Speaker 1: Well, it's no surprise that the way we live and work has changed this year in the wake of a pandemic and social uprising. More than ever, employers are making diversity and inclusion initiatives a priority. Sharon Hines is a passionate inclusion diversity advocate and Dr. Sonia Kang, an expert on workplace issues, is the host of For the Love of Work podcast. Hello. Hello. Good morning. Good morning. Morning to both of you. Sonia I'm going to start with you. Talk to us about some of the benefits that diversity brings to a workplace and what you learn from speaking to experts across the country. Absolutely. So

Speaker 2: there's so many benefits that diversity can bring to a workplace. So we can talk about things like increased creativity innovation productivity and it helps in connecting to your increasingly diverse customer and client base too. But the key ingredient to truly enjoy those benefits of diversity is inclusion. And that's what we heard from so many experts in the podcast that in order to do diversity right you need to add inclusion. So people need to feel welcome like they belong like they can be themselves at work and most importantly like they have power. So they need to feel like their voices are being

Speaker 1: heard and that they're being seen for who they are. Yeah definitely a long road for a lot of companies to get to that point. And more and more large companies are using their strength to take a stand against racism. Sharon why is this so important and what

Speaker 3: kind of a voice can companies have. Tracy that's a great question. The real challenge for large companies is not figuring out what they can do but rather are they willing to do it. While conventional diversity equity and inclusion initiatives focus on employment employee engagement and belonging. Today's challenges reach far beyond systemic racism in the workplace. Large companies have the power and the platform to lead change and take action. That's what I'm hearing from my fellow employees and colleagues. They want to see meaningful change within the organization. We need to keep this conversation going. Be uncomfortable with the uncomfortable. The voice that companies can have especially in this climate is to listen to their employees accept and

Speaker 1: acknowledge that they might not get it but take action. OK Sonia do you have any advice for employees who want to actively make

Speaker 2: a difference in their own way. Absolutely. So I think individuals really need to practice something called allyship and allyship gets thrown around a lot as a buzzword. But basically it just means listening and paying very close attention. So being mindful about the people that you're working with. So find out from them. Do they feel included. Do they feel empowered or do they feel like they have to hide themselves at work. It's really about bringing everyone into the conversation here. And I think it's not just about the conversation. The next step is bringing people into the action plan for building that inclusive culture. And that means white employees and other allies too. So they have to put in the work to improve things like recruitment efforts mentorship sponsorship and most importantly I think work on sharing power. So amplifying those voices that are traditionally underrepresented and put in the dedicated time and effort to educate yourself about DNI issues and the people you work with and

Speaker 1: what they need. I do hear the word allyship thrown around a lot and I want to know why it's not really working. What is the thing. What is the point we're missing. What's standing in the way of allyship actually pushing the conversation forward do you

Speaker 2: think. So I think that these two areas really need to work together in concert. So we need organizational level support to support that individual level allyship. So you can have all the allyship that you want where people are working really hard to help each other out. But if you are within working within a broken system where systemic racism is still baked into it and you don't have that support in terms of resources from the organization then all of that work is going to get lost. So I think that both of those things need to be happening and it's rare that you have both happening at the same company. And so I think that's kind of the missing piece is actually supporting those grassroots efforts with actual resources and time. Thanks for that. OK

Speaker 1: Sharon as the lead of Rogers Sports and Media's inclusion and diversity plan all in you're already working with charities and organizations as part of a pilot. And this is a great example of how larger companies drive positive change. Tell us a little bit

Speaker 3: more about that. Imagine the possibility from for some of these grassroots organizations who need the awareness and the support to get their businesses out there. We've received amazing feedback from some of the women entrepreneurs in the startup and sleep program and how they benefit from the Rogers Sports and Media coverage and gain more social media followers due to the free publicity. The Web site is all in for equity. See applications are now closed but reopening annually each fall. Very good.

Speaker 1: Yes. Next fall. Come again with all of your great ideas and your businesses Sonia and your research. Is there anything else you've

Speaker 2: learned on how companies can take steps to step up. Absolutely. I think the first step once you've acknowledged that systemic racism is real is to measure it. So you really need to collect the data to see if you're doing things like under hiring or under paying or under promoting or overworking employees of color and take an intersectional lens on that too. So how does something like gender or disability status make that situation even worse. Once you've done that you have to set public goals and timelines for correcting the problem that you find and make sure that they get fixed. So I'd say the bottom line on this question is to treat your DNI goals as you would treat any other organizational goal. So that means you need a strategic vision. You need to put time and resources behind it. You need milestones and you need targets. Absolutely. Targets and compensation resources

Speaker 1: are very important or nothing gets done. Thank you Sonia and Sharon for your insight. Very happy to have you with us today.