One practical approach is to include people who have been harmed by injustices in decisions that are being made—whether it's in policies, practices within organizations, or politics. That’s a practical change, but it’s hard work to get it done, primarily because it's not the people who are being harmed who can create that change. My hope is that there has been a lot more awareness, education and empathy created over the past couple of years due to the transparency of injustices that have been experienced by people of color for centuries.
The murder of George Floyd and the inequities of the pandemic put a spotlight on diversity, equity, and inclusion in corporate America. What have you learned about practical approaches to making lasting change in this area?
EQUITY
Tara Spann JD'95 oversees people, culture, and organizational strategies as the chief people and strategy officer at MENTOR National, a nonprofit dedicated to quality youth mentoring. Spann previously served in several executive and C-suite roles overseeing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy and policy at the corporate level, both domestically and globally. In 2021 she was a panelist on Suffolk Law’s All Rise: Uniting to Advance Women and the Future of Law event.
Interview by Katy Ibsen
Tara Spann JD’95
What I've seen is a rush by many organizations to appear to solve the issues. For people who have been doing the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion for some time and who have been in the midst of the organizational practices, we are able to see through diversity commitment statements that are not authentic. We are able to identify organizations that are intentional about living their values and creating real, sustainable change. We recognize equitable hiring practices, and we browse their websites to see what the color and gender of their leadership look like. For the majority of websites that I’ve scanned, a very familiar story is being revealed where leadership is majority white men, and generally, a white woman is Chief Human Resource Officer.
Over the past 18 months, I have seen an increase in Chief or VP diversity level positions being created, but this will not solve the problem when diversity is not represented on corporate boards or CEO, CIO, CPO, CFO or in other C-Suite seats. Also, if the Diversity Officer is not reporting directly to the CEO and provided the budget and resources to change policies, practices, and the behaviors within an entire organization, then diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging will be difficult to achieve; the highest levels of employee engagement and sustainable social impact will remain unattainable.
The change I would like to see is more companies and organizations holding themselves accountable to increasing diversity at the leadership levels and creating equitable and inclusive cultures in the same way they do every other business goal and metric where salaries, bonuses, and promotions are at stake. I am aware of some organizations that have taken this step, but the work is never done.
Images from top: Getty Images, courtesy of Tara Spann
So given your hope, have you seen any cases or instances where change is occurring?
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