A study of 700 companies that had implemented diversity training showed that the likelihood of Black men and women advancing actually decreased after the training. That’s why the program the Coalition will present on November 17 and 19 is one of the most important in the Towards a Culture of Inclusion series: because it has been tested empirically hundreds of times and proven effective over time. In fact, the Coalition thinks this program is so important that it is presenting it twice so we can maximize the number of people able to attend. Register below.

For those of you who have signed up for our Ally-Ready certification program, this session is considered a REQUIRED TRAINING.

Junia Howell, assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Sociology, presented the findings of the Report on Gender and Racial Inequality in Pittsburgh, which she co-authored; undermined assumptions about improving conditions for Black Americans; and moderated a panel discussion with anu jain, Executive Director of the City of Pittsburgh Gender Equality Commission; Jennifer Park, Denton’s Cohen & Grigsby shareholder and member of the PLDIC Board of Directors; the Hon. Timothy Lewis, former Third Circuit Judge, now with Schnader Harrison; and Jerry Dickinson, associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh.

Follow-up resources relating to this program, as well as the first two programs in the Towards a Culture of Inclusion series with Ritu Bhasin, were sent to all attendees, but are available to everyone on the Coalition’s website. A video of the First Conversation on Race is available on the Members Only page on the website. Sign up for access to the Members Only page. Attendees: please don’t forget to take your survey!

As part of its Racial Equity Action Plan, Coalition member Reed Smith invited all its Pittsburgh employees to a follow-up conversation the day after the PLDIC’s Conversation, which was attended by a number of its lawyers. An idea worth sharing!

Michelle Silverthorn is the Founder and CEO of Inclusion Nation, a graduate of Princeton and the University of Michigan Law School. After practicing in two large law firms in Chicago and New York, she transitioned to education, specifically on racism, bias, equity, belonging and inclusion.

Want to a taste of what to expect on January 19? See Silverthorn’s TedX Talk entitled How to Stop Talking About Implicit Bias and Start Talking About Race. 

57 individuals from 20 of the Coalition’s 37 Member Organizations and two non-member legal employers will come together in two different sessions at the end of this month to begin training to be better allies to people different from themselves. Our trainees are men and women of various ethnicities and races, straight and gay, and are both young and seasoned practitioners. They will be divided into six small groups and meet with Angela Bryant and Tokunbo Greene of Visions Inc. at the end of this month to get the program started. Bryant and Greene will be with us throughout the training to provide insight, knowledge, and structure for our trainees. Allies, if you haven’t already - don’t forget to register for your first group meeting, which you received an email with details about last week.