The path to building an antiracist workplace

[Music]

how much time

does it take to change a belief and a

behavior

eight minutes and 46 seconds

it took eight minutes and 46 seconds

for a police officer’s knee on a human

being’s neck

to casually end his life

this horrific moment that

seemed to last forever

because it was caught on video something

different

something extraordinary happened

this moment caused a global

movement demonstrations

rose from a broad coalition

of solidarity and support demanding

activism and change this moment

inspired many to listen

to act and to reflect because

our country has a systemic

and structural racism problem

race is a part of every part of life

in this country

george floyd moved our beliefs

so that we could examine more about

ourselves

so that we could think about the

inequality

and the racism in our society

and within ourselves beliefs are

powerful

beliefs drive behaviors beliefs are also

tough to change but in this moment

in this moment the world

and this movement demanded that we act

differently social justice

is not a trend

racism is real

we need to ask ourselves the places that

we’re working

and shopping and perhaps volunteering

are they obliged to look at the systemic

structures

that occur within a culture so that they

prioritize

and treat all of us with dignity

and respect as

employees investors and consumers

how are you addressing your beliefs what

are you

doing about the movement

our country is on edge

particularly in the workplace

where we spend so much of our time

society is struggling with issues of

gender inequities in income

education wealth accumulation and on top

of it

a pandemic businesses are at a critical

crossroads

the choices that they make today will

last

for decades

so what do we do

racism is going to be a part of our

society

unless we do something

but what do we do

we must begin to look at the structures

and the systems

that put us in the positions of where we

don’t

move our societies forward

but instead we continue to keep our

societies

backward businesses

i have donated millions to racial equity

and to civil rights organizations

business leaders

have declared that they will be

anti-racist employers

businesses large and small have put out

statements

that black lives matter

this is where the hard part starts

society and environmental

changes the consumers

the investors don’t want

more lip service they

want change they want to see your

actions

both inside your companies and outside

your walls this will be

tough this could be painful

but this is the moment that we have

arrived in

our time is now

i am black i am a woman

and i have worked in fortune 500

companies

most of my career where i have been the

only black person

on the team additionally

attending private schools catholic

schools in the 60s and 70s

besides me the only other black in the

room

were the nuns habits in high school

i was the only black female all four

years

i didn’t choose the job that i have

today that i love

i was going to be an interior designer

but because of my experience being the

only

i wanted to move only to all

instead i work with leaders to

move their cultures towards one

of creating a sense of belonging and

fostering inclusivity

for all

this is tough but we can do this

so what did i decide to do

as a cultural change agent

because i have been involved with

implementing systems

that have actually started to move

organizations forward

i decided to develop an action-oriented

tool

because behaviors are hard to change

and as we know if we do nothing

those behaviors will remain the same

i call this tool the business

report inclusion card

the brick brick is going to help support

leaders and businesses moving from

rhetoric to action

this will help you to be able to be

graded

and measured on what you were doing

so that people can see exactly what

you’re doing

because the one and done diversity

workshops

and the check the box activities have

not

been working society

is demanding more

the brick is divided into what i call

five areas of action the five p’s

your purpose your purpose is what is

going to define

your actions to move you forward

you will bring in a balanced group

from all levels in your organization

with diverse perspectives and diverse

thoughts

so that they can help to build your

inclusive environment

invest in consciously support

people of color and other marginalized

groups

through your philanthropy

look at your c-suite with the extensive

networks that they have and introduced

your acknowledge and incredible

marginalized groups within your own

organizations

to your c-suites networks

it’s a win-win your people

hire and build inclusive cultures

within people who have values

that are courageous that want to be

interculturally increased in their

intelligence

and who are willing to always address

their biases

their microaggressions their racist

behaviors

and move towards change

make sure that you have transparent and

equitable

pay your purchasing

have your business suppliers be graded

and held accountable the same way you

grade

and hold yourself accountable make sure

that you ask them

questions and that you find out about

their fair

practices as well

when you treat your people equitably and

you treat them with

dignity and with respect

your losses go down and your profit

goes up

let’s talk about gen z

gen z is one of the most

populated generations

currently at 67 million

and growing they are a third of the

world’s population

and a quarter of the u.s population

gen z as of this year 2020

is the most ethnically and racially

diverse

population in our nation’s history

gen z is changing the workforce

and you must learn what they value

in order to bring them into your

workforce

because gen z is three times more likely

to change jobs to find the culture

that aligns with their values

gen z sees what you are doing

you want to see their pedigree think

again

gen z wants to see your pedigree

gen z is very attune

to what is happening with race and

equity within our

organizations gen z

matters and cares about

race and equity in the workplace

what does gen z see they see

that fortune 500 companies have

four black ceos just

one percent gen z

sees that fortune 500 companies

no black senior level executive

such as exxon mobil

wells fargo bank of america

apple or microsoft

gen z sees that facebook

and google have one black executive

over their diversity and inclusion

gen z sees that this year

2020 amazon added its first black

senior executive

what do you see in your workplace

i know what the gap looks like around me

the complexion of the power players in

our country

looks nothing like our country

as part of the brick it will help you to

assess

and to measure what you are doing in

your

organization it will help move you

from your rhetoric to action

it will help you to bring in the gen z

talent because it’s not just about

bringing in great talent

it’s about retaining that talent

what will you do as an organization to

bring your talent

into your company so that you not only

survive

but that you thrive my goal

my dream is to have

the brick not have to exist

any longer because businesses are

creating a community

where people can bring their true selves

into the workplace do the best work of

their lives

and where they can survive and thrive

it is very critical for us as a nation

to be able to address and achieve

racial equity it’s not going to happen

overnight

this moment that lasted 8

minutes and 46 seconds

it’s definitely going to take longer

than that

it’s definitely going to take all of us

being a part of moving this forward

it’s not about how much time this will

take

it’s about what will happen if we don’t

try because we all

have a role to play

thank you