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Discover what business visionaries on the frontiers of diverse and equitable hiring are doing to drive change in their organizations
In Innovating for Diversity: Lessons from Top Companies That are Disrupting Old Practices to Achieve Inclusivity, Equity and Business Success, renowned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and tech specialists Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick reframe the DEI discussion and move it beyond a human resources issue. While it's well established that diverse teams help to advance innovation, the authors explain how principles of innovation can be applied to building highly effective and sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices embraced by executives across an organization.
You'll be inspired by leaders at top companies who identified root causes of limited DEI progress and created smart, bold solutions for increasing representation, developing future talent, and advancing the careers of people often overlooked.
In the book, you'll also find:
* Introductions to the people and companies who have innovated their approaches to diverse hiring, retention, and advancement, and enjoyed pronounced impact on their bottom lines
* Profiles of committed leaders driving the change towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce
* Strategies for breaking down the cultural and organizational barriers in companies that remain in place and prevent transformative change
A critical resource for senior-level business professionals, managers, and executives, Innovating for Diversity will also prove to be invaluable for people seeking to build their careers from the ground up.
List of contents
Foreword xxv
Introduction xxix
Chapter 1 Why Are We (Still) Here? 1
A Brief History of Diversity in the U.S. Labor Workforce 2
The Current United States Labor Workforce 2
Examining Labor Workforce Dimensions 3
The Murder of George Floyd, the Rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the Corporate Response 7
Why Haven't We Made More Progress? 9
Fixed Practices: Reluctance to Let Go of Entrenched Formulas 13
Fixed Attitudes: Continued Pervasiveness of Ingrained Personal Ideas and Beliefs 14
The COVID- 19 Pandemic: DEI Response to Long- term Structural Impacts 15
Why Diversity Matters 18
The Business Case for Diversity 19
The Moral and Ethical Imperative for Diversity 20
What Got Us Here Won't Get Us There: The Diversity- Innovation Paradigm 21
Conclusion 22
Summary 22
Chapter 2 Defining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 23
What Do Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Actually Mean? 23
What Is Diversity? 24
What Is Equity? 24
Equity <> Equality 24
Equity > Compensation 25
What Is Inclusion? 26
Inclusion, Explained Further 26
Diversity Can't Thrive Without Equity and Inclusion 27
What Is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiative? 27
How Leaders Shortchange DEI 28
Common DEI Pitfalls 28
No Overarching Strategy 28
No Commitment from Leadership 29
DEI Work as a Checklist 29
DEI Work as a Human Resources Function Only 29
Ignoring Intersectionality 30
Not Establishing (The Right) Metrics 30
DEI as a Marketing Campaign 30
Ineffective Recruiting Practices 31
Ineffective Diversity Training 31
Ineffective Talent Development Programs 32
No Accountability 32
No or Low Compensation and Recognition for DEI Work 33
Not Listening to Employees 33
No Transparency 34
"Copying and Pasting" DEI Initiatives from Other Organizations 34
Going Alone 34
The Consequences of Ineffective DEI Initiatives 35
Conclusion 35
Summary 36
Chapter 3 The Virtuous Cycle of Innovation and Diversity 37
The Power of Innovation 38
Why Companies Get Stuck 39
Innovation Is Simply Not Prioritized 39
Inertia Is the Mortal Enemy of Original Thinking 40
The Power of Humility Is Overlooked and Undervalued 40
Diversity Drives Innovation 42
Innovation Principles 45
Chapter 4 Courage 46
Risk- Taking 48
Trust 49
Collaboration 52
Leadership 53
Conclusion 58
Summary 58
Innovating the Apprenticeship Model to Advance Diversity in Tech 59
The problem: Recruiting and retaining more tech talent from diverse and military backgrounds 60
"It's time to get creative!" 60
"We can do better" 62
What Needed to Change? 64
The Solution 66
Adding Structure 66
Engaging Partners 68
Improving the Apprenticeship Selection Process 69
First Pilot Outcomes 70
The Importance of Consistency to a Good Start 70
The Role of Battle Buddies 71
The Citi Salutes Impact 71
Glitches Along the Way 73
Unsuccessful Recruitment Choices 73
Supervisor Limitations 74
Skill Mismatches 74
Two- Year Outcomes at Citi 78
From Pilot to Operationalizing: Expanding Irving Success across Citi 7
About the author
BERTINA CECCARELLI is on a mission to advance racial and gender equity in the tech industry and disrupt the status quo to build a more inclusive workplace. As the CEO of NPower, one of the most successful non-profits in North America, she is committed to helping young adults and military-connected individuals launch tech careers and remove barriers to economic mobility. As a leader, she works to model an inclusive workplace, providing opportunities for growth at all levels.
SUSANNE TEDRICK is the author of
Women of Color in Tech and is a cloud computing trainer for a Fortune 500 technology company. Fiercely committed to increasing the participation of women and people of color in STEM professional opportunities, Susanne has performed community service work for a number of non-profits, including serving as the former chair of the Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Executive Council for CompTIA and as a coalition member for NPower's Command Shift initiative.
Summary
Discover what business visionaries on the frontiers of diverse and equitable hiring are doing to drive change in their organizations
In Innovating for Diversity: Lessons from Top Companies That are Disrupting Old Practices to Achieve Inclusivity, Equity and Business Success, renowned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and tech specialists Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick reframe the DEI discussion and move it beyond a human resources issue. While it's well established that diverse teams help to advance innovation, the authors explain how principles of innovation can be applied to building highly effective and sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices embraced by executives across an organization.
You'll be inspired by leaders at top companies who identified root causes of limited DEI progress and created smart, bold solutions for increasing representation, developing future talent, and advancing the careers of people often overlooked.
In the book, you'll also find:
* Introductions to the people and companies who have innovated their approaches to diverse hiring, retention, and advancement, and enjoyed pronounced impact on their bottom lines
* Profiles of committed leaders driving the change towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce
* Strategies for breaking down the cultural and organizational barriers in companies that remain in place and prevent transformative change
A critical resource for senior-level business professionals, managers, and executives, Innovating for Diversity will also prove to be invaluable for people seeking to build their careers from the ground up.
