Podcasts about diversity inc

On this episode of The Healthcare Plus Podcast, host Quint Studer is joined by TriHealth CEO, Mark Clement. In 2015, TriHealth's board, management team, and physician team embraced a bold vision to “get healthcare right” through an increased focus on population health and value-based care. Mark and his teams are committed to improving the health of the entire community, even for those individuals that may never receive care in a TriHealth hospital. Through their efforts and community partnerships, TriHealth's patient population today is objectively healthier – chronic conditions are better managed, screening and early detection occurs more consistently, and the total cost of care is more affordable.In their conversation, Quint and Mark discuss:TriHealth's definition of value-based careHow TriHealth included physicians in the shift towards value-based care and how they're shaping a shared vision of the organization's futureHow TriHealth has worked to form equitable, collaborative partnerships with payers to further their mission of delivering value-based careAbout Mark ClementMark C. Clement is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TriHealth. He joined TriHealth as President in May of 2015 and took on the larger role of President and CEO in Jan 2016. TriHealth is a $2.1B integrated healthcare delivery system, made up of 6 hospitals and over 140 ambulatory/outpatient sites of care. Named as the highest performing Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in the state of Ohio and one of the highest performing ACOs in the country by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, TriHealth cares for more than 500,000 attributed lives. As Cincinnati's 4th-largest employer, TriHealth has 12,000 team members, more than 700 employed physicians and an independent medical staff of more than 1,800 physicians.Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and jointly sponsored by CommonSpirit Health and Bethesda, Inc., TriHealth's vision is to work together with physicians, hospitals and communities to “get health care right” by delivering better care, better health and better value while fostering physician and team member engagement. Mark also holds the position of CEO at all of TriHealth's hospitals: Good Samaritan Hospital, Bethesda North Hospital, Bethesda Butler Hospital and McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, which all serve the Tri-State region of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. With a focus on population health and improving the health status of those it serves, TriHealth is an award winning health system frequently recognized by industry organizations such as U.S. News and World Reports, Newsweek, IBM Watson, Diversity Inc, The Joint Commission, the American Heart Association, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and many more. 

In today's episode, Ashanti Bentil-Dhue welcomes Tina Gilbert, the Managing Director of Advisory Services at Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). MLT is a distinguished organisation in the U.S. that strives to elevate African Americans, Hispanic Latinx, and Native Americans into roles that foster their growth and leadership. Tina's pivotal role is ensuring the recipient organisations have the right policies, practices, and culture in place to help these individuals thrive. In this episode, she shares valuable insights into how companies can create cultures of equity even during a recession, and the importance of strategic planning, understanding DEI practices, negotiation, communication, and influence in this process. Tune in to hear Tina discuss the importance of empathising with lived experiences and empowering others, creating a potent narrative around what makes a truly inclusive and equitable environment. “ Especially in my role as a managing director, where I have people underneath me who are spending the day with the employers working with them, it is how are you empowering those beneath you, across from you and with you. So you are not doing this alone. This can be a very lonely job, and especially in this time of economic transition, where you might be the only one who has the formal title of D&I. And so what are you doing both formally and informally, to bring others along on this journey with you. So you are not alone, I spent a lot of time talking about the level of engagement that you need to be able to bring and have with individuals, so that you are growing kind of your force, the people that are working with you, for you and beside you. And so in these times where it might get harder and harder to get the people formally on your team, what are you doing to empower those through volunteerism, through champion through sponsorships, so you're not in this alone. ” Episode Highlights:  ● Dig into the lived experiences of the populations you work with ● The business case for diversity, equity and inclusion ● Developing skills and competencies in the field About Tina Gilbert:   Tina Gilbert (she / her)  is the Managing Director of Advisory Services responsible for delivery of client services and development of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion leading practices and insights.  Tina brings 10 years of DEI Leadership (4 years global), 15 years of Strategic Consulting, and 25 years of corporate experiences across six industries to this role. Throughout her career, she has led efforts to transform organizations' operating models, business processes, and employee culture to create measurable impact. As an I&D Leader over the last ten years, she has partnered with Business and HR leaders in designing strategies and metrics that align with talent strategies and desired business outcomes. Prior to joining MLT, Tina was the Inclusion and Diversity Leader for Teva Pharmaceuticals and Accolade (Healthcare Navigation and Data). As the first I&D leader at both organizations, she guided each organizations' evolution from diversity compliance management to recognizing its value as a business imperative. Her work at Teva was recognized in 2017 by Diversity Inc. Magazine as one of their Noteworthy Companies. More recently she was named as one of Hive Learning's Most Influential D&I Leaders and by FindSpark as one of the 30 Must-Follow Diversity & Inclusion Thought Leaders Transforming the Workplace. Before working as a full-time Diversity Practitioner, Tina was a Partner/Managing Director with Accenture's Strategy Practice leading large transformation projects, business strategic planning programs, and operations/organizational design.  At Accenture, she sponsored a variety of DEI programming, recruiting and training initiatives. She holds a BS from Spelman College, an Industrial Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  She is based out of the Philadelphia, PA area.   If you would like to apply to be a guest on the show email: operations@goodsoilleaders.com   If you would like to schedule a capability briefing call with our team, email: operations@goodsoilleaders.com    If you would like to apply for DEI PRO Coaching, email: operations@goodsoilleaders.com  Stay Connected with Ashanti:  LinkedIn: Ashanti Bentil-Dhue   

Have you really given yourself space to dream and execute a life that allows you to show up fully, grow and enjoy financial abundance? It's not just a hope, it can also be a reality. Ariane Hunter is a lighthouse for dreamers. Her coaching company helps clients buck the status quo, shift to an abundance mindset and muster the will to leave toxic environments. It's not a theory for Ariane, she operates from personal experience. This episode breaks down how Ariane found her NEXT and the ways in which she is guiding others to follow their own path. Join our community on Instagram @thenextbestactWatch our conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MountainCourtMedia/videos About Ariane: Ariane is a speaker, author and career equity consultant. Backed with over fifteen years of career and business strategy expertise, she works with businesses to address workplace solutions impacting the advancement of BIPOC communities. She has appeared in local television media networks including CBS and NBC and has been featured in CNBC, Business Insider, Diversity Inc. and Fast Company. She's been published on Time.com, is a contributor at Thrive Global, Her Agenda and The Muse. She is a subject-matter expert on BIPOC representation in the workplace and has spoken for Evernote, General Assembly, Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), Ladies Get Paid, NYU Stern Women in Business, Cancer & Careers, Dress for Success, Savvy Ladies, Advancing Women in Tech, Karen Millen, ABC Home, Emerging Leaders for NY Arts, and has been a featured guest on numerous empowerment podcasts. Ariane is currently writing her first book, Dreaming on Purpose: A Manifesto for Black Women on Taking the Leap in partnership with Indigo River Publishers. To learn more visit www.arianehunter.com or get in touch at ariane@arianehunter.com

The best unchosen fork is the fork that doesn't happen.  Sarah and Kelly are joined by two rockstars of the Cardiovascular world, Dr. Jennifer Mieres and Dr. Stacey Rosen on how to prevent the #1 killer of women: Heart Disease.Learn all about risks factors and prevention tips and why the Heart Is A Lady Part. So grab your best scarlet, ruby, or wine-colored outfit as the Unchosen Fork  GOES RED FOR WOMEN.Join us on The Unchosen Fork.Guest Speaker BioDr. Jennifer Mieres drjennifermieres.comFULL BIO HERE (yall, the character count could not contain all her amazingness.)Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, is a professor of Cardiology and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell . As Senior Vice President of Northwell Health's, Center for Equity of Care, she has oversight of and provides strategic guidance for Northwell's diversity and health equity initiatives and serves as the health system's first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Under Dr Mieres' leadership Northwell Health has been recognized as a top Health system for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, most notably by Diversity Inc. as a “top 10”  healthcare institution for a measurable commitment to health care justice.  Dr. Stacey E. RosenFULL BIO HERE (The character count is really a shame because you need to know all the stuff that Dr. Rosen has done.)Stacey E. Rosen, MD is the senior vice president for the Katz Institute for Women's  Health, the Partners Council Professor of Women's Health and Professor of Cardiology  at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Rosen  is a leading expert in the field of cardiovascular disease in women and oversees  women's health services at Northwell Health with a focus on the elimination of  healthcare disparities through comprehensive clinical programs, gender-based research,  community partnerships and education. Dr. Rosen has been a practicing cardiologist for over 30 years and co-authored the new  Support the showFollow the Unchosen Fork: Facebook Instagram TikTok Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast, including text, graphics, images, and other materials created and/or disseminated by The Unchosen Fork are for informational purposes only. The Contents are NOT intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, before beginning a nutritional plan and/or taking nutritional supplements. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast, others content appearing on this podcast, or other visitors to the Site is solely at your own risk. None of the contents of this podcast are intended to be relied upon for medical treatment or diagnosis. The Unchosen Fork, their affiliates, nor any of the host family members assumes any liability or responsibility for damage or injury to person or property arising from any use of any product, service, information, or instruction contained on this Podcast.

Broadcasting from the Free State of Florida. Climate Change is striking CA we're told causing onslaught of rain and floods. We're told CO 2 is to blame and if we don't fix this soon we're all gonna die, blah, blah, blah. Well what if CO 2 doesn't have anything to do with climate? Maybe, just maybe Climate Change is all about the dough? John Kerry said as much recently, although that's not how he wants you to take it. Ron DeSantis takes on the Big Education folks at Diversity Inc. He takes aim at an African American Studies AP course that teaches students about CRT and "Queer Theory." That'll likely earn him "racist" calls from the establishment, but who cares? Big Covid, Big Diversity, and Big Climate are all intertwined in persecution of non-believers, celebration of fear, and the third most important leg of the stool--money! Yellowstone creators Taylor Sheridan denies the show is a "red-state" show but does he harbor secret conservative leanings? Don't worry Taylor, we understand if you got keep certain beliefs to yourself. Just ask any conservative living in Peoples Republic states in the US--they know what they can and can't profess to believe. Manliness and true femininity on display on Yellowstone is what makes it a good show. It's rare that a Hollywood production, if you can call Yellowstone that, espouses anything other than the "toxic masculinity" boilerplate and survives to tell the story. Celebrating 10 years of Concierge Medicine in Florida. Come in and join while you still can. https://DoctorTommy.com/podcast

Jodi Petersen is the CEO of MentorStrat. MentorStrat provides full-service consulting to organizations that want to build, scale, or reimagine a mentorship program. Their online learning platform, MentorStrat Academy gives mentors, mentees and mentoring program managers the training, tools, and resources they need to be successful.Leading the mentoring consultant team, Jodi has over 20 years of corporate experience and 5 years running mentoring programs. Prior to starting MentorStrat, she led a mentoring program for a FORTUNE® 50 company driving the strategy development and execution of the roadmap. In 2021, she helped secure a spot on Diversity Inc's Top Companies for Mentoring List and was named Mentoring Champion of the Year by their software partner.Check out MentorStrat at MentorStrat.com, and find their amazing content on their YouTube channel, @mentorstrat.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work within organizations has gotten a lot of press lately. But what does it take for a company to truly become more diverse, equitable and inclusive? To dive more deeply into the topic for this episode, I have brought on Wema Hoover. Meet Wema Hoover, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leader Wema is a DEI leader and former Global head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Google. She has also held executive roles at multiple Fortune 500 companies including Chief Diversity Officer and Global Head of Culture, Inclusion & Diversity at Sanofi and Global Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Pfizer. Wema is a frequent speaker to business leadership audiences. She is working on a book and has authored many articles such as How to Transform DEI Energy Into Action in the Workplace from INC., and has been featured on Diversity Inc. and other podcasts. In this episode Wema and I discuss... The approach to embed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into people processes in an organization Gauging company readiness, metrics to measure progress, and creating environments for people to thrive What women can do to create more diversity in their own company How to find Wema: Connect on LinkedIn Resources Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast. Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching. Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask! Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader. Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen. Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Leah Smiley - President of the Society for Diversity Inc., the #1 global professional association for Diversity and Inclusion. She joins Tavis to discuss attacks on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

DeShaun Wise Porter, Global Head, VP of Diversity and Inclusion and Engagement for Hilton International and team at Hilton have earned countless awards year over year, ranked number one Fortune 100 Best Places to Work for two years in a row. And number one on Diversity Inc, Top 50 Companies 2021 ranking, just to name a few. And our listeners are eager to hear how your organization plans, executes, adapts, and thrives in these challenging and highly rewarding times. DeShaun and I met at Kimberly Clark years ago as colleagues, and to this day we continue to share the passion for growing talent and a belief in the importance of everyone achieving their full potential in an environment that is inclusive, supportive, where we can all bring our best selves to work with a true sense of belonging, and purpose.This episode, we'll discuss strategy, progress and culture. The hospitality industry is unique in that it represents talent from all walks of life. You could consider it a microcosm of society with diverse dimensions, identities, and intersectionality. A diverse talent community demands a flexible structure and commitment to inclusion and belonging at every level with accountability. DeShaun is innovating and setting the standard for over 360,000 team members with DEI through the lifecycle as Hilton attracts, advances, retains talent now and in the future.For more information on Allyship, Intersectionality, Employee Resources Groups and Race in the Workplace visit our Thought Leadership resources section of our site for these e-guides. 

Hanan Challouki gaat in in gesprek met Sana Sellami, iemand die gedreven is om merken en organisaties te begeleiden naar een meer diverse en inclusieve aanpak. Haar carrière begon met een doctoraat in de toegepaste economische wetenschappen, vandaag werkt ze inclusiviteitsplannen uit voor verschillende bedrijven en organisaties. In deze aflevering bespreken we “het diversiteitsbeleid”. Tal van bedrijven hebben er één of willen er één, maar is dat altijd een goed idee? En waar loopt het soms toch mis met deze mooie plannen? Sana Sellami deelt haar ervaringen.Inclusieve inspiratiebron van Sana Sellami:Het boek Diversity Inc, geschreven door Pamela Newkirk  Als je deze aflevering boeiend vond, laat dan gerust een review achter via Apple Podcasts. Heb je vragen of feedback na het luisteren? Stuur dan zeker een mail naar hello@hananchallouki.com. 

As Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Angela Thompkins leads the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) and Strategic Talent Sourcing teams for Consumers Energy. In this role, Thompkins is responsible for the development and execution of the company's DE&I and strategic recruitment strategies. Under her leadership, the company's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been recognized by Forbes; Diversity Inc and many more. Hear how she discussses how to unapologetically be the BEST VERSION of you inside and outside the workplace. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/taylor-a-williams/support

Carl and Callum discuss the left-wing admittance that Diversity Inc is a scam, the "decolonisation" of "systemically racist" England, and what's happened in the US election audit so far.

n this episode of Disobedient Femmes Suzanne LaGrande talks to award- winning journalist, professor at New York University, and author of the recently published book, Diversity Inc, The Failed Promise of a Billion Dollar Business.Some of the topics discussed in the interview include:How the call for greater diversity and inclusion in public and private workplaces became a billion dollar business. Why these programs have overwhelming failed to make necessary changes in workplace diversityActual solutions that would create real inclusion and true diversity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

“Success does not come without hardship.” - Ravyn Miller   Where are you in your career journey? Does imposter syndrome stop you from being your best professional self? Does showing up authentically in your career scare you out of your (most comfortable) work from home pants?   If so, today's episode is going to hit home. Failed it! Fam, grab your notebooks, and give a warm welcome to the most selfless, and authentic gal we've seen on LinkedIn, Ravyn Miller. She is a Senior Marketing Director at Medtronic with an impressive and unique background that spans from the boardroom to the pulpit. Listen in as she shares her own realization of how failing is part of the process, authenticity is her super power, and how you can lean into both. You'll leave wanting to become a truer, more real version of YOU.   In today's episode, Ravyn talks to us about:   How success is not linear   Why failing is a part of success, and why sharing those fails matters   The importance of being real and humble in your career journey   How failure drives innovation   Links from show discussions:   F Words at Work with improve it! Follow Ravyn on LinkedIn Listen to Ravyn preach on YouTube     About the guest: As the Sr. Marketing Director for Medtronic's High Power Global Growth team, Ravyn Miller is responsible for creating and executing strategies that accelerate access for patients appropriate for CRT and ICD indications. Upon graduating with a dual Master's in Business and Divinity from Vanderbilt University, she joined the company through their Leadership Development Rotation Program (LDRP). In her previous roles at Medtronic, Ravyn worked as the Commercial Marketing Director for Venous, led a cardiac and vascular group wide market development effort focused on reducing cardiac health care disparities for women and people of color, worked as a Health Policy Fellow in DC and was the National Implementation Leader for the Cardiac and Vascular Group (CVG) Strategic Solutions Organization.   During her tenure at Medtronic, she has earned several company recognitions, such as the Marketing Excellence Award, the Champion of Change and the Star of Excellence. In 2107, she was recognized by Diversity Inc. as one of the Top 100 Emerging Leaders Under 50 and in 2019, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal named her as a Women in Business Honoree, which annually recognizes 50 of the region's most influential women in business and community. Prior to Medtronic, Ravyn was a Sales Representative with Johnson and Johnson DePuy in Houston, TX and Nashville, TN.   A selfless leader, Ravyn seeks opportunities to advocate on behalf of other people. As a member of Medtronic's African Descent Network (ADN) Leadership Team, she helps shape strategies aimed at creating a diverse and inclusive work environment for all employees. She also serves as an advisory for the company's Campus Leads for Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management. Outside of work, Ravyn serves on the Board of Directors for Be the Match and sits on the Advisory Board of the following organizations: Odonata Health, National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), the University of Minnesota's Venture Center Business Advisory Group and the Minnesota Orchestra's Young People's Symphony Concert Association. She is also a former member of the State of MN's Health Equity Board.   Ravyn is an ordained minister, a sought after speaker on topics ranging from leadership to health equity and proudly embraces her self-proclamation of being a “brunch enthusiast.”     About the Host: Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the failed it! Podcast. She's a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award. This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.   When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.   You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram here. We can't wait to connect with you online!

Dec. 30 edition. The killing of George Floyd in May 2020 brought issues of racial justice to the front of public debate. There was a response in government, business and corporate boardrooms. Pamela Newkirk, a New York University professor and author of "Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business," joins host Marc Stewart to discuss racial justice in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie Creary, Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, has been teaching a course called “Leading Diversity in Organizations” since Fall 2017. She was one of the principal investigators on a report from Wharton’s People Analytics Department and the firm Diversity Inc. that shows which practices seem to work for companies. Stephanie recently authored a piece in Harvard Business Review called “How to Be a Better Ally to Your Black Friends”. Her research centers on identifying and understanding the work that individuals and leaders do to manage identity in asymmetric relationships – where power differentials between relationship partners are high – and how their efforts shape self-views, relationship quality, and the performance of work. Her research also examines the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion practices. She is a founding faculty member of the Wharton IDEAS lab (Identity, Diversity, Engagement, Affect, and Social Relationships), an affiliated faculty member of Wharton People Analytics, a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI), and affiliated faculty member of the Penn Center for Africana Studies. She heads the Leading Diversity@Wharton Speaker Series as part of her Leading Diversity in Organizations course at Wharton.In this episode, Stew and Stephanie discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, what seems to work and what doesn’t, how to be an effective ally for minority voices, and how to acknowledge and confront systemic racism to make our workplaces and our society more equitable and productive.Here then is an invitation, a challenge, for you, once you’ve listened to the conversation, if you’re interested in practicing to be a better ally to your Black colleagues. Find one with whom you can talk and express, in your own way, that you’re interested in listening and in trying to understand, to better related, to their experience. Write to Stew to let him know what you discover, at friedman@wharton.upenn.edu, or connect with him on LinkedIn. While you’re at it, share your thoughts with him on this episode and your ideas for people you’d like to hear on future shows. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Valerie Patton shares with Dr. Dudley how she turned her passion for diversity into becoming an industry leader in diversity development.  Valerie is the  Senior Vice President, Inclusion and Talent Attraction and Executive Director, Saint Louis Business Diversity InitiativeBIO of Guest: Valerie E. Patton  An innovative catalyst, connector, results oriented, teacher and proven thought leader with an extensive background of success in building, leading and designing Diversity, Inclusion and Talent strategies and programs that increase revenue, deepen client loyalty, raise teammates productivity that ultimately correlates to better engagement and retention.   As Senior Vice President, Inclusion and Talent Attraction and Executive Director for the Saint Louis Business Diversity Initiative for the St. Louis Regional Chamber, Patton is responsible for the strategic direction and management of diversity, equity, and inclusion and workforce/talent for the business community in the Saint Louis region through training, convening and consulting and regional economic inclusion initiatives. She is the first Executive Director of the Initiative. She is founder of the Initiative Fellows Program (a yearlong leadership development experience) and Gateway Connections (a welcoming orientation for professionals of color.) Currently, creating new economic opportunities through business diversity/inclusion/equity and workforce development. She is responsible for overseeing the strategy development and execution in these 5 strategic functional areas: multicultural leadership development programming and relationships, workforce strategies, inclusive business solutions, talent attraction and diversity, equity and inclusion with individualized targets in each functional area.  Patton's work was featured in the May 2008 edition of Black Enterprise Magazine. She has also been featured in 2013 in Diversity Inc.com magazine “How to Create a Diversity-Friendly City.” She is leading, serving and making a sustainable difference in the business community she serves.  Prior to being appointed in April 2002 to her current position, Patton served as Vice President – Telephone Banking Change Management for Bank of America – Nationally and was responsible for the management of large projects as they related to sales and marketing initiatives in the call/contact centers.  Patton has held numerous management positions with Bank of America and AT&T (formerly SBC and Southwestern Bell). She served as Vice President – Supplier Diversity and Development, Midwest Region; Vice President – Network and Desktop Technology, Midwest Region; Director – Product Management (Advance Intelligent Network Products) and Process Specialist – Information Systems. Patton is a proven professional is the areas of cost accounting, project management, process management, strategy development, supplier diversity and data center operations and technical support.  She serves as an adjunct professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She has also served as an adjunct instructor at Harris Stowe State College and Saint Louis Community College at Forest Park in the fields of management, accounting, information technology, business administration., leadership and social justice and human diversity.Support the show

Norman de Greve, the CMO of CVS Health, discusses the importance of practicing empathy, both as a senior leader and an executive of the largest health and wellness company in the US. He describes their ongoing response to the COVID19 crisis—listening to customers and employees, addressing their needs, and communicating frequently. Norman shares his views about the beneficial outcomes for leaders who take empathy-driven action to build trust, connection, and demonstrate commitment to helping people achieve what they want to achieve. He notes how CVS Health measures and rewards empathy-driven results.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   [01:13] Empathy is indispensable for business leaders to practice to help customers and employees feel safe.   [02:03] A strong focus on caring and empathy has long been a deep-rooted value at CVS Health.   [04:00] How integral is empathy now to corporate mindsets and practices, especially for leaders?   [04:46] Companies that are succeeding now have a deep understanding of both their employees and consumers.   [05:43] Norman shares how empathy has helped CVS Health respond to the Covid-19 crisis.   [07:00] How CVS Health listens to the voices of customers and employees to understand and address their needs.   [08:13] Considering the servant leader mindset and relevance in current circumstances.   [10:00] Key challenges CVS Health faced were being able to pivot quickly and preparing for the unknown.   [10:29] At the leadership level, what did CVS Health do differently?   [12:05] This crisis has brought out the humanness in people.   [13:18] Norman shares a more human approach as plans to return to the office are developed.   [14:06] How communication was the key to reassuring employees when CVS Health started Covid-19 testing.   [15:09] Across corporate environments, there is a heightened listening to, understanding, and responding to employees.   [16:00] How Norman is preparing for months of uncertainty and considering remote work options.   [17:24] Moving into a new world where we value the individual more than just a ‘resource’.   [18:30] Delivering empathy through a C.A.R.E.R. interaction model in stores increases customers’ adherence to their medication.   [19:21] CVS Health’s satisfaction scores are going way up because people are valuing empathy and kindness even more than ever in this stressful time.   [19:47] When CVS Health decided to track empathy internally, the reaction was ‘thank goodness’!   [20:30] An organization needs to deliver both operational follow-through as well as having empathic behaviors to enhance the customer experience.   [21:41] How empathy impacts the compensation of the management team of CVS Health.   [22:28] How does Norman define empathy?   [23:13] The role of empathy in cultivating a welcoming environment for a diverse population so people can reach their potential.   [24:08] We have a racism problem in America, as well as a mental health problem. People are not feeling enfranchised to bring all their skills and talents to work.   [25:26] How CVS Health supported their diverse workforce and achieved #24 on Diversity Inc’s top 50 companies for diversity for 2020.   [27:57] For leaders, Norman cautions that empathy is not just about listening, but also taking action.   [28:49] For any company, to enable everyone to bring their full potential, it starts with: what do we believe is the right vision for who we are and how we operate.   [29:37] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Ask your boss how they’re doing, not just the people who work for you. It’s a way to connect and hear what’s going on, and people need it.   RESOURCES   Cvshealth.com   Norman on Twitter     QUOTES   “It’s a very different environment than it used to be and companies that are succeeding are the ones that have a much deeper understanding both their employees and consumers.”    “The theory of the firm, which is usually why companies exist; and they exist to take the friction out of working together. Turns out Zoom does that pretty well.”   “This is challenging the paradigms we have in our heads.”   “Success really comes from a combination of operational and empathic behaviors.”          

Zach has the honor of sitting down to chat with award-winning journalist and author Pamela Newkirk to discuss the historical failure of diversity and inclusion. They talk a bit about her 2019 work "Diversity, Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business," and Pamela explains how and why transparent metrics across the board are the first step to actively addressing any diversity problem. She also implores institutions that truly want to embrace diversity to just stop doing what they've been doing and lean into the successful models that can be readily replicated that already exist out there. Check the links in the show notes to find out more about Pamela's work!Connect with Pamela on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.Interested in Pamela's books? Click here to read more about them on Amazon.Find out how the CDC suggests you wash your hands by clicking here or below.Help food banks respond to COVID-19. Learn more at FeedingAmerica.org.Check out our website.TRANSCRIPTZach: What's up, y'all? It's Zach with Living Corporate, and it's a Tuesday. You know, it's interesting--as a sidenote, y'all, you know, we pride ourselves in recording content in bulk, and, you know, we had a lot of different, interesting content that we were gonna share, but because of just where we are, we had to really shift some things. So thank you in advance for the folks being gracious with us, 'cause I know we'll--you know, a little bit behind the scenes. You know, we'll tell folks when we post and things of that nature, and we've had to change a lot of different things just because of where we are as a nation. And, you know, with that being said, y'all should know, if you don't know maybe you're a first-time listener. We actually are a platform that exists to center and amplify marginalized voices at work, and of course, again, considering where we are today, this work is all the more important, and we're really blessed and excited for the guest that we have today, Ms. Pamela Newkirk. Pamela Newkirk is an award-winning journalist whose articles have been published in the New York Newsday, the New York Times, and other publications. She's written a book called Spectacle, which was named one of the best books of 2015 by NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, and The Root. It won an NAACP Image Award. She's the editor of Letters From Black America and A Love No Less:" More Than Two Centuries of African-American Love Letters and is the author of Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media, which won the National Press Book Club award for media criticism. In addition to this, and what we're really excited to talk to her about today, she is the author of the 2019 incredible seller Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business. Ms. Newkirk, how are you?Pamela: I'm fine considering all that's going on in the world. Zach: I hear you. I'm exhausted, frustrated, anxious. I'm still somehow hopeful though.Pamela: Yeah, you know, I think that's kind of where I'm coming out on this. I have seen more progress over the past few days than I have in the 20 years that I've been writing about diversity and race and inclusion. Like, suddenly it seems to be breaking through, and I think there is no longer a place to hide and to pretend you're innocent or ignorant about what African-Americans are living through day-by-day. You know, as if the George Floyd travesty, tragedy, was not enough, we're still seeing constantly these videotaped images of police officers, you know, brutalizing peaceful protestors. So it's like suddenly it's all out in the open, and while those of us who have been living this for our entire lives, none of this is new to us. We've been saying it. We've been documenting it. But for some reason, the constellation of incidents, you know, from Amy Cooper to Ahmaud Arbery to then the most shocking, horrifying video of George Floyd being murdered on camera, this, you know, continuing saga of the African-American experience, to finally break through to the mainstream of white America. Zach: You know, it's interesting that you go there, 'cause I was curious, you know, in your book, Diversity Inc., you talk about the adverse impacts of unconscious bias training and how it's been proven to be ineffective, and yet that still seems to be, like, the mainstay or, like, for some organizations, like, their crown jewel. Like, they build everything around unconscious bias, the concept of unconscious bias, training around unconscious bias, you know, language that really focuses on bias only being unconscious.Pamela: Right. It's like drive-through diversity. You know, drive-by diversity. That's what the civil rights lawyer Cyrus Merry calls it. Companies are willing to spend billions of dollars every year on all of these, you know, the apparatus of diversity, but they're not willing to devote their money to interventions to actually doing diversity, actually hiring a diverse workforce. It's not that complicated, it's not rocket science, and yet, you know, we live in a world where you can go on Google and find out almost anything, and yet even in major cities companies pretend that they cannot find, you know, diverse candidates. It's really absurd, and I think, you know, that the level of frustration and the number of people out on the streets is now really shining a bright light on injustice writ large. It's not only the injustice of police brutality. Racial injustice has just been normalized, you know? Whether it's African-Americans dying of COVID at, you know, 4x the rate of whites, whether it's the radical underrepresentation of African-Americans in practically every professional field. You know, the health disparities. You go down the line, and we have, for centuries, normalized this as if it's, like, determined by God that we should have, you know, these kinds of disparities when it really is a function of policies and practices that are human-made, right?Zach: Right, right. No, I agree with you. You know, I want to ask you a question about the book title before we get to the next question. It's Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business. Can we talk about what promise corporate D&I has failed to deliver on?Pamela: Oh, God. You name it. I mean... so, you know, in doing the book, I wanted to interrogate the tension between the rhetoric of diversity, the apparatus of diversity, you know, the diversity czars and the diversity studies and the diversity reports and the diversity organizations and all of this--you know, this huge apparatus. You know, the climate surveys, the training. I wanted to look at--you know, we're devoting so much time to that, and why we consistently fail to achieve diversity. Like, what's going on? Why are we spending billions of dollars on something that has been shown year after year to fail? Like, it just... it seems ludicrous, but yet, you know, you have a company like Google that will spend more than 100 million dollars a year on diversity initiatives and year-after-year end up with a workforce in which African-Americans are, like, 2% of the employees in tech. Like, how do you spend that much money and fail so spectacularly year after year, and could that money instead be used to actually hire... [laughs] Silly me! Like, do you really need to train 30 and 40 and 50-year-olds to think differently about people of color who are just, like, totally missing in those spaces? How about bringing some of those people in those spaces? And guess what, they're gonna have to learn how to deal with them. They would be their colleagues. Like, I don't need to be trained on how to deal with diverse populations, but I do need a job, and if I am in a workplace that has people from different walks of life and different races and different, you know, whatever, I mean, I will learn how to deal with that. I don't need to be trained.Zach: And, you know, it's interesting, because to your point, we talk about this training. It doesn't go anywhere, and frankly I'm frustrated by the space. And so as I continue to look at it I see certain patterns, and it seems almost like diversity and inclusion is a space where--I'm gonna paint with broad brushes here, but you know what? It's my podcast and I can do that. So it seems as if diversity and inclusion as an industry is, like, a space where white women can go to, like, help them with their careers or to help give them certain levels of access or profile. So I've explicitly seen white women, like, talk about diversity and inclusion at, like, these big platforms, like, at Davos, right? And they'll stand up there and they'll say something fairly pedestrian if not outright obvious, but they're applauded for it, and it's like they're applauded by other white people. So it's almost like a community within itself, right? Like, they use a lot of language that we really don't understand.Pamela: Right, and worse than that. I'm gonna go further on your podcast. [both laugh] Diversity has come to mean everything and nothing. What is diversity? Most institutions don't even agree on what diversity is. Diversity could be more women, more white women, diversity could be more LGBTQ, and they can be white. Diversity could be people with mental or physical, you know, issues, and they can be white. So diversity can totally eclipse racial diversity and still, to many institutions, qualify as diversity. You know, the diversity czar at Apple went so far as to say 12 blonde blue-eyed white men could illustrate diversity because of their different backgrounds. So this diversity has--which is why, in my book, I focus on racial diversity, because I think race has sort of been set aside, you know? Because supposedly after the election of Barack Obama we were suddenly a post-race nation. You know, people are not saying that anymore. No, not today, but they were saying that, you know, for 8 years, and here we are, you know, with the same issues and with the needle barely moving for decades in most influential fields, whether we're talking about journalism or academia or museums or the law firms. Like, look around, and while all of these institutions will wave the diversity flag, very few of them are diverse.Zach: Right, especially when you start looking higher and higher, right? So when you start looking at spaces for the folks who actually make decisions and really are responsible--like, who own a P&L, like, that's where you start just seeing--I mean, you may at best see a sprinkling of non-white people, and that's not even to say black people. You might only see a sprinkle of just non-white people. And so I'm curious, when we talk about this space, and you kind of alluded to it when I asked you about how you're feeling and talked about hope, but I want to talk about the fact that we had Howard Bryant, ESPN senior contributor, NPR contributor, on the podcast on Saturday, and I shared that I think right now is a watershed moment essentially exposing how by and large inept diversity and inclusion is at really engaging black and brown employees explicitly. And I'm curious, do you think that we're in such a moment?Pamela: You know, I'm hopeful. Of course, you know, the proof is gonna be in the pudding, you know, whether we actually see change, but I do--you know, I'm heartened by seeing so many white people even out on the streets, you know, protesting. You know, that's not something that we've seen. You know, Black Lives Matter has really been limited to black and brown people who have been out there on the frontlines of that battle, and it's almost as if white people have, like, cast themselves as sort of innocent bystanders in this whole racial conversation. Like, they have, like, really nothing to do with it when they have everything to do with it, and so it's really encouraging to me to at least see whites engaging in a way that I have not seen in my lifetime.Zach: It's incredible that you say that. I was speaking to my father this morning, and he said, "Son, I'm 55 years old, and I've never seen this in my life." It's incredible. So here's what's scary, police been beating us, you know, since antebellum, but to see white folks out there getting beat down alongside us...Pamela: Yeah, but we have to remember that white abolitionists were treated [just?] as badly, you know? During slavery, white abolitionists were killed, you know, just as readily as black people were. So it's really not that unusual. What's unusual is that they're out there, you know? They're out there holding signs saying "Black Lives Matter." I mean, that, I do think it's a watershed moment just for that. I think there are people who are being really cynical about the level of activism we're seeing, saying they're performing, you know, racial politics or whatever. All I know is that they hadn't done that in all of the days of my life, and so the fact that many are now openly expressing their horror in a way that they should have all along--I mean, no doubt, but the fact that they're doing it now, I welcome it, because, like, hello, welcome to, you know, your humanity, you know? We're all implicated in this, and black people should never have been the only ones to single out police brutality, racial inequality, the radical underrepresentation in all of these workplaces. That, you know, injustice affects all of us. And, I mean, I do understand that white people have benefitted from inequality, but they're also paying the price of inequality as well. I mean, you know, no justice no peace. There won't be peace in the land as long as you have a system that's so blatantly unjust. Zach: And so, you know, you talked about white folks coming out and supporting and having Black Lives Matter. I'ma tell you, Ms. Newkirk, when I knew it was a thing was when this Amish came out there. [both laugh] I said, "How did y'all even get the word?"Pamela: I guess what got me was the thousands of people in Berlin, you know? And in Paris and in London. You know? Australia. I mean, around the world, you know, the whole world is watching.Zach: And so, you know, we've talked a little bit about what we think this is. There are plenty of organizations, right, that are--and I say this as someone who, because of my network, I'm able to see... like, I know the diversity and inclusion consulting spaces and stuff out there, right? And I'm seeing there's a sharp uptick in demand for [?]. Pamela: Oh, my God. My phone is ringing off the hook and I don't do diversity training, and I tell them I don't do diversity training. "If you've read my book, you'd know how I felt about it." But I know a lot of people who do it and, you know, you're welcome to, like, speak to them. I'm all in for a candid conversation about what you can do differently to change the game, but I don't think it's something that you need someone in week after week--I mean, if that's gonna help you get to a place where you actually, you know, create opportunity for non-white people, if that's what it's gonna take, fine, but all of the studies have pretty much conclusively shown that training doesn't work. The numbers they report year after year show that training doesn't work too because most Fortune 500 companies have been doing this training for years and the numbers don't budge. And yeah, there's that Harvard study by Frank Dobbin that shows that these studies, especially when it's mandatory training, it triggers a backlash among white men who, instead of supporting diversity, it makes them even more resentful of it. And even worse, the study showed that 5 years after this training, the percentage of black women and Asian men and women actually decreased, their numbers in management. So why are companies doing the same things and expecting different results?Zach: And it's interesting because they're coming in and they're doing that, right? Like, the same training. I agree that ultimately--the whole idea of "We need to come and have a dialogue" is frustrating, because I feel like we've dialoguing--I'm 30, and I feel like we've been dialoguing for a long time.Pamela: Oh, my God. I've been in journalism and higher ed for more than 30 years, longer than you've been alive, and it's the same conversation. It's the same conversation from, you know, the 1960s, you know? And I guess the optimistic way of looking at it is--and, you know, after the uprising in the 1960s when the doors finally opened to people of color in fields that had historically excluded them, we did see, you know, the numbers jump up, you know, considerably. We saw more African-Americans, Latinos and others going to colleges, you know, entering fields that they had been excluded from, but as that progress became to metastastize, then we came into the '80s and we had this backlash against diversity, you know, under Reagan, and we had this, you know, systemic dismantling of every policy, every practice.Zach: All those social programs got gutted, yeah.Pamela: Yes, everything got gutted, and then the backlash--we're still living in that backlash to the progress that had been made. So, you know, the interesting thing is that all of these institutions can turn on a dime when they're ready, when they want to. Like, we're seeing companies now suddenly devote millions of dollars. I just heard Bain is gonna, you know, donate 100 million to, you know, black causes, and all of these things are suddenly happening, so it's so easy for them to turn it around, to open that spigot, but what has been lacking is the leadership, the will, and the intention.Zach: Yeah, yeah. And to your point, right, we've seen this organizations--a lot of these organizations, these big ones, like, they solve big problems. They solve really big problems. But the frustrating thing for me I think is that we treat racism as an abstract, right? So we'll say things like, "Well, we just need to open our hearts and minds." It's like, "We don't really actually need to open our hearts and minds. We just need to tie these things back into tangible outcomes." You know, create and add new policies that hold and drive accountability, increase transparency, and make certain demands and expectations, right? Like I said, I'm alluding back to the Saturday episode, but it's just fresh in my mind, because I think about the fact that Howard Bryant, he said, you know, "The reason you come in [and] you don't sexually harass somebody isn't--you know, it may be because you're a decent person." [both laugh] Pamela: It may be, and it may be because you'll get fired.Zach: You know that there's gonna be consequences and repercussions if you come in here acting stupid, harassing women or harassing anybody, saying something inappropriate. You know that.Pamela: Exactly. And do you need a training program to tell you that?Zach: I genuinely don't, and I loathe every single one of them. But you're right.Pamela: Yeah, and the thing is it's not even that I'm just so against the idea of training--even though I kind of am, but if there was anything, any proof, that they actually helped realize diversity, I'd be all about it, you know? There are measures that we know work, and I just don't understand why we keep doing something that has not borne fruit and we ignore the things that do, and that leads me to believe that there's not an honest intention to actually realize diversity.Zach: I agree. So some of it to me is, like, when you talk about, like, programming for diversity, equity and inclusion, you know, it's typically some type of instructor-led training, but a lot of studies continue to show that being able to have authentic conversations and build stories, again, tying and really having the critical conversations to tie goals and values to policy, is really what drives results, but we're just still not there yet. I'm curious, again, there are plenty of organizations who are just now trying to build, like, some type of office, right? Some type of council or department or whatever you want to call it. What would you say are some of the biggest mistakes folks--and when I say folks I mean organizations--commit when they try to launch initiatives or departments or groups like this?Pamela: Yeah, I think the biggest mistake is that the leadership sort of farms out this diversity issue to the most marginalized person in the organization, which is usually the diversity czar, whatever they call the diversity professional in that organization. Usually that person is the most marginalized executive of the team. It's usually a person of color or a woman, and they usually don't have much power, and so don't do that, and if you're going to do that, if you're gonna go that route, then you have to empower that person to actually get results. One thing that we've seen from studies, there was a study done a year ago, a survey of Fortune 500 D&I professionals, and I think it was somewhere around 65% did not even have access to the metrics, the diversity metrics, in the organization they work for. So how could they hope to fix a problem that they can't even see, right? So they're shooting in the dark. We know the most effective way to tackle a diversity problem is first to have transparent metrics across job categories, across, you know, bonus systems, any kind of award systems. Who's getting, who's not? Right? You know, you have to look under the hood and see what's actually happening in these companies, because we know with unconscious bias you can keep blaming everything on unconscious bias, but whether it's conscious or unconscious, let's see how it's working in your organization. Only then can you hope to even have an intervention, you know? Whether it's in your promotion system, it's your hiring system, it's looking at, you know, who's even being interviewed for positions, you know? What kind of outreach are you doing? So you have to have transparent metrics across the board. It is the first step, and once you do that then you can hope to have the kind of interventions that will allow you to actively address the problem. It's what--I do a chapter on what happened at Coca-Cola after they were sued for racial discrimination, and part of the settlement was having this task force that oversaw what they were doing to correct the problem, and over 5 years they were able to make substantial improvements through a system of transparent metrics and accountability.Zach: And, you know, it's interesting because I think when we talk about metrics--and it goes back just to, like, the lack of inclusion in this work, but when you talk about metrics it presumes that the people who are measuring understand what they're measuring for, right? But if you have a group--and there's plenty of articles, you know, op-eds, analysis, reports, all kinds of things about just how behind the majority population on matters of race, so then why would that same population then be responsible for measuring the nuances of race and diversity? [both laugh]Pamela: Are you saying the fox is guarding the chicken coop? Is that what you're saying? [laughs]Zach: Absolutely. Absolutely it is.Pamela: Well, yeah. So if you're not allowing the person charged with increasing diversity, if you're not giving them access to those numbers, you know, you're hiding something for one thing, right? And you're handcuffing them. There's no way that they can hope to correct those issues without having that kind of information. I mean, that's just basic to their job, but yet you talk to most D&I people and they don't have access to that.Zach: And what's also interesting about that is that--I don't know, there's different levels, right? Because the other piece, you talked about power, and I've been--Living Corporate has been a bit more intentional in calling out, like, the ethics of power and how all of these things work, right? Because you just rarely ever see the person who's really driving diversity, equity and inclusion be somebody that really has authority, and they're not respected in the space because typically their role is something internal. You know, they're not necessarily driving any type of revenue, so they're not gonna really be heard. And on top of that sometimes compounded is the complexity that you have organizations that will get somebody who is black or brown, but again make them junior, so not only do they not have the formal hierarchal power, they don't even have the social capital that comes with being white to really navigate and do their jobs well because they're, you know, often times tokenized.Pamela: Right. It really comes down to leadership, because in any organization people know what matters and what doesn't matter, right? You know if a person really has power or if they just have a title. Like, it's not hard to figure out, you know, who you have to respect and who you can ignore and, you know, what they stand for, so it really does come down to leadership and if leaders are gonna continue to farm this issue out to marginalized people, be they consultants or, you know, a diversity person who really has no power, you know? We're not gonna see any progress in that space. And, I mean, looking at all of these fields that have not changed in all of this time, that has to be willful, and so it's gonna take will to change that, and I hope that we're living in a time now where people realize that, you know, this is not a sustainable situation.Zach: It's not, and that actually leads me to my next question. I want to quote an excerpt from your book. "The quest for racial diversity has long been an uphill crusade, but now it's waged in a far more polarized climate in which many whites now claim they are being disenfranchised as others are afforded undue advantage. An NPR poll conducted in 2017 found that 55% of white Americans believe that they are discriminated against while, tellingly, a lower percentage said that they actually have experienced discrimination. A Reuters survey in 2017 found that 39% of whites polled agreed with the statement that quote, "White people are currently under attack in this country," end quote." So I'm quoting this because the reality of this, I believe, is still showing up in 2020 in that a significant percentage of white D&I experts, quote-unquote, they have the opinion that white folks, particularly white men, need to be included, because if you don't include them, then you're essentially violating your own principles by excluding them. [both laugh] And so I'm curious, like, especially as we see an uptick in focus on black lives and really working--you know, there's a lot of folks downloading and buying books on anti-racism and, like, you know, there's really a push for that right now. Do you see this trend increasing?Pamela: Oh, definitely, but we're just weeks into it. [laughs] So I can't tell you where it's headed, you know? But I see that as a good thing, you know, because for years, for decades, you know, African-Americans and other scholars of color and journalists have been doing this work, and often times we're preaching to the choir, you know? And now to see so many whites leaning in to this scholarship and to the idea of anti-racism, not only, you know, relating to members of, you know, skinheads or the Ku Klux Klan, but could implicate the average white person, you know? Reading Robin DiAngelo's work, White Fragility, she talks about the ways in which whites perpetuate white supremacy, but they do it in a way that they feel they're just neutral in it. They don't see how they are helping by either their silence or by just holding these deeply embedded ideas about race and merit and who actually deserves the kind of privilege that many whites enjoy. Like, are they African-Americans? Maybe there are a few who they see as deserving the kind of privilege that they enjoy, but that's the exception, not the rule. So these ideas are so deeply embedded in the white American psyche that it will take, you know, some time to kind of dismantle an idealogy that has been rooted in the history of this country, right, from the very beginning, and these ideas did not bubble up from the ground up. They were taught in places like Harvard and Princeton and Yale and Columbia University, you know? So this whole idea of science, you know, was rooted in this notion of African inferiority and European superiority.Zach: Yeah, measuring skull size and all that kind of stuff.Pamela: Yeah, so we're not that far removed from that. That idealogy is still very much a part of the American ethos, and until that is exposed and examined by the people who hold those ideas, we're gonna continue to see it play out in so many ways.Zach: And to your point, when we talk about racism--there are folks who I have, colleagues, associates, whatever, right, and we'll talk about racism, and a lot of times we'll talk about it, like, in forms--like, "It's out there." Like, it's "out there." Like, that's why George Floyd--because of systemic racism, that's why George Floyd was murdered in the street on camera with no accountability until we had riots, but the challenge and I think the next step as we look at this work, to your point around, like, really addressing and interrogating it, is analyzing what the same systems that allow those types of things to happen, the Amy Coopers of the world, those systems persist here too in work. Pamela: Exactly, and it's being able to kind of position yourself within the space. Like, where are you? Like, how do you benefit from this system, and what do you do with your privilege? And it's not enough just not to be actively racist. Like, in what ways are you anti-racist? In what ways are you working to dismantle injustice? And that's the next step for the so-called decent whites who I don't think are, you know, actively racist, but they're complicit in a racially injustice system through their silence, through their inaction. They work in these spaces, and they're not using their forums and their positions to tackle something that is so persistent and perverse.Zach: You know, I just started really thinking about, again, like, connecting historical racist idealogies and beliefs in America and then, like, how they show up at work. And so, like, an example that I think about, and I'm not a researcher and, like, I've talked to some friends and, like, I really want to put some research together on this, but, like, when you think about the history of black women and how they've been treated in this country and how essentially--there's been all kinds of writing on how there was a belief that essentially black women--black people across the board, but black women specifically--they don't feel pain in the same waysa that white women do, right?Pamela: Ugh, right. The black superwoman, yeah.Zach: Right? So in fact a lot of the understandings that we have about the female anatomy comes from the abuse of black female slaves. But this idea that, you know, black women are just tougher and, like, stronger inherently or biologically, you know? And we see that in sports, right? Like, Serena Williams is, like, a classic example of that and also why she wasn't heard and she almost died when she had her child, but I think that mentality and that attitude, it persists in the workplace as well, and it shows up in the workplace by way of black women being overworked and underappreciated.Pamela: Right. Well, you know, it's what history has demanded of us, right? We had to be stronger. Like, what was the alternative to that? Being beaten more? Being raped more? So paradoxically it's partly true that that's why we're still here.Zach: Right, by means of survival.Pamela: Right, but, you know, we haven't been given the opportunity to show weakness and to cry when things happen, things go wrong, you know? That fragility that may be afforded a white woman doesn't work for us.Zach: And I think we could find, like, similar... I guess my point is, like, that the meta-narrative doesn't stop, and so when you talk about systemic racism--so I'm the son of an English teacher, so, like, I'm very sensitive about words, right? So if you're gonna use a word like "systemic," then be comfortable with interrogating the concept that whatever you're talking about reaches as far as you can see and beyond that. And so, you know, when we talk about, like, we just talked about science and a lot of the racist concepts in considering that black folks were inherently inferior.Pamela: Right. And, I mean, those ideas are still debated, you know, just--like it was, like, 10 years ago, maybe it was a little more than that, when Newsweek and Time had, like, this big debate going about, you know, the bell curve.Zach: People still talk about the bell curve.Pamela: People still do, and, I mean, it's still with us, even if it's not as polite today to [?], it's still very much with us. Even if people don't say it, that idealogy persists.Zach: Exactly, and so it's like, "Okay, not only was this--" Like, at one point in time this was rigorous, firmly accepted, widely, globally accepted academic truth, and now it's waned into being impolite conversation...Pamela: Precisely, but still true. [laughs]Zach: Right, but still believed to be true.Pamela: But it's PC to now say it.Zach: Right, so it's not unreasonable then to believe that majority counterparts presume or have some conscious or unconscious beliefs that black people are inferior, and that comes up in language like, "They're not as strategic," or "They don't think as critically," or whatever, but it's subtle, and [?]--Pamela: Or that they're natural athletes or natural artists. Like, nothing comes out of a thinking place. [laughs]Zach: Right. "They're creative, but they're not strategic," right? And it shows up in a lot of genteel language, but you talked about Robin DiAngelo and you talked about white fragility. You know, we had her on the podcast a little while ago, and--you shared it actually on Twitter. Thank you for that.Pamela: I did, because I think it's so timely.Zach: It is. And when we talk about white fragility--and for the sake of just kind of level-setting, right, it's essentially the low fluency and resilience white folks have with regards to engaging matters of race, especially discussing where they may be the perpetrators of conscious or unconscious racist behaviors.Pamela: But then think about it. There are no penalties for them not knowing so much about the history of race in this country, you know? I've written about this. You could do a doctorate, a post-doc, and never have to meaningfully confront the history of race in this country, you know? You don't have to know about what happened to the Irish and what happened to, you know, Italians and Greek people at the turn of the century and how, you know, they were demeaned. You don't have to know how race operates and how it is just, like, so deeply embedded in the whole system of this country, and so because you may know who some of the major contributors to American history were who happen to be African-American, they never have to know. They don't have to know who Fredrick Douglass is, Booker T. Washington. Like, all of the people who I grew up just knowing because my parents taught me, I would never be penalized on an SAT for not knowing that. So they've been able to skate through life without understanding why it is that we have this kind of systemic imbalance around race, and they think it's because of merit. They think it's because they worked harder. They think, "Well, slavery was abolished in the 1860s, so what's the problem? You've had all this time." They don't look at the ways in which that system is still very much actively working against any kind of racial equality, you know, racial justice. And so when you're, like, just ignorant and not penalized for that ignorance, like, it's not totally the fault--you know, I have white students who sometimes are in tears in my class. I teach a class that examines the history of racial portrayals of marginalized groups, and they say "How is it that I'm in college and I never learned any of this history?" Like, it's not their fault, you know? Because only those who choose to elect--and these are electives that they would take to learn about this--like, it's not required. These courses are so marginalized, and they're so important for white people to have a sense of all of the ways in which they have been privileged throughout history without knowing that they're twicely just ignorant. Zach: And to your point though, right, you have this group who--so, like, let's talk about the workplace. So you have this group that has never had to really critically engage around race, never had to engage around how their own behaviors have been harmful to folks who don't look like them. Now all of a sudden, no matter [?]--like you said, this just really got started, right? We're just a couple weeks in, but let's say this goes on for two years, whatever, you know, suddenly there's going to be--you go from, like, not moving at all to almost running at a rabbit's pace, and I'm curious about with the current client focusing on black people, black experiences and really continuing to unpack that, how would you advise, like, a majority-white leadership space mitigate burn-out? Because they just don't have--again, we talk about white fragility, they don't have the bandwidth and they don't have the cardiovascular, right, to keep up.Pamela: Well, you know, I think they do, you know? I think these institutions have been so afraid to engage these matters and now they're seeing the consequences of kind of their hands-off policy, you know? We've made the progress we have made due to uprisings in the 1960s, because all of that scholarship was out there then, but no one listened until buildings started building and, you know, people started feeling kind of unsafe, and then suddenly everyone leaned in [?], and I think we're in that same kind of space right now where I think people are honestly leaning in--I mean, I've gotten notes over the past week from colleagues who, you know, kind of didn't really--I guess they saw me as kind of a radical, and now all of a sudden they're seeing my ideas as mainstream. So they're writing me like, "Wow, you know, you were prescient." It's like, "No, I wasn't. You just weren't paying attention." Everything that we're seeing has been happening all along. Nothing is new. The only thing that has changed is that white people are suddenly acknowledging the truth that has been with us all of this time. So now that they are, I do believe that we can begin to--first of all, there's so much out there. There's so many scholars of color and professionals of color and people who are ready to, like, get in there, right, and contribute to all of these institutions that have ignored them, devalued them, you know? Not hired them. You know, these institutions are about to be enriched, you know, if they truly embrace the diversity that is available, you know? Well-trained, well-educated, just ready, ready to jump in and help these organizations become more just places, and I do believe that if they continue to lean in in the ways they have over the past few weeks, I think a lot of good can come from this moment.Zach: And do you think--let me ask this then. So do you think that will offset the amount of folks who are uncomfortable and end up, you know, going elsewhere or--Pamela: What do you mean?Zach: Yeah, so what I mean is, like, do you think the amount of folks that come in and they deliver learning and folks grow, and they increase black and brown engagement through hiring and of course, like, retaining the talent that they have, do you think that will offset the amount of white folks who just find all of this offensive and disengage?Pamela: You mean like the 57 police officers in Buffalo that resigned because two of their colleagues were suspended for, like, critically injuring an elderly white man? You know, I don't think that's gonna happen, you know? Because first of all people need employment, and yeah, you know, I think that you're always gonna have that percentage of, you know, just straight up white supremacists who are not going to be in spaces where there are people of color, and, you know, good riddance, but I don't think that's gonna be the biggest roadblock to having diverse environments, because I don't think they're gonna give up all of these fields, you know? I don't think they're just gonna suddenly say, "Oh, here. Take my privileged position at this law firm or in this company," you know? But I think people can learn to work together. In fact, I think that is the best way to condition people to deal with different kinds of people is just to put them in the same space where they see that, "Oh, this person is not, like, a Martian. This person actually has kind of similar values," and then they begin to see that there was nothing that frightening to begin with. But I think when you continue--you know, we live in a rigidly segregated society, and most white people don't have to be in spaces where there are people of color, and particularly people of color who are peers, you know? They may be in the mail room or, you know, delivering their food, but to have people of color who are your peers, many white people don't have that experience, and they certainly don't have that experience of having people of color who are neighbors, who go to the same church, who go to the same--we live in such segregated worlds, and that kind of segregation becomes a self-replicating situation in the workplace, right, because people hire who they know, they hire who their friends recommend, they hire from this very closed off world, and until you can break that up, you know, and have a far more diverse workplace, you're gonna continue to have that kind of self-replication.Zach: Ms. Newkirk, this has been incredible. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Before we let you go, any parting words or shout-outs?Pamela: Well, you know, I guess the thing that I'm most hopeful about is that there are successful models that can be readily replicated, and if institutions truly want to embrace diversity they need to just stop doing what they've been doing and lean into models that have proven to be successful.Zach: Well, there you have it, y'all. This has been Living Corporate. Like, we do this every single week. We're having real talk in a corporate world, and we center and we amplify marginalized voices at work by having black and brown thought leaders of all types of varieties on the platform. You make sure you check us out. Just Google Living Corporate. I ain't about to shout out all the places we on 'cause we all over Barack Obama's internet, so just type in Living Corporate and you'll catch us. 'Til next time, this has been Zach Nunn, and you've been listening to Pamela Newkirk, award-winning journalist, educator, speaker and author. Peace, y'all.

“Diversity”—in particular, the lack of it—has become a buzzword in the past two decades, especially within the realms of education, entertainment, and corporate America. Companies and institutions alike are spending millions of dollars on programs to make their ranks more inclusive and reflective of ever-shifting demographics. Yet, as journalist and professor Pamela Newkirk (@ptnewkirk) argues, diversity remains “conspicuously lacking” in these contexts, both despite of and, in some ways, because of the efforts to confront it. On this episode, we speak with Professor Newkirk about her new book “Diversity, Inc: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business,” and the paradoxes, pitfalls and potential of business-driven approaches to rectifying social inequality. Check out Pamela Newkirk's book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/pamela-newkirk/diversity-inc/9781568588230/ Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ptnewkirk

Diversity Inc. CEO Carolynn Johnson talks about why diversity is the competitive, profitable thing to do, the state of the workforce, diversity challenges and best practices, and the Diversity Inc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The business of diversity is booming. Corporations and cultural institutions spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on diversity training, yet despite the ubiquity and expense of these efforts, overall racial, gender and ethnic diversity remains an aspiration rather than a reality. Today on Midday: what's been tried, what has succeeded and what's flopped in efforts to achieve more inclusion in American life. Dr. Pamela Newkirk is an award-winning journalist, professor of Journalism at NYU and author of the book "Diversity, Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business."

Diversity Inc. - an exploration of the role diversity plays in our lives.

Pamela Newkirk, Professor of Journalism at New York University, discusses her book Diversity Inc, on why companies spend so much on diversity initiatives and yet have so little to show for it.  Hosts Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan.

Pamela Newkirk, Professor of Journalism at New York University, discusses her book Diversity Inc, on why companies spend so much on diversity initiatives and yet have so little to show for it.  Hosts Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Zach sits down with Michelle Gadsden-Williams, the managing director and North American inclusion & diversity lead at Accenture, to discuss her role at work and why inclusion is placed first in her job title. They also talk about her book, Climb, and how she sees organizations shifting in the next decade to be more inclusive to trans people.Read Michelle's full bio on AIT, and check out her book on Amazon! Connect with her on Twitter!Search open positions at Accenture.com!Check out Accenture's Inclusion and Diversity Index!Connect with Accenture on the following platforms: LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, Facebook, YouTubeTRANSCRIPTZach: What’s up, y’all? It’s Zach with Living Corporate, and I’m really excited to share something with y’all, okay? Now, I shared this last week, but just in case you missed it last week I’ma share it again. Living Corporate has partnered with Accenture to feature some of their most experienced North American black and brown managing directors and share their journeys, okay? My hope is you check out this and you peep the links in the show notes to learn more about each of them, including our next guest, Michelle Gadsden-Williams. Michelle Gadsden-Williams is the managing director [and] inclusion and diversity lead for North America at Accenture. Previously, she was the co-founder and chief operating officer of women’s empowerment initiatives and diverse entertainment investments, based in New York City. Michelle Gadsden-Williams has acquired a number of community service awards and accolades for her work as a diversity practitioner. More recently, she has been recognized as a 2015 Ebony Magazine Power 100 Honoree. Over the span of her career, Gadsden-Williams has been profiled in Black Enterprise Magazine, Diversity Inc., Diversity Executive, Ebony, Essence, Fortune, History Makers, Heart & Soul, Jet, New Vision—listen, y’all. Y’all get it, right? Okay, I’ma put the whole bio in the show notes. The point is Michelle has it going on. She’s killing it, okay? Beast. Straight up. [straight up sfx] And you know what? Also put one of those “owww”. [owww sfx] Like, this is crazy. I’m just so, so impressed. Her other notable tributes include being named the 2010 recipient of the Maya Way Award for Diversity Leadership by the incomparable Dr. Maya Angelou, receiving the 2008 recipient of the Harvard Black Men’s Forum Businesswoman of the Year Award, accepting the Rainbow Push Coalition’s Bridge Builder Award by the honorable Rev Jesse L. Jackson, and being recognized with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Kean University for her outstanding personal and professional accomplishments in the field of diversity and inclusion. In 2013, Gadsden-Williams was appointed as a member of the Global Advisory Council on Gender Parity for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Y’all… do y’all understand—like, come on. Give me the air horns right here. [air horns sfx] Like, this is incredible. I am just impressed. I mean, look, man, I’m over here—we grindin’. Like, like, like… [what more do you want from me?] Look, with that being said, the next thing you’re gonna hear is my interview with Michelle Gadsden-Williams. Check it out.Zach: Michelle, welcome to the show. How are you doing?Michelle: I am doing very well. How are you?Zach: [applause sfx] Doing really well, really excited to have you on the show. For those of us who don't know you, would you mind sharing a little bit about yourself?Michelle: Sure. My name is Michelle Gadsden-Williams, and I am the managing director and lead for inclusion and diversity in North America with Accenture and the author of the award-winning book "Climb."Zach: Come on, now. [both laugh] Now--I love it. I love it from the jump. We'll be talking about Climb--we're gonna get there a little bit later in this conversation. Let's talk a little bit about the first thing you said, about the fact that you're the North American lead for I&D. And your title is I&D and not D&I. Can we talk a little bit about why inclusion has been placed firstMichelle: And this is a phenomena that's been happening, I'd say, over the past few years, where a lot of organization and diversity practitioners are starting to think of this notion of diversity as being--being a standalone entity is no longer enough, that inclusion is extremely paramount as having a culture of inclusion. So diversity is the invitation to the party, and inclusion is being asked to dance, as we say. So in my view, I&D is an essential component of everything that Accenture does, and we aim to be the most inclusive organization in the world, and so we recognize that inclusion and diversity foster greater creativity and innovation. So that's one of the reasons why we've decided to reverse it and have big I and big D.Zach: I love it, I love it. You know, and it's interesting, because a piece from Take the Lead, where you were featured, starts like this. It says, quote, "When Michelle Gadsden-Williams started working in human resources in 1990, the mission in her field was called affirmative action." And, I mean, that's really interesting, right? 'Cause we talked a little bit before we started the show--we talked a little bit about your tenure, right, and the breadth and depth of your experience, and, you know--so you started in 1990. Despite it being almost 2020, there are still folks who believe I&D efforts are some version of affirmative action. So, like, how do you, as an executive leader, navigate the fears and frustrations of those who look at I&D as a zero-sum game?Michelle: Yeah, that's an interesting question, and I'm going to go back to a piece of research that Accenture conducted a short time ago. And one of the things that we've done, earlier this year, is to take a step back and think about, you know, what is this impact of I&D in the workplace, and so we conducted a survey of about 18,000 employees of companies around the world, and we asked two very important questions, one of which was "How inclusive is your culture?" The other was "How willing are you to innovate?" And so while diversity factors very much into--and has a significant impact on--the innovation mindset, a culture of equality is the multiplier, and that's what's really going to help companies maximize innovation. So when I started doing this work many years ago, and actually it was just before 1990--yes, it was called affirmative action, and the strategy was really more about "So how many individuals of difference do you have?" So it was basically a headcount exercise. It had nothing to do with culture. It had nothing to do with inclusion. It had nothing to do about what we're talking about today. So fast forward to current day. This notion of inclusion and diversity has evolved, and now many organizations are really starting to see the true power of what this work represents, that it's not just about counting heads. It's about making those heads count and ensuring that every single individual, regardless of their difference, has an opportunity to realize their potential, realize their ambition, have a seat at the table, and to reach their career aspiration, whatever that may be.Zach: That's a really powerful point, because--it's interesting. I've been having conversations with folks who talk about inclusion, and I've asked individuals and leaders of organizations, like, "Look, how do you actually define inclusion?" And people will say, "Well, making sure everybody feels included." And I was like, "Okay..." [both laugh]Michelle: Well, that's interesting.Zach: And I'm like, "Okay..." But what I think is paramount when we talk about inclusion is the fact that inclusion from my perspective--and this may sound--maybe I'm framing it radically, but there's some type of distribution of power, right, to individuals so that they actually have a true voice. Like, I don't--I don't see a voice at the table absent some level of authority or power. And so when you talk about, like, career development and making sure that they're growing and that folks are progressing and things of that nature, what I'm hearing is--and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, so help me, keep me honest--what I'm hearing is is that part of that inclusion definition also comes with some level of--if it's, like, promotion or positioning them, positioning folks, so their voice can actually be heard in ways that make sense, right? It's not just about, you know, nodding and smiling, but making sure that they're actually empowered.Michelle: That's exactly right. We all--like, we're all sitting around a table, that it's allowing individuals the place and the space to allow their perspective or their point of view to be voiced. So we all have a responsibility to ensure that that happens, whether or not people recognize that or not. I believe that's what true inclusion is all about, ensuring that people who have a seat at that table, they believe that they matter, that their perspectives and opinions and points of view--that they matter.Zach: No, I love that. I love that, and it's so--I really do believe--and I recognize your point in that where Accenture is in their journey, in their I&D journey, but I would challenge that--as I've had multiple conversations with other leaders, HR practitioners, other folks who ascribe themselves as I&D leaders or D&I leaders--that definition of inclusion, it always falls a little bit short to me. And maybe my bar is a little too high, but I'm like, "Okay, at what point are we actually empowering these folks who have been historically disenfranchised and under-represented in these spaces with actual power and, like, authority, so that they can actually, to your point, have the space and the breadth at the table to speak and actually actualize something?"Michelle: Exactly. And I think to your point, organizations are just simply not seeing inclusion as the right thing to do anymore. It just makes all the sense in the world, especially when you're talking about creating a culture of equity and empowerment where every voice counts and all of those kinds of things. This is the action that's behind all of that.Zach: Absolutely. And speaking of action, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Pride, and our workplaces are increasingly diverse, and in that diversity, trans individuals are working in the corporate space at larger numbers than ever before, along with black and brown professionals and, of course, intersect--we can't ignore the reality of intersectionality, that we have black and brown trans professionals also in the workplace. And so how do you see organizations shifting in the next decade to be more inclusive to trans individuals, particularly trans women of color?Michelle: I believe it all goes back to culture first and for organizations to look at building cultures where every single individual feels included and where they can bring their whole selves to work. Things like the Pride celebration--we had a week-long celebration here in New York, which was amazing, and I'm still recovering from all of the celebrations--Zach: Yeah! I had some friends out there.Michelle: Exactly. I just think that it's really about focusing on the individual, their needs and wants and desires, and a lot of us have very different lived experiences outside of the workplace, and a lot of societal burdens, we bring those things into the workplace unfortunately. And so when we talk about inclusion, when we talk about intersectionality and all of those things, none of this works unless the culture is such that it encourages and fosters an environment where authenticity, where being your true, authentic self in ways that invites others to be curious about your lived experience, all of this helps an individual to be a lot more innovative, productive. They will, by nature, feel included. I just think that all of this resonates, and all of this will ensure that, you know, individuals, they will feel truly valued for their differences and to be--and feel free to be exactly who they are, that they're not just there to check a box and that they're empowered to contribute in many ways. So I just think that the underpin of all of this is around culture. It's around innovation mindset. It's about the appreciation of the differences that we all bring to the table and the understanding and awareness that we all don't experience the world, our workplaces, in the same way, and that's what intersectionality is all about.Zach: 100%. You're spot on, Michelle. It's interesting, because what your point reminds me of--we just had a conversation with Tamara, the MD out of Austin--Michelle: Oh, Tamara Fields? Yes.Zach: That's right, Tamara Fields.Michelle: [?] a friend of mine, yes.Zach: Yes, and we were talking to Tamara about the reality of emotional labor. Like, there's a level of emotional labor involved in just existing as a non-white person in a majority-white space, right? So, you know, you see something in the news--like, because we were talking about seeing whatever atrocity you want to choose from--and not to sound flippant or dismissive, but if you're looking at the border crisis or you're looking at a police shooting or whatever the case may be, absorbing that type of content and then coming into a space that is uniquely alien to you can be exhausting. And to your whole point around, like, culture, what I'm reading--and I'm not saying you're saying this. What I read that as is that organizations will--organizational culture will change as the majority allows it to change, right? Meaning that if the majority of a space are adaptive to a particular culture, then the organization will shift, but if there is collective push-back against whatever the initiative may be, then things will slow down, right? And I think we see that, not just at a macro level--or at a micro level in our working perspective, but we also see it, like--we've seen it in the history of America, and so I think that really leads me to ask, like, when you think about--when you talk about culture and culture shifting, what advice or--what are things that you've seen executives do, organizational executives do, to facilitate cultural change for more inclusive workplaces?Michelle: Well, I think there are several things that leaders must do, the first of which is they have to make I&D, inclusion and diversity, a priority. There needs to be established diversity objectives and priorities, equal pay, advancement goals. Like, all of that needs to be established in order to shift the culture to the desired state. The second thing I would say is making leaders accountable, holding individuals' feet to the fire, and we have to track progress and really have some tangible consequences where if a leader does not--is not on board, then there needs to be some sort of--and maybe it's not a consequence. Maybe that is a strong word, but there needs to be some accountability in terms of ensuring that diversity and inclusion is priority #1 if we are to create the ideal culture that we're talking about here. I also think encouraging risk taking and ensuring that employees know that they have the freedom to experiment, to ideate, to innovate, and that's what helps us all learn and grow as professionals. So I just think all of these things will help us get to that ideal state and also create a culture--you talked about the freedom to fail. I think all of this helps in that regard.Zach: No, you're absolutely right, you're absolutely right. So, you know, earlier this season we had Chris Moreland. Chris Moreland is the chief inclusion officer at Vizient, and he was on the show. He talked a bit about covering and the actions that non-majority folks in the corporate space participate in to feel safe. I think the concept of covering--I know that you're fairly, if not deeply, familiar with it, as it's been--it's a fairly established concept. We see it in a lot of whitepapers from McKinsey to Deloitte. I believe Accenture's even talked about the concept of covering within the topic of D*I or I&D. What are some of the key covering activities you believe non-majority members commit in the workplace?Michelle: Let's see--okay, so say that again. So what are some of the--Zach: What are some of the key covering activities--what are some of the key ways that you see black and brown folks covering themselves in the workplace?Michelle: Oh. I would say things like not being active or involved in workplace activities like employee resource groups and things that can be perceived as polarizing. Sometimes people of color tend to opt out of things that might look or--at least from their perception--might look [like it's] nonsensical. So for example, I'm sure you're familiar with the employee resource groups or business resource groups depending upon which company you work for, and I've had individuals not engaged because they're like, "I don't need to be a part of that. I would much rather spend my time being part of the majority population." So that's a form of covering. I've worked with Hispanic colleagues who will change their name so that it's more Anglo-Saxon-sounding versus Latino-sounding. So for example, I worked with a gentleman named Juan Guzman, and he changed his name to John Guzman, because in his view it sounded less ethnic. That's a form of covering. So, you know, the list can go on and on, but I just think that when people cover--I don't think it serves anyone well. I don't believe in pretending. I don't believe in being something that you're not. You are who you are. Be proud of who you are. We are all individuals that have a gift and talent to bring to the table, regardless of what youre last name is, regardless of if you're wearing natural hair, regardless of if you are--if you have a thick accent and you're trying to get rid of that. I just think that the more in which these environments that we're working in are receptive and appreciative of the differences that we all bring, the better off we all are and the more productive we will be.Zach: No, absolutely. I love it, I love it. And it's interesting too because I think--so I was having a conversation with--I was having a conversation, just about some strategy pieces, with a colleague, and we were talking about "How do you determine, like, the members of your D&I space?" And the conversation was around "Well, we've got to make sure they actually go to events, right? They need to go to events." And I was like--and I was trying to explain to them. I said, "Look, I would not boot people out of a group, of an ERG or whatever you call it, right, in your respective organization--I would not boot them out of something because they don't physically attend an event." I said, "Some folks genuinely don't feel safe," right?Michelle: Right. That's true. And sometimes we just have to meet people where they are, right? Because everyone is not going to be on the I&D train, majority or not. So I just think sometimes you have to meet people where they are, explain to them what the benefits are of being part of these what I think are extremely beneficial infrastructures and organizations. It's support systems. It's infrastructures. It's, you know, an informal network of individuals who look like you, and you can talk about things that are unique and specific to your lived experience. So I think the more of which we can educate the non-majority members who don't feel safe being a part of these infrastructures--we just need to continue to work on them, but some people are not gonna get on board. I mean, at the end of the day, everyone is not going to be on the I&D train.Zach: No, 100%, and, like, I think the thing is--like, my point is I've been to some--so even when I worked at Accenture, right, like, there were happy hours and things, and the events--the events were great and people showed up and things like that, but I didn't always just--maybe I had a long day, maybe I felt like it was gonna be something else I was gonna have to kind of perform at. Maybe I was just nervous. Who knows whatever reason? That doesn't mean that I didn't want to be included in the group. It's just that that is not, at that point in time, something I felt like I had the emotional bandwidth to engage in. That doesn't mean that I might still not want to talk to somebody in that group or read whatever emails y'all send out. I just--it's different, and I think it's that--I think it's really considering that--especially when you have folks who are not black or brown or whatever that, you know, depending on that diversity dimension, overseeing the group. Like, sometimes there can just be some gaps because you just have genuine blind spots, right? And just understanding, like, "Hey, this is a different space," right? You know, this is not a technology implementation where you're coming to learn about the project or coming to learn about how this software, this SAP implementation, impacts your job. This is a space that's really meant to foster empathy, authenticity, and trust, and that's a different--to me a different level of measurement, right? And you can't just be so, you know, binary with it.Michelle: Yep, fully agree.Zach: [laughs] Okay, so let's do this. Now, you already kinda--you already kinda let a little bit of the dip on the chip, but can we talk about your book Climb? I'd love to hear about the inspiration behind it and why it should be something that professionals of color--and just really anybody, frankly--should have on their reading list.Michelle: Absolutely. So the inspiration behind the book was--I've always had the intention at some point in time in my career to write a book, and it wasn't until I was at Newark Airport in the United Airlines club lounge and a young woman walked up to me and she said, "Are you Michelle Gadsden-Williams?" And I said yes, and she said, "We used to work together many years ago at Novartis, and I've followed your career and all of the wonderful things that you've done. You know, have you ever thought about writing a book like Sheryl Sandberg or Carly Fiorina or Carla Harris at Morgan Stanley?" And I said, "Yes, but I just didn't have the time to do it." And she said, "You know, you should really make the time to do it, because you have an exceptional story to tell." So it wasn't until that young woman gave me that nugget, that idea to really take the time to do it, that's when I really thought seriously about putting pen to paper and telling my story. And so the act of climbing has been defined as the act of rising, to ascend, to go upward with gradual or continuous progress, and it's a term that I've used to describe my career over the years as a woman, as a woman of color, and as a diversity practitioner, and as you and I were talking about earlier, there's some individuals who have an easy go of it and can take the proverbial elevator up to the C-Suite, and then others not so much. They have to take the stairs with a backpack and no air conditioning. There's no smooth ride to the top for any of us, and so no matter how you ascend there is a journey that we each experience which, you know, ebbs and flows and it twists and turns, but with every step you get that much closer to achieving your highest aspiration, your North Star, whatever that might be. So my book Climb speaks volumes about my professional journey, and one of the things that I'm extremely passionate about--and this hasn't changed over the years--is helping people of color to maximize their full potential in corporate America, no matter where they are, no matter what profession or industry they're in or wherever they're employed. I've used myself as the subject, the protagonist, to candidly describe my jorney, and that would be the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything else in-between. And what I wanted to do was to focus on tackling some of today's most pressing workplace issues that people of color typically run into, but more importantly I wanted to offer some pragmatic solutions. So that's why I decided to write the book. It's my version of "Lean In" through my lens, the lens of a woman of color.Zach: I love that. So you talked about some of the challenges--and again, I'm not asking you to give the sauce away for free, right, but when you talk about some of the most common challenges that you're seeing black and brown folks face in the workplace, like, can you give us an example of one of those challenges?Michelle: Oh, sure. You know, working twice--being twice as smart, twice as good, but getting half as far. You know, that's the old adage that most of us, at least those of us of color, we've heard that growing up in our households. You know, this is not, you know, just jargon that we hear on television. It's our lived reality. And so, you know, the bar is simply at a higher level for those of us of color, and most of us know that.[straight up sfx]Zach: No, you're absolutely right.Michelle: Exactly, and most people of color are over-mentored and under-sponsored.Zach: Hold on. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa. [record scratch sfx] Say that again.Michelle: Most people of color are over-mentored and under-sponsored.Zach: We gotta break that down. Unpack that.Michelle: We can have mentors all day long, people to show us the lay of the land and how to navigate and all of those things. We don't need that. We have a lot of that. We have plenty of that. We need individuals who are going to have a seat at the table, who are gonna be our advocates and champions and our, you know, sports agents sitting at that table, negotiating for us, putting our names up for promotion and for those stretch assignments where it counts. That's what we need.Zach: That is--that is so true. I've never heard it framed that way, but you're 100% right, because frankly I do believe--and in my work experience this has been the case, right? So this was the case when I was at Accenture. It was the case when I went to Capgemini as well and as I've progressed onto my current firm. There are black and brown folks around me--there are minorities around me who would show me how to do something, right, or give me the real from time to time. I was blessed with that, but what I didn't always have--and I had it more than others, to be clear. ['Cause] I have gotten promoted. Like, I've been able to progress in my career a few times, but the people fighting for me, right, the people who are really advocating for me in the same way or just even in a percentage of the way that they may advocate for someone who doesn't look like me who's doing half as much as I'm doing, right? And that's just a really good point. And it's so interesting, because when I talk to--when I talk to black and brown folks, particularly black women, the conversation often comes with a point of like, "Look, I'm working this hard, and I'm doing--I'm going above and beyond every day, and the response when I'm doing all this work is "Well, that's what you're supposed to do," but then if someone who doesn't look like me is doing, like, half of that--" To the point you talked about earlier, the old adage, which is based on history and reality. They do half of what I'm doing. They're getting their praises sung from the highest rafters, right?Michelle: Exactly. And so I think most of us who have been working in corporate spaces and places, we just understand that there's just more scrutiny on our performance, and a lot of this can lead to, you know, just lower performance, you know? Our self-esteem goes down. You know, lower ratings, lower wages, and sometimes job loss, because you're just not happy. So I just say all of this to say that yeah, the bar is simply at a different level for mostly women, but moreover [more] people of color.Zach: And you know what? So that last little point of distinction you made--and I promise I'm not trying to keep you forever, but it reminds me about the fact that you also--in the book you talk about intersectionality, and I feel like that point you just made just now was kind of an example of that. Could you unpack why you broke that out and you said "women," then you paused and you said, "Well, people of color."? Like, what was the--what caused that pause?Michelle: Well, that was just in my research for the book. Women and/or people of color, we do have similar challenges. Not quite the same, and this intersectionality that we're talking about--and this is such a topic that I have a lot of passion around, you know? I was just having a conversation with a majority female colleague of mine yesterday who just happens to be a peer, and she said to me, you know, "Michelle, we as women, we have the same challenges and we have the same barriers, don't you think?" And I had to pause for a second, and I looked at her--and I can't play poker, so I probably gave her, you know, a "Are you crazy?" kind of look. You know, as a woman and as a woman of color, my lived experience is vastly different than yours. So basically [what I said] to her is that, you know, "When I stand in my drive-way in Somerset County, New Jersey--that's not diverse at all and one of the most affluent counties in the state--but I'm standing in my drive-way and I'm holding my neighbor's child, who happens to be of the majority population, and the FedEx guy pulls up and wants to deliver a package to my home, that he automatically assumes that I'm the help and that she owns the house." You know, how often does that happen to you, colleague? How often is it when I walk into an elevator that the purse clutch scenario happens? And it happens to men of color too. So I could break it down for you in a lot of different ways, but, you know, my lived experience as a woman and as a woman of color, there's the double bind. So it's an interesting dichotomy, but it's real.Zach: [Flex bomb sfx] It is an interesting dichotomy, but it is real. Absolutely, and that's why I had to give you the Flex bomb, 'cause you're dropping straight facts. [both laugh] Okay. So look, this has been a great conversation. I'm honored and just very excited about the fact that you're here and that you joined us today. Before we go, any parting words or shout-outs?Michelle: Oh. This has been a terrific conversation, so I thank you for inviting me to be a guest on your podcast. Any parting words? You know, one of the things that my father would say to my two sisters and I growing up is, you know, "You are not here on this earth to take up space. You're here to make a difference, and it's up to you to determine what that difference is. All that I've given you is the tools, the education, and the rest is up to you." So all I will say to your listeners is you have to figure out what your passion is, what your purpose is, and determining how you plan to exert your power. You know, what are some of the kinds of things that give you fulfillment? You know, what feels natural to you? What qualities or attributes do you enjoy expressing to the world? And then just go for it. Anything is possible. Anything is. We just need sponsors, mentors, and others, other allies, who are gonna help us get to that next level. And if there's anyone out there who thinks that they can do it alone, I believe that they're sadly mistaken.Zach: And that's absolutely right, 'cause if you think--if you really think that in this space, as a black or brown person, that you're gonna navigate these historically-white spaces by yourself? Hey, I'm looking at you--Michelle: Exactly. I mean, we're working in institutions that weren't historically built for us.Zach: Absolutely.Michelle: We were not welcome, so therefore we have to be twice as good, twice as smart, Ivy League-educated or whatever the case is. We know that we need to do alllll the extras in order to get to where we want to be.Zach: No doubt. And I was just trying to say that if you really think you can do it by yourself, I'm looking at you like [haha sfx].Michelle: Exactly. Exactly.Zach: Well, Michelle, I just want to thank you again, you know? At some point in the episode we typically drop some Jamaican air horns, because--[Michelle laughs, Zach laughs] Out of thanks or out of exuberance, and I'm just gonna say I'm gonna drop these out of thankful exuberance right here... [air horns sfx] because this has been a dope, dope episode, and I look forward to having you back. Thank you so much.Michelle: Absolutely. I look forward to coming back and wishing you all of the success in the world.Zach: Thank you. Peace.Michelle: Peace.

Hour 1 :Kenny skypes inBad HotelThe Carucci weekend for allThe Vending machineHour 2:We go through the Diversity Inc website and WOW!!

In today's episode, I chat with business coach Jereshia Hawk. Jereshia recalls a time in her business when failing to have client contracts in place hit her bank account hard. She opens up about how she dealt with it, what she learned, and the ways she's changed her business moving forward.   Jereshia goes on to share how she handles big opportunities and overcoming the sense of urgency and fear that often come with those opportunities.  More About Jereshia Jereshia went from leading $400 Million pipeline projects as an engineer to doubling her corporate salary and quitting her job within the first year of starting her online business. She has helped hundreds of coaches, consultants and freelancers turn their side hustle selling services into six-figure businesses through her proven program, Services That Sell. This proven process teaches students how to cut through the confusion and start selling their services consistently without the bells and whistles. Simply focusing on the fundamentals and nailing the basics so they can build a sustainable business online. She has received national media coverage in numerous print, online and top podcasts including Forbes, Black Enterprise, Diversity Inc, and more. Jereshia also enjoys long walks down the school supply aisle at Target. Yes, she geeks out over new Post-It Notes and pens. If you want a simple way to sell your services online so you can exponentially grow not only your impact, but your income, she's the woman for you!  Where to Find Jereshia LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jereshiahawk/  Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/jereshiahawk/  Instagram http://instagram.com/jereshiahawk   

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace has become a business, economic, and social imperative. Organizations that unleash the potential of diverse talent see: • 39% higher customer satisfaction for diverse, inclusive companies[1] • 48% higher operating margins generated by diverse management teams[2] • 35% higher return on equity for companies with women on the board[3] • Diversity Inc. top 50 companies outperform stock exchange performance of others by an average of 25%[4] • 85% of CEOs say their D&I strategy has enhanced company performance[5] • Positive effects on employee engagement[6] and retention[7] Join our discussion to hear best practices and winning strategies to cultivate a culture of diversity and inclusion. 1. http://business-ethics.com/2012/03/21/1821-why-you-need-to-retain-women-the-business-case-for-gender-diversity/ 2. http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/why_diversity_matters_catalyst_0.pdf 3. http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/why_diversity_matters_catalyst_0.pdf 4. http://www.diversityinc.com/uncategorized/ask-diversityinc-what-are-the-benefits-of-being-in-the-diversityinc-top-50/ 5. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/2015/assets/pwc-18th-annual-global-ceo-survey-jan-2015.pdf 6. http://www.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/190103/using-employee-engagement-build-diverse-workforce.aspx 7. http://business-ethics.com/2012/03/21/1821-why-you-need-to-retain-women-the-business-case-for-gender-diversity/ Learn more about SAP SuccessFactors: https://www.sap.com/index.html

  Everyday Conversations on Race with Charmaine McClarie and David Casey African-Americans in the Executive Suite   Guests: Charmaine McClarie, senior executive coach and David Casey, Chief Diversity Officer of Fortune 30 pharmaceutical innovation company   Charmaine McClarie  and David Casey share  their experience in meeting the challenge of racism and bias as African- American as well as provide sage advice to other African-Americans and everyone else who wants to reach the highest levels of success.   Conversation topics include: Why the history of slavery is not something African-American people need to “get over.” How slavery and the history of slavery courses through the veins and DNA of people whose ancestors were slaves. The history and trauma of slavery and it’s aftermath   can never be ignored and must be addressed to move forward as a nation.   Why Charmaine McClarie says “Essential to one’s success is the ability to own your own narrative and know your value. If you don’t define yourself, other people will and their definition will be inadequate, Once you have your own narrative you define yourself and you can be yourself.”   Charmaine shares her experience feeling the power of going to Africa and seeing her original heritage. “People need to know their heritage and their identity.”   Being African-American and meeting the challenges of advancing to higher levels   Both Charmaine and David spoke about not being comfortable in their own skin early on their career journeys. They were worried about how they would be seen because they both experienced usually  being the only Black persons in the room. David said he wondered, ”Will they think I represent all Black people, and what assumptions do they have?”   Their advice today to African-American and other people of color who aspire to success is “Don’t waste your time getting comfortable. Be comfortable now. Own your narrative and identity.”   Hear how both Charmaine McClarie and David Casey took charge of their careers, began speaking out and taking risks, and having conversations on race with people who don’t look like them.   Listen to this episode of “Everyday Conversations on Race,” to learn how to advance through barriers, racial bias, and embrace your identity no matter who you are.         Was case then and cast now and be the only one More power when you walk in the room and see other people who look like you. Who  do you ask Ask people who look like you What do you need to know What is the barrier What are assumptons people might make- so people can make introducitons Knew early on and she needed to be ready to embrace her blackness or she was walking into room with a deficit What are the contributions that Black people have made Where did I get my narrative- my grandparents lived a good life and perservered   Didn’t have her first name on card so wouldn’t make assumption What are you looking for- you’re comfortable or not   People underestimate based on assumptions- sure it happens- Before linkedin- “didn’t realize you were Black or African American” I’d be a billionaire Taught you have to outperform your peers Back to “articulate”   As person moving up, she says that people who are not Black are coindescending- they don’t see her as who she is When that happens ask why HR instead of CFO What experiences do you want me to have? How will we partner together do   Getting people to support you Get witnesses so people know what you’re doing Who are your advocates If someone has a limited view of who you are, are you willing to see me differently? Who have been your advocates?   What kind of support  have you had?   CDO of 2 Fortune 30 companies so he met the CEO Spoke that the organizations were serious about diversity Ability to meet with the CEO Spent time in interview process building trust Sponsors and champions Be as equal as middle management where everything tends to converge   Often POC looking for mentors- but just 5% are people of color  so good chance a mentor will not be a person of color.   People make their own assumptions   No one gets it right all the time We all make  mistakes and we can learn Every time we take a risk, we can learn Why did you think that- teaching moment   Your narrative is your power Who you are Website Mcclariegoup.com   [caption id="attachment_856" align="alignleft" width="150"] David Casey[/caption]           David has served as a Chief Diversity Officer for two Fortune 30 corporations, positioning them both as top companies in the country for strategic diversity management. Active in the community, David has served and/or currently serves in an advisory and board of director capacity for several national and local organizations, including the American Lung Association, the American Society on Aging, Disability:IN, Advisory the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, Skills for Rhode Island‘s Future, Year Up, the Urban League.  He also serves on the advisory boards for the Human Capital Executive Research Board, the i4CP Chief Diversity Officer Board and the National Association of African Americans in HR.   David has been published or cited in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Atlantic, Diversity Inc. Magazine, Drug Store News, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Diversity Global and Diversity Executive, and has appeared on the television series, American Profiles.   David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps,here he served for 8 years, including Operation Desert Storm.   [caption id="attachment_857" align="alignnone" width="150"] Charmaine McClarie[/caption] Charmaine McClarie is a C-suite advisor, keynote speaker, executive coach and executive presence authority who helps leaders have their best year ever. She has worked with leaders in 27 industries across five continents. Her clients include top executives from Coca-Cola, Gilead Sciences, Humana, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Starbucks and T-Mobile.   For more than two decades, 98% of Charmaine’s clients are promoted within 18 months. For CEOs, that might mean a promotion to corporate directorship. For other senior leaders, that might mean a promotion from SVP to EVP or even CEO.   Charmaine works predominately with C-suite leaders and executives with demonstrated readiness to be in the C-suite, coaching them on leadership acumen, communications ability and executive presence.   Charmaine and her work have been profiled in People, Forbes, Harvard Management Update, The London Times and The New York Times.   She is on the faculty as a leadership and communications expert at the University of Missouri Kansas City Bloch School of Management, EMBA program, and is a visiting lecturer at the Smith College Executive Education program.     Please Visit my Website | Connect on LinkedIn | Watch me on YouTube   Click here to download a vCard for Contact vCard

Today’s guest went from living on the street at 16 to saying a prayer that lead to massive success. Her mission to empower and equip women of color to claim wealth touches me every time I speak with her. Be on the lookout for the actionable gold nuggets she drops throughout this entire episode. Inspirational Speaker, Black Women Millionaire Mentor, and Creator/CEO of Defy Impossible, Inc., Dr. Venus Opal Reese has been featured in Forbes, Ebony, Black Enterprise, on ABC News, CBS News, PBS, in Glamour magazine, Diversity Inc., the Associated Press, on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, at MegaFeast and is a regular contributor to Heart and Soul Magazine/TV. Once upon a time, Dr. Venus was a walking statistic. She was living on the “mean” streets of Baltimore by the age of 16 amid violence, drugs, and prostitution. The predictable outcome was welfare, addiction, and ultimately death. Amazingly, 14 years later she graduated with a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Dr. Venus has turned her survival into a system that fast-tracked her to $2.3 million in less than 4 years. Her clients have generated over 7 million in revenue using her PROVEN programs, systems and strategies. Dr. Venus knows what it takes to break through inner glass ceilings that limit performance. She teaches purpose-driven, high-achieving Black Women professionals, entrepreneurs, experts, and executives how to defy their impossible to break the million-dollar mark—on their own terms. During our time together, we talk about the importance of someone holding space for you. In retreats, growing up, and business! Women of color don’t have a lot of champions, and Venus is determined to be one. We also dig into… How we change how we’re showing up in the world Her process: Heal. Manifest. Millions Why healing is the first step toward making millions The 4 steps of healing to make millions Why education doesn’t equal money anymore Vetting people before you get on a discovery call Where your Million Dollar Money Maker is (it’s not where you think!) Her experience with Snoop Dogg Why you should let yourself hit rock bottom An alternative definition to manifesting Venus explains why you need to heal your heart before you manifest millions. “When we’re at a low vibration, our heart is like a toilet that’s clogged. When you heal, you create space for Spirit to move through you.” She also shares reasons why people fail at manifesting millions. As a gift for all listeners, she’s giving access to her best selling training called Get Money. In it, you’ll get a taste of her teaching style to see if it resonates, and learn to bring in new money now with skills you already have. Access the training here → http://www.defyimpossible.com/gift/

Make your mark, make a difference, and make millions—on your own terms!  It's your time! It's women's history month - let's make history! Synergy Energy = Success!  MEET AND HEAR: Dr. Venus Opal Reese, The “Black Women Millionaires” Mentor™ Inspirational Speaker, Black Women Millionaire Mentor™, and Creator/CEO of Defy Impossible, Inc., Dr. Venus Opal Reese has been featured in Forbes, Ebony, Black Enterprise, on ABC News, CBS News, PBS, in Glamour magazine, Diversity Inc., the Associated Press, on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, MegaFeast and is a regular contributor to Heart and Soul Magazine/TV. She's the cover story in the upcoming SPEAKERS MAGAZINE too.  Dr. Venus was a walking statistic. She went from living on the “mean” streets of Baltimore, to Stanford PhD, to seven-figure sister. Her business, Defy Impossible, Inc., has grossed $4 million five years after launching. Her clients have generated over 8 million in revenue using her PROVEN programs, systems and strategies. Dr. Venus knows what it takes to break through inner glass ceilings that limit performance. She teaches purpose-driven, high-achieving Black Women professionals, entrepreneurs, how to defy their impossible to break the million-dollar mark—on their own terms. Now she's on tour with her best-selling book, HEAR HER on this podcast break it all down and equip YOU with the fuel you need to become a 7-Figure Success! Check out her tour stops here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-black-woman-millionairetm-tour-detroit-tickets-42476129246

Wesley Lowery is a national reporter at the Washington Post, where he worked on the Pulitzer-winning project, "Fatal Force." His new book is They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement. “I think that we decided at some point that either you are a journalist or you are an activist. And I identify as a journalist, to be clear, but one of the reasons I often don’t engage in that conversation—when someone throws that back at me I kind of deflect a little bit—is that I think there’s some real fallacy in there. I think that every journalist should be an activist for transparency, for accountability—certainly amongst our government, for first amendment rights. There are things that by our nature of what we do we should be extremely activist.” Thanks to MailChimp, Harry’s, Casper, and School of the Arts Institute of Chicago for sponsoring this week's episode. @WesleyLowery [03:15] Detroit Free Press [03:15] The Plain Dealer [03:15] North Jersey [03:15] Diversity Inc. [03:15] Black Enterprise [05:00] They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement (Little, Brown and Company • 2016) [05:45] "Same-sex marriage is gaining momentum, but some advocates don’t want it on the ballot in Ohio" (Washington Post • Jun 2014) [06:00] "Senate votes to restore federal funding for extended unemployment benefits" (Washington Post • Apr 2014) [06:15] "Congressional Democrats to introduce new Voting Rights Act fix" (Washington Post • Jun 2015) [07:30] "Police use tear gas on crowd in Ferguson, Mo., protesting teen’s death" (Washington Post • Aug 2014) [10:45] "The story behind that Boston Marathon photo of runners carrying a competitor toward the finish" (Washington Post • Apr 2014) [10:45] "Aaron Hernandez indicted, accused of killing two men in 2012" (Washington Post • May 2014) [13:15] O.J.: Made in America [30:00] "Fatal Force" (Washington Post • 2015) [31:30] "The DC Investigates: Is WaPo’s Wesley Lowery Black?" (Betsy Rothstein • Daily Caller • Dec 2014) [40:15] "Police: Multiple witnesses say Antonio Martin pulled gun on officer" (Washington Post • Dec 2014)