Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies

by Dr. Shirley Davis
Released January 2022
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119824756

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Book description

Strengthen your company culture through inclusive and equitable policies and practices

The global workforce and marketplace will continue to undergo dramatic demographic shifts—redefining the workplace, the workers, and how work gets done. Organizations that want to attract and retain the best talent and to capitalize on the full breath of their perspectives and experiences must first reflect our society as a whole, and secondly, must create the right kind of work environment where ALL talent can thrive. That means valuing diversity, creating more equitable policies and practices, and fostering a welcoming and inclusive culture.

In Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies, global workforce expert, and three-time Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Shirley Davis unveils her extensive collection of real-world experiences, stories, case studies, checklists, assessments, tips, and strategies that will give you a deeper understanding of the business impact of DEI and how your role as a leader can contribute to your company's long term success.

You'll learn:

  • The fundamentals of DEI and how it drives business performance and impact
  • How to conduct comprehensive DEI organizational assessments to identify systemic and institutional inequities
  • Tactics and strategies for having necessary but difficult conversations, and how to make them impactful
  • Skills and competencies that every leader needs in order to effectively lead the new generation of workers
  • How to operationalize DEI across your organization, measure its impact, and sustain it long term

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies is a must-read guide for any leader at any level who wants to ready themselves for the workplace of the future and reap the benefits of a full spectrum diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. It also belongs on the reading lists of human resources and DEI professionals actively seeking to go broader, deeper, and have greater impact in their DEI work.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Part 1: Getting Started with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding the Fundamentals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      1. Re-Shifting the Focus to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work
      2. Understanding the History of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
      3. Defining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      4. Breaking Down Other Key DEI-Related Terms
      5. Getting Started: Reflection Activity
    2. Chapter 2: Exploring Key Demographic Trends that Are Redefining the Workplace
      1. Increasingly Global
      2. Increasingly Diverse
      3. Increasingly More Flexible and Working More Virtually
      4. Increasingly Digital
      5. Increasingly Underskilled
    3. Chapter 3: Cultivating Skills and Competencies for Leading Today’s Workers
      1. Assessing Your DEI Leadership Effectiveness
      2. Promoting DEI as a Senior Executive/Board Member
      3. Fostering DEI as a Middle Manager or Supervisor
      4. Championing DEI as a Mentor or Sponsor
      5. Sponsorship
    4. Chapter 4: Making the Case for DEI
      1. Recognizing DEI’s Impact on Organizational Success
      2. Becoming an Employer of Choice
      3. Leveraging Inclusion to Drive Innovation and Creativity
      4. Enhancing the Safety, Health, and Wellness of Staff
      5. Improving the Employee Experience and Encouraging Engagement
      6. Minimizing Employee Complaints and Lawsuits
      7. Avoiding the Revolving Door and Turnover of Top Performers
    5. Chapter 5: Hiring a Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
      1. Tracing the Rise of the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer’s Role
      2. Knowing When It’s Time to Hire a CDEIO
      3. Considering the Best Candidate for Your Organization
      4. Positioning the Role at the Right Level
  6. Part 2: Examining DEI in the Workplace
    1. Chapter 6: Assessing Your Organization’s Culture
      1. Exploring What Culture Is
      2. Using Benchmarks and Other Industry Standards
      3. Conducting Document Reviews of Policies, Processes, and Strategies
      4. Conducting Leadership Assessments
      5. Conducting a Staff Inclusion and Engagement Survey
      6. Conducting Employee Focus Groups
    2. Chapter 7: Exposing Common Organizational Barriers to DEI
      1. Looking for the Culture Fit
      2. Resisting the Value and Need for DEI
      3. Perpetuating Microaggressions, Stereotypes, and Prejudices
      4. Overlooking Hidden Figures Who Are Overperforming but Undervalued
      5. Silencing and Ignoring Employee Complaints
    3. Chapter 8: Positioning DEI as an Organization’s Strategic Priority
      1. Embedding DEI into the Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values
      2. Creating a DEI Plan
      3. Communicating the DEI Plan across the organization
      4. Keeping the Plan Alive
  7. Part 3: Implementing and Operationalizing DEI Across the Organization
    1. Chapter 9: Finding and Recruiting Diverse Talent
      1. Reviewing Your Recruitment Strategy
      2. Casting a Wider Net to Build a Diverse Pipeline
      3. Writing More Inclusive Job Descriptions
      4. Minimizing Bias in the Selection Process
      5. Assembling a Diverse Interview Panel
      6. Avoiding Illegal and Inappropriate Questions
    2. Chapter 10: Developing, Coaching, Promoting, and Retaining Diverse Talent
      1. Developing Diverse Talent
      2. Coaching Diverse Talent
      3. Assessing Your Team’s Needs
      4. Reviewing Performance with an Equitable and Inclusive Mindset
      5. Applying Retention Strategies That Work
    3. Chapter 11: Leading Diverse Teams for Maximum Performance
      1. Assembling a Diverse Team
      2. Maximizing the Benefits of a Diverse Team
      3. Inviting Diversity of Thought to the Table
      4. Facilitating Relationship-Building and Cultivating Trust and Belonging
      5. Avoiding the Common Pitfalls of Leading a Diverse Team
    4. Chapter 12: Tracking, Measuring, and Reporting the Progress of DEI Efforts
      1. Measuring What Matters
      2. Identifying the Problems with Tracking DEI
      3. Developing a DEI Scorecard
      4. Reporting the Data to Key Leaders
    5. Chapter 13: Embedding DEI in Other Key Areas of the Organization
      1. Incorporating DEI Messaging into Marketing and Branding Initiatives
      2. Integrating DEI into Company Communications and Messaging
      3. Connecting DEI to Environmental Social Governance and Corporate Responsibility
      4. Surveying Supplier Diversity Programs
    6. Chapter 14: Launching DEI Councils and Employee Resource Groups
      1. Differentiating Between DEI Councils and Employee Resource Groups
      2. Ensuring Engagement from the Top: The Importance of the Executive Sponsor
      3. Establishing an Effective DEI Council
      4. Offering Employee Resource Groups to Support DEI Initiatives
  8. Part 4: Sustaining DEI in Your Organization
    1. Chapter 15: Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact in the Workplace
      1. An Important Word on Bias
      2. Tracing the Origins of Biases and How They’re Reinforced
      3. Identifying Ways Biases Show Up in Everyday Life
      4. Distinguishing among the Various Biases
      5. Describing the Ways Biases Affect Decision Making in the Workplace
      6. Reprogramming Your Brain to Make Less Biased Decisions
    2. Chapter 16: Moving from Unconscious Bias to Inclusive Leadership
      1. Realizing the Benefits of Becoming an Inclusive Leader
      2. Honing the Competencies and Key Traits of an Inclusive Leader
      3. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Ineffective Leadership
      4. Being Inclusive Everyday: Microbehaviors Leaders Often Overlook
    3. Chapter 17: Enhancing Cultural Competence
      1. Understanding What Cultural Competence Is (And What It Isn’t)
      2. Distinguishing between Cultural Humility and Cultural Intelligence
      3. Knowing How Cultures Differ: Seven Dimensions of Culture
      4. Mapping Your Own Cultural Orientation
      5. Assessing Your Cultural Competence — Tools You Can Use
      6. Employing the Most Important Attributes of Cultural Competence
    4. Chapter 18: Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging
      1. Understanding Company Culture and How It’s Established
      2. Introducing the Culture Spectrum
      3. Exploring the Characteristics and Implications of Toxic Workplaces
      4. Implementing a Sustainable Culture Transformation
      5. Measuring the Impact of a Culture of Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging
  9. Part 5: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 19: Ten Common Myths about Diversity and Inclusion
      1. When We Check This Box, We Can Move on to Other Priorities
      2. Isn’t Focusing on Diversity Just Reverse Discrimination?
      3. DEI Work Has No Place for Straight, White Men
      4. “Diversity” Is Just Code for “Race
      5. What We’re Really After Is Diversity of Thought
      6. I Support Diversity; I Just Don’t Want to Lower Our Standards
      7. If We Can Achieve Diversity, Inclusion Will Follow
      8. All Bias Is Bad
      9. Succeeding as a DEI Practitioner Will Put Me out of a Job
      10. Is All This DEI Work Really Necessary When People Seem Happy Here?
    2. Chapter 20: Ten Ways That Boards Can Influence DEI in the Organization
      1. Develop a DEI Statement and Center It in Your Business Strategy
      2. Commit to Diversifying Your Board
      3. Cultivate a Culture of Inclusion on Your Board
      4. Establish Clear Board Roles and Responsibilities
      5. Ensure Your Board Chair and CEO Are DEI Champions
      6. Provide Education on DEI-Related Topics
      7. Embrace an Equity Mindset
      8. Accept Responsibility
      9. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
      10. Measure Your Success
    3. Chapter 21: Ten Things Underrepresented Talent Wish Leaders Knew
      1. Everyone Has Different Needs in the Workplace
      2. Representation Equals Diversity, Equity, AND Inclusion
      3. Intent Doesn’t Equal Impact
      4. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Are More Than Just “Race”
      5. Don’t Tokenize Me Because I’m the Only One
      6. Do Your Own Work; Walk the Talk
      7. Stop with the Overly Complimentary Language
      8. Don’t Interpret Silence as Consent or Agreement
      9. Ask for My Perspective and Input Even Though I’m Different from You
      10. Your Staff Is Watching You
  10. Index
  11. About the Author
  12. Advertisement Page
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies
  • Author(s): Dr. Shirley Davis
  • Release date: January 2022
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119824756