From the Ground Up: How to Launch a Grassroots DE&I Initiative at Your Company

The idea of creating a diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiative from scratch can be daunting. Where do you start? How do you make sure that your program resonates with every employee? How do you avoid alienating groups?

Despite the obvious benefits of increased diversity and inclusion in the workplace, research from BCG shows that diversity and inclusion efforts have yielded sparse results. Although most companies have programs in effect, only a quarter of employees from diverse backgrounds feel they have personally benefited from them.

If you’re looking to make a change that is meaningful, empowering your employees to design the initiative from the ground up goes a long way. In this session, Sabrina Wilson and Nisha Advani will walk through the journey of identifying an opportunity, vetting the need, structuring a relevant program, securing buy-in, building momentum and launching a DE&I program in your organization that is built by and for employees.

Approaching the topic from the combined perspectives of an executive sponsor and a change agent, Sabrina and Nisha will pepper the presentation with their own experiences, mistakes and learnings through their journey of taking DE&I from a boardroom buzzword to a tangible employee resource within their company.