Implementing Initiatives for DEIB—Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace

Diversity is essential to the future growth and health of an organization, making up the foundational culture and productivity within the workplace. Equity is woven into the culture of the organization through policy, practice, and position. Inclusion focuses on power and voice, and highlights your organization's culture and belonging strengthens the individual's connection to the organization. The combination of all four; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, conveys to the outside world that your organization values its employees and customers. When these elements are aligned properly to one another, your organization can attract high performing talent—individuals who are creative, innovative difference makers—who can in turn drive your bottom line to the ceiling.

Course Materials

Required Textbook: NONE

Optional: Participants may be asked to bring the following to class: organization's DEI Statement, Employer Value Proposition Statement, Employee Engagement Survey Results, Organizational Demographics, Focus Group Reports, and/or recruitment strategy/data.

Course Outline

Pre-Work: eLearning Activity

What will be covered:

Lesson 1. Introduction and Level Setting

• Ground Rules
• Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want to get out of this?
• Review of definitions from Pre-Work
• Building Cross -Cultural Awareness
• History of DEI - Diversity in the US vs Global
• Emotional Intelligence

Lesson 2. Diversity

• Diversity vs. Tokenism
• Types of diversity
• Blue Eye/Brown Eye Experiment

Lesson 3. Equity

• Equity vs. Equality
• ADDRESSING - Hayes Model as virtual privilege walk

Lesson 4. Inclusion and Belonging

• Having an invitation to the party vs. Being asked to dance
• Shirley Chisholm - Pull up a folding chair
• Changes - 2016 - Present (MeToo, George Floyd)

Lesson 5. Implementation: Operationalizing Your Strategy

• Data is Your Friend - Using data to reveal organizational needs
• Be Honest - As an organization, be honest about where you are.
• ERG vs. SIG? - What's the Difference? How to decide?
• Building relationships, experiencing each other - Caucuses and Affinity Groups - Creating dialogue to change.

Lesson 6. Why Align D.E.I and Employer Value Proposition (E.V.P.)

• Connecting D.E.I with E.V.P.
• Leveraging data about the health of your organization/department
• Impact on employee satisfaction and retention
• Analyzing your customer experience
• How the world views your brand

* Course Content: Foundational topics (1 through 4) run approximately 2.5 hours; DEIB strategy implementation topics 5 through 6 run approximately 2.5 hours.

Learner Outcomes

After Completing this program, participants will be able to:

• Define diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
• Identify the role of emotional intelligence, biases, and culture attributes within D.E.I.B.
• Prepare to initiate healthy and productive conversations around workplace culture and experience
• Define, outline, and start to operationalize a DEIB Strategy across the organization or department
• Explain the value of data collection to the use of DEI concepts in ongoing business strategy