All posts by Editor-in-Chief

Deborah Levine founded the American Diversity Report in 2006. She is a Forbes Magazine top "Trailblazer" and award-winning author of 20 books. Her published articles span decades including: American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermuda Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.
Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Mauricio Velasquez Podcast – Sexual Harassment

Difficult DEI Conversations:
Sexual Harassment

Mauricio
ADR Advisor Mauricio Velásquez

Mauricio Velásquez and ADR Editor Deborah Levine discuss the challenging DEI topics of today’s workplace with a focus on sexual harassment. Mauricio is an ADR Advisor and CEO of Diversity Training Group DTG,  which serves a broad range of clients including small and large organizations, not-for-profit, professional service firms, local, state and federal governments, law enforcement, and the military.

CLICK for Mauricio’s podcast

 

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Diversity Town Hall 2021, Levine articles, Religious Diversity Kit, Women in STEM

Diversity Town Hall 2021: Deborah Levine – ADR Editor

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Diversity Town Hall DEI OVERVIEW  BizUTC

Editor’s Note: This was the introductory presentation at the 2021 Diversity Town Hall in partnership with the Gary  W. Rollins College of Business /U. of TN at  Chattanooga (Moderator Dr. Gail Dawson) and the American Diversity Report. 

CLICK to hear presentation

TRANSCRIPT:

I appreciate both the eagerness and anxiety about the future of the diverse workplace and I’m often asked to predict what that future will look like. Predicting the future requires looking at the past – at the history of the diversity field and how it developed. I’ll get personal here and go back to New York City 40 years ago. I had just graduated college with a degree in anthropology based on cultural structuralism along with the science of storytelling. I was excited about getting a job, but was considered esoteric and irrelevant. And female. No one would hire me. Still hopeful, I went to an employment agency in Manhattan. As soon as I walked in the door, the office manager insisted that I sit at the all-women’s table and take a typing test. I said no and moved to sit at the all-men’s table where they were interviewed for executive positions. The manager said no. I insisted, he physically blocked me. I insisted again, he threatened to call the police.

Continue reading Diversity Town Hall 2021: Deborah Levine – ADR Editor →

Authors I-Q, Wellness

Culturally Competent Healthcare in America – by Pearl Kasirye

Not all Americans have the same experience when they try to access public services like healthcare, security, or even justice. That’s historically true, but when you take a closer look at the issues within the healthcare system, it’s clear that there’s more beneath the surface.

There are factors like socioeconomic status, education level, geographical location, racial and gender bias that can affect one’s experience with the healthcare system. In this article, we’ll look at those factors and briefly analyze what can be done to make healthcare more accessible and inclusive for all Americans.

Continue reading Culturally Competent Healthcare in America – by Pearl Kasirye →

Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Ashley Perryman Podcast: A LatinX Perspective

LatinxAshley Perryman is the VP of Global Human Resources at Spiceworks Ziff Davis and holds the position of elected President at Mezcla, its first LatinX ERG. Ashley devotes her efforts to ensure people of all backgrounds feel welcome and thrive in the workplace and was recently named a Top DEI Influencer in HR.

Hear Ashley discuss:

1.) Why does diversity matter in the workplace?
2.) How does diversity play a role in the current talent war and what are you and SWZD doing to address it – particularly in the LatinX community?
3.) Many people stop their DEI efforts after the interview process, what are some ways companies can ensure DEI efforts go beyond the hiring process and why is that important?

As well as:

  • Key tips on recruiting and retaining diverse employees
  • Ways to ensure your company is equipping your diverse workforce with the resources they need to succeed and grow within your business.
  • How the LatinX ERG is assisting in reaching DEI goals.

CLICK for Podcast

Levine articles, Wellness

Ode to Breast Cancer Awareness Month – by Deborah Levine

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Both my mother and brother had breast cancer that spread and was joined by other cancers. During Breast Cancer Month, I am compelled to write about  the loss of these loved ones. I often stress the breast cancer that  my brother Joe experienced, because too many of us think that breast cancer is a women-only disease. So, this is an ode to Joe. Not only do I write for men with breast cancer, but for all those experiencing the loss of loved ones to cancer, especially the siblings with whom we expect to experience old age together.

Continue reading Ode to Breast Cancer Awareness Month – by Deborah Levine →

Being Diverse

Cat Oyler Podcast: Future of STEM Women

Cat OylerCat is Vice President, Clinical Transformation, Immunology and Integration Leader at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
She sponsors Johnson & Johnson’s WiSTEM2D University . She is an advocate for supporting STEM Women now and in the future with the Women in STEM2D Scholars Award.
Hear Cat discuss:

1. How COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women in WiSTEM2D.
2. The importance of women in STEM.
3. Why investments in research will be critical to advance health for humanity.

CLICK to hear Podcast

Being Diverse, Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Jack Myers Podcast: MediaVillage

Jack MyersJack Myers, founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org, is the nation’s best-known practitioner of media ecology. Renowned for his entrepreneurial leadership in media industry innovation focused on growth, Myers has been recognized with the Excellence in Education Award and he’s also earned a George Foster Peabody Award for Documentary Filmmaking.

Gen-ZMediaVillage’s mission is to advance advertising supported media industry growth through investments in diversity and education, highlighted by the industry’s first-ever Advancing Diversity Week that took place September 2021, culminating with the 4th annual Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience and inaugural Gen-Z Town Hall Meeting.

Jack is the author of four books on generational shifts, including Hooked Up, the earliest research on Gen-Z influence, and The Future of Men, which is also a TED Talk that’s generated almost 200,000 views. Jack’s early consulting work contributed to strategic innovation for more than 200 media, advertising, and marketing clients. He began his career with ABC Radio, CBS Television and Metromedia Outdoor. He graduated from the Newhouse School at Syracuse U. and has a Master Degree in Media Ecology from NYU. 

CLICK to hear podcast

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Commerce, Inclusion, Levine articles

DIVERSITY TOWN HALL: LINKING BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY

Diversity Town HallDiversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the futureUTC

 

October 2021:  American Diversity Report presented its 2nd annual Diversity Town Hall in partnership with the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Speaking virtually, the panel of business leaders explored the relationship of business and community in creating the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the future.

MODERATOR

Dr. GAIL DAWSON
Associate Professor of Management
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Gary W. Rollins College of Business/UTC

PANELISTS

ERIC FULLER
President and Chief Executive Officer – U.S. Xpress

DEBORAH LEVINE
Founder/Editor/Consultant – American Diversity Report

DAVID ORTIZ
Corporate Diversity Officer, former board member – La Paz

LORNE STEEDLEY
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusive Growth – Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

CLICK FOR VIDEO OF DIVERSITY TOWN HAll

CLICK  for transcripts
Presentation #1 by Deborah Levine

 

NOTE: The Town Hall is also the October Black-Jewish Dialogue in partnership with: American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (C.U.R.B. )

Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Keilon Ratliff Podcast: 2nd Chances

Keilon As head of automotive and oil, gas and energy staffing at Kelly Professional & Industrial, Vice President Keilon Ratliff spearheads Kelly’s efforts to provide job seekers with non-violent criminal records a path to employment. Under his leadership Kelly collaborated with an automotive manufacturer to hire second chance workers who had previously been disqualified from consideration. The Kelly33 initiative enabled the client to increase its talent pool, address critical staffing needs and improve retention rates.

Ratliff actively supports Kelly’s Equity@Work initiative that was launched in 2020 to remove barriers that make it hard for people to attain enriching work. Rarely challenged, these obstacles – such as outdated degree requirements, biases against candidates with criminal histories and discrimination of neurodiverse talent – leave capable talent excluded. Ratliff holds a key advisory role and develops strategies to engage clients and partners in Kelly’s efforts to build a more equitable workforce. He also serves on the company’s Inclusion Council.

Ratliff discusses:

  • How to knock down unjust barriers to work that hold millions back.
  • How ex offenders are a hidden workforce that can help companies address labor shortages.
  • How everyone deserves second chances and the dignity of work.

CLICK for podcast link

DL Opinion columns, Editor-in-Chief

Armageddon gets personal – by Deborah Levine

 Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

These days, everyone I talk to sounds anxious, scared and miserable. My first reaction is sympathy and empathy, the way my mother taught me. My second reaction is relief, since misery loves company.  And when I feeling a bit guilty for that, I say to myself, “How can we not be?” Every time, I turn on the news, there’s another calamity. It feels like our world is  imploding and none of us will escape unscathed.

First there’s a sense of world disintegration with the mess in Afghanistan. Seeing thousands of folks trying to cram into the airport to leave – scary. Watching people clinging to planes to get out – horrifying. Hearing the fears of women for the future – words escape me.

Continue reading Armageddon gets personal – by Deborah Levine →