Most leaders discover they must first travel their own diversity journey before they can develop anything beyond a superficial understanding of people different from themselves. While it’s easy to donate money, that’s just corporate philanthropy. It’s needed, but it doesn’t allow for much engagement with the community on a personal level, and donations can be…

Colorism, what is it? The word “diversity” when used in the workplace conjures up many meanings, often determined by where in the world you are.

Companies have known for years that supporting community efforts can reflect positively on the organization. Our Trailblazers deemed this relationship critical to the success of diversity and inclusion within their businesses, as this involvement drives results in several ways. Being involved with the community leads to having a better representation of employees that reflect the…

Imagine that you’re a police officer and the newest member of your department is a practicing Black Muslim. What biases, stereotypes or assumptions might come up for some in your department? What would you do to enhance your knowledge about this person? This scenario was a focus of discussion during a recent workshop series I…

    Who holds the responsibility of creating and sustaining a workplace that is diverse, respectful and inclusive within your organization? Everyone? Human Resources Director? Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)? No one? The HR department holds the responsibility in most organizations, even though within trailblazing businesses D&I is its own department with the CDO reporting directly…

Will you be part of the solution on May 29th? Are you willing to break the culture of silence?  While Starbucks closes its 8000 company-owned stores for an afternoon to conduct unconscious bias (also known as implicit bias) training for 175,000 employees, I invite you to break the culture of silence, by making time to…

I wrote the original version of this article in 2006. Unfortunately, it seems our society has become even more uncivil rather than more civil. Join me in being part of the change. Have you ever observed or been a part of the following scenarios? • You are seated at a busy upscale restaurant and the…