Read Part 1 of this post series.

Another interesting part of the Conference Board event came during the “Lightning Talks,” which were actually  Pecha Kucha—several six-minute presentations designed to generate broad exposure to a range of issues. The first talk was “Helping your D&I Survive Mergers & Acquisitions,” which advised everyone to be prepared to adjust their vision for D&I after a merger or acquisition. Also, where possible, D&I needs to be positioned “at the table” prior to M&A activity—mostly because it’s difficult to get D&I involved after the M&A begins.

The second of the presentations was “Inclusive Workforce Readiness Trends & Truths,” an interesting look at the shrinking talent pool in the U.S. There were some shocking statistics provided; for example: out of 100 kids entering 9th grade, only 18 graduate from a 4 year college. At several different grade levels, the students drop out, until only 18% of the original students are left and graduate from college. This has significant implications for the viability of the U.S. labor force. The presenter suggested that businesses could help replenish this talent pool through research, community engagement, public policy and business practices.

The final of the Pecha Kucha talks was entiteld “Inclusion & Collaboration: Perfect Together.” Marsha Gerwirtzman, in the Customer Advocacy, Global Diversity & Inclusion area discussed how Cisco uses technological tools in its diversity and inclusion-related efforts. Of particular note was that Cisco uses video in its internal D&I efforts, including reverse mentoring. I’d be interested to see how that works live.

The theme of Diversity, Old & New also resonated throughout the conference. Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., a well-respected diversity practitioner who is also somewhat of a historian shared many valuable ideas about diversity. Among the most important: that diversity is not only an issue of race or gender, but includes many other types of diversity, as well.

This is an idea which really resonates with me. I think that for too long, diversity has been equated with ethnicity or gender and there hasn’t been enough discussion about the other dimensions of difference that exist among people. In keeping with this notion, Dr. Thomas noted that diversity must be understood with respect to a particular attribute; people can be similar and diverse at the same time, depending on which characteristic is being considered.

Below, I’ve briefly noted some of the other important ideas expressed at the conference, during various sessions:

  • Stay in motion; anticipate change, keep learning, redefine goals in context of new knowledge
  • Embrace diversity as a core business strength
  • The term “diversity” doesn’t resonate across all cultures. The lexicon is shifting
  • Communicate the vision of diversity and inclusion across the company and monitor how it is being implemented and understood
  • Cooperation between HR & diversity and inclusion is critical to the success of D&I, esp when D&I reports thru HR
  • Panelists agree that C-Suite commitment to diversity & inclusion is crucial for the success of diversity-related initiatives

Overall, I felt the conference was very well done and enjoyed the speakers and content. I’m looking forward to attending future events.