If your foundational culture isn't in a great place, DEI work can actually cause new issues to bubble to the top. The place to begin is taking a hard look at your culture and determining if psychological safety is well established and felt consistently across functions, levels, and locations.

More and more people are facing mental health challenges, including increased rates of anxiety and depression. The best companies are seeing this shift and taking proactive steps to support employees, including establishing a trauma-informed workplace.

In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidelines last month to address how harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; sexual orientation; and gender identity), national origin, age, disability or genetic information is defined and liability is determined.  Here are some of the key takeaways, sourced directly from the EEOC…

Juneteenth commemorates the date - June 19th, 1865 - on which the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced that all enslaved people in Confederate states were free. It is an important day in American and Black and African American history, it is considered the longest-running Black or African American holiday, and it became an official federal holiday in 2021. There are many ways to honor this important holiday…

Supplier Diversity programs can be a terrific way to extend your organization's DEI principles out into your community.  Supplier diversity isn't limited to products - think of your business partners, referral partners and service providers - they can all fall into your supplier diversity strategy.

Inclusion occurs when everyone is and feels welcome, respected, supported and valued.  Keeping disabled and differently-abled employees - and candidates - top of mind when creating your inclusion policies, programs and training ensures everyone's needs are considered.  Here are some key ways in which to do just that: 

As seen in Forbes

In 2023, the EU had a number of requirements come into effect that have a direct impact on U.S. businesses. These are directives focused on environmental, social and governance, commonly referred to as ESG. The "S" of ESG is where DEI data, programs and initiatives live. While these directives originate in the EU, any public U.S. company with an office or subsidiary business in the EU consisting of 500 or more employees and 150 million-plus Euros in revenue must comply.

So often we see employers keep their DEI programs and initiatives focused on headquarters employees while their field organizations don't have a way to engage in anything meaningful with DEI.  By not bringing DEI work out into the field you're not being fully inclusive -- and you are leaving a TON of money on the table.

The Conference Board and Esgauge just released research showing that integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics into compensation plans is higher than ever, now at 76%.  When looking at the Russell 3000, 84% of companies with revenues $50b and higher do the same.  If you thought DEI was going by the wayside, think again.

While there is a lot of research detailing the benefits that come from investing in DEI initiatives, it can be overwhelming to figure out which ones make the most sense for your organization to go after.  Here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

The Israel-Hamas war is multi-faceted, violent, nuanced and evolving, and it can seem easier to not say anything rather than risk making a statement that could inflame others.  However, your employees - and in many cases, your clients, customers and partners - are looking to you as a leader to address what is happening.

A crucial aspect of DEI that often goes unnoticed is how DEI initiatives can help strengthen employees’ mental health. Let’s take a deep dive on how each component contributes to strengthening mental health for your organization.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is just around the corner, and the Equity At Work team has compiled several great resources to help you celebrate the cultures and contributions made by Hispanic and Latino Americans

With the launch of ChatGPT and the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action in colleges and universities, there has been a lot of speculation, and a fair amount of misinformation, about how all this impacts the workplace.

The Supreme Court’s ruling to end affirmative action means you will have to be more intentional about sourcing, recruiting and hiring a racially diverse group of candidates into your entry level and grad school roles. Here are several actions you can take….

While a workplace that includes colleagues from many different age groups offers a great learning opportunity, it can also pose challenges to creating an inclusive culture, as each generation brings its own unique experiences, perspectives, communication and work styles to the workplace.

With the craze over ChatGPT's release, I couldn't help but wonder what, if anything, it would say about the dangers of bias being coded into its responses. So I asked. And I think the answer is spot on…

Diversity, equity and inclusion play a huge role in shaping the overall culture of a company and the employee experience. Despite this, there are still organizations that are reluctant to prioritize a more DEI-centric workplace culture. Why? Most either fear change or don't clearly understand what DEI is about.