Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are problems
that require long term work in order to provide long term
impact.
So, why do companies keep seeking "quick fixes" and
flashy solutions that just won’t work?
To understand the issues the industry is facing in DEI, and the
hard work needed to change organizations, we’ve invited
Lily
Zheng to join us.
Lily is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion speaker, strategist, and
organizational consultant. Recently, they wrote
DEI Deconstructed: Your
No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It
Right, a definitive foundational text for critically
analyzing and applying actionable DEI techniques and
strategies.
DEI is an ongoing issue for most organizations, so it’s baffling to
think of it as a subject that ebbs and flows with trends. Lily
explains why this continues to happen, and the dangers it poses to
the long term success of DEI in the workplace. We learn that there
are no short term fixes or hacks to solving the problem. It's going
to take hard data and hard work to concretely change the way people
think and act.
Lily further shares how they help companies assess their workforce
and understand what is going on beneath the surface. By collecting
data on employee engagement, retention, promotion rates, and access
to opportunity, Lily is able to get a clear picture of the problems
the company is facing and provide solutions that change culture in
a lasting manner.
With so few best-practices and many underdeveloped strategies out
there, Lily took it upon themselves to literally write the book on
DEI. Today, they share how they hope the book can teach companies
to hold themselves accountable, and also provide a critical
resource for budding practitioners in the industry.
Three Key Takeaways:
* Complex problems such as DEI don’t have quick fixes. It's the
nature of the beast.
* Thought leadership is a way to up-skill your audience, allowing
those who work with you to "skip the baby steps" and spend more
time on the hard stuff.
* Data has to be the core of problem solving. You can’t provide a
solution, when you don’t understand the problem.