Equity Impacts Corporate Decisions
Why have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expertise in the Boardroom? Look at the controversy swirling around the Georgia’s voting law–the backlash, the boycott, and the backlash to the boycott. Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens lose from both the law and the boycott. I contend that if there had been DEI experts on the boards of the major corporations that traditionally lobbied in Georgia, this may have been averted. Corporations could have predicted how the passage and signing of the bill into law may have impacted their brand. While the bill was being crafted social justice concerns could have been addressed, along with concerns regarding voting integrity. When you are driving you slow down before you come to the hairpin curve rather than trying to correct for it afterward. I have always contended that we should resolve a problem before it begins.
Continue reading DEI in the Boardroom – by Dr. Deborah P. Ashton
Rayna Edwards is a principal consultant in Mercer’s Workforce Strategy & Analytics practice, where she specializes in DEI analytics, including pay equity analyses. She will address 1) The importance of understanding how the employee experience differs by race and gender. 2) (for business/HR leaders) How to pull meaningful insights from data that is typically housed in a company’s HRIS system. 3) (for business/HR leaders) The importance of a statistically rigorous pay equity analysis in closing pay gaps.
Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D. is an international leader in corporate anthropology and CEO of Simon Associates. She is an Axiom 2017 Best Business Book author of On the Brink: A fresh lens to take your business to new heights, and author of the new book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business. Dr. Simon discusses corporate culture and changes needed to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
The American Diversity Report (ADR), an award-winning digital multimedia platform, offered a virtual Town Hall featuring a distinguished panel of experts to discuss the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in education and employment amid COVID-19. We thank the many donors who made this event and ADR’s next year possible.