Emerging research indicates that many of the historical and contemporary diversity and inclusion efforts have not been effective. These facts, in some cases, are confirmed by our own experiences. For example, trainings, including those focusing on unconscious bias in the workplace, do not always yield the expected results. Another example includes ERGs, which can be helpful to individual employees, but not impactful to the organization more broadly. Given what has surfaced in the research, if we are to transform policies, methods, and culture, we need to consider how we might pivot practices to be more effective and impact an organizations’ systemic processes and practices. How do we radically rethink our work in order to build more inclusive organizational cultures? What do WE do that might actually be effective?

This session will frame inclusion and diversity within advantaged and strength based organizational approaches as opposed to deficit-based models and methodologies. We will focus on the goals of inclusion and diversity work, structural accountability, and how to create strategic research and data-driven initiatives to leverage inclusion assets and build better policies, practices, and cultures.