Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are one of the fastest growing developments in the workplace of the last three years. The trend towards expanding business objectives to include social or cultural goals is reflective of the increasingly global workforce and the overall societal trend towards individualization being a strength, rather than aiming for homogeneity. How does an organization develop and sustain a meaningful, long term DEI objective? Too many companies start lip-service or top-down initiatives, usually in response to societal or political pressure, but without any deep investigation of issues buried within their own organizations, and these initiatives often fail or fizzle out. When they are staffed by motivated and engaged employees (as opposed to an under-resourced and overstretched HR team), lack of motivation, commitment, or meaningful resourcing from the top often prevents meaningful change. By analyzing the core components of both effective and ineffective programs, we identified that an effective DEI program needs to be one that empowers individuals from diverse backgrounds to actively contribute to company strategic initiatives, even if that would normally fall outside the scope of their job. We sought to build on this idea, and identify a mechanism by which an organization can ensure the lived experiences of diverse talent can be brought to bear within the context of a corporate DEI initiative. We have successfully created a model based in the chemistry of catalysis that can be used as a framework for the successful generation of any DEI-focused action group.