Designing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs that Work

23/02/2022

Listen to podcast

In the wake of significant social and political incidents, the emergence of a world economy, a changing workforce, and the focuses on “inclusivity: many companies are taking steps to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through corporate programs. Yet, progress in most sectors remains slow because many of them do not change systems. Many times, HR staff often leads programs that do not really understand what DEI is or measure it by numbers thinking that numbers alone will change systems. Other times, leaders initiate programs they believe are fashionable or legally correct, but they delegate them downward and remain unengaged. Leaders and organizations find it challenging to focus on DEI solutions, and there is no silver bullet, no single solution. Yet, pushing ourselves to think outside the box and draw on the best empirical evidence that exists helps. We also must focus on systems. Our guest in this episode talks about what we have to do to get DEI right.

Speaker Information:

Minal Bopaiah is the author of Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives. She is the founder of Brevity & Wit, a strategy + design firm that combines human-centered design, behavior change science, and the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility to help organizations transform themselves and the world. Bopaiah has written for the Stanford Social Innovation Review and The Hill and has been a featured guest on numerous podcasts and shows, including the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU. She has also been a keynote speaker for many conferences, inspiring thousands with her credible, authentic, and engaging talks. Her book is: Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives, available on amazon.