It’s every employee’s responsibility to work towards diversity in companies and the workplace, said Deborah Elam, president and CEO of Corporate Playbook, at BRAC’s annual Diversity in Business event this afternoon.
“How many of you are in leadership roles? Guess what? All of you have a responsibility to partner with those who have the title. They can’t do it alone. You have to partner with them,” she said.
Companies must align how they think about diversity with their strategy as a business. She encouraged business-to-business companies and small businesses not make quick decisions on who to make deals with, and instead consider diverse options that could offer more opportunities for the company in the long run.
“Show (diversity as) delivering value, and then it will matter,” Elam said.
She encouraged people to look at decisions made through a “diversity lens,” and think critically about whether decisions made during restructuring or hiring were influenced by any unconscious bias.
She also suggests companies analyze and update their diversity training to make sure no unconscious bias is present.
“Make sure you look at everything in the diversity lens. Open your eyes and look,” Elam said.
At the event, BRAC awarded their first Diversity Star Awards. Republic Services was named the large business winner and Civil Solutions Consulting Group Inc. was named as the small business winner.
