Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ARE the Future of Work
In the span of one week, I flew across the country to a variety of DEI conferences. I went to Seattle to attend the Autism at Work Summit at Microsoft. From there, I returned home to Baltimore to join AARP’s Future of Work for All Generations conference. Finally, with many other companies and communities, I kicked off Pride month. If there was one theme – one takeaway, it was this: diversity, equity and inclusion ARE the future of work and the future of our workforce.
The importance of DEI
DEI initiatives are so much more than pilot programs, HR projects, logo changes, #hashtags, or awareness months. One of the gifts (and pains) of being human is the ability to quickly recognize authenticity in our relationships.
We feel it in our gut when something like a D&I program or initiative is more of a “check-the-box.” We can tell if something is performative vs. a real reflection of company values. When there is a disconnect between what we SAY regarding diversity and inclusion (#hashtag, logo change, marketing campaign) and what we DO like selectively recruit, hire, manage, and promote unfairly we fail to achieve the true potential of our people and organizations.
Summit takeaways
A focus on diversity, equity and inclusion offers teams and companies the opportunity to reflect their customer base, which enables them to make meaningful and measurable changes to their products and services based on all customers’ needs. While attending the Autism at Work Summit, we were invited to participate in a few sessions of their concurrent Ability Summit.
As a recruiting partner to leading marketers around the country, you can imagine my delight to hear Microsoft’s CMO Chris Caposella share a keynote about how the development of inclusive products and marketing programs creates intrinsic business and brand value. Microsoft and many other companies like it are leading the way towards real changes in corporate practices that can make a difference in workplace diversity and inclusion.
TorchLight’s commitment
At TorchLight, we believe the future of work IS one that harnesses the unique gifts and strengths of all individuals. It is one that creates and markets products and services with inclusivity as a core guiding principle. The future of work IS diverse and inclusive. This is because the people of our world ARE diverse in so many ways and deserve meaningful work. Not only that, but experiences and products that meet their needs.
Over the next few months, TorchLight will explore the many facets of diversity, equity and inclusion in our content. We will explore gender and sexual orientation, race, ageism, neurodiversity, and other groups and ways of thinking. We’d love to have you join us in this conversation. Email us at info@torchlighthire.com, or comment on our LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences on DEI in your company and life.
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