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