It's imperative that diversity and inclusion initiatives are aligned with business goals.

The presentations I attended and conversations I had with other participants have spurred many reflections, filtered by my orientation toward social justice and service-driven work:

  • Diverse communities are contributing immensely to economic growth, making already-rich people more wealthy. Laura I. Gomez, one of the first employees of Twitter and founder of Atipica, is the first Latina in Silicon Valley to secure $2 million in venture capital. That's a lot of money, but still only a drop in the bucket, in terms of tech industry dollars. There's no better time than now for communities of color to take part in creating wealth.
  • Fitting in to corporate environments veers into "respectability politics," the notion that people from diverse backgrounds must conform to mainstream values to gain entry and acceptance.
  • Creating change, especially through diversity and inclusion, can be an isolating ordeal. That is why we need supportive and nurturing spaces like the Society for Diversity.
  • The pragmatic, bottom-line-focused approach to diversity and inclusion can lead to commodification of the lived experiences of diverse communities.
Getting ready for the final day of Diversity 3.0! More reflections to come, but I'd like to share previous presentations made by a couple of speakers convened by the Society of Diversity: Laura I. Gomez of Atipica and Torrin Ellis, recruiter par excellence.




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