Nearly every day I receive pleas to aid the less fortunate. Like many Americans, I give to a number of organizations from the local food bank to Doctors Without Borders.
Citizens of the United States are the most charitable people in the world! Collectively, Americans give over $292 billion, 1.44% of GDP (2019,) each year to charitable organizations! This figures do not include the millions of hours of volunteer service.
Canada is the second most charitable country, giving 0.77% of GDP, with the United Kingdom third at 0.54% of GDP. Many countries do not have a history of charitable giving. Instead, their citizens depend on religious institutions and the state to care for those in need.
While leadership training will often include issues related to Diversity & Inclusion, few programs include instruction in religious diversity. Yet, cultural awareness, cultural competence, global leadership, and cross-cultural communication are embraced as the tools of the market place of the future. What accounts for this black hole of information on diverse religions? One has only to turn on the TV, open a newspaper, or check the internet headlines to see that religion is a major factor in interactions across the planet. It is both puzzling and disturbing that a virtual vacuum of expertise exists in the relationship-oriented sectors of our society: business, education, government, and human services. Trying to avoid culture clash of belief systems can result in a paralyzing sense of being overwhelmed and under-prepared. Too many leaders are left scrambling for strategies and resources designed to turn the religious diversity novice into an expert.
Mauricio Velasquez, CEO of Diversity Training Group DTG, speaks with Deborah Levine, Editor-in-Chief of the American Diversity Report, about his training, consulting, and coaching on Sexual Harassment Prevention. DTG’s 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.
Tiffany R. Warren
Corporate Responsibility in the Future
Todd Cherches is the CEO & Cofounder of BigBlueGumball, an innovative New York City-based management consulting firm specializing in leadership development and executive coaching. He is also a three-time award-winning Adjunct Professor of leadership at NYU, and a Lecturer on leadership at Columbia University. Todd is a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s “MG100 Coaches”; a TEDx speaker; and the author of VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life, published by Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster (May, 2020).
Mirette Seireg is the founder and owner of Mpath LLC, the first woman-owned library of its kind to achieve gender parity. Changing the music world for females and other underrepresented composers, Mirette has scouted talent world-wide from nearly every continent on earth.