Newsletter

co-editors: Julie O'Mara & Cathy Gallagher-Louisy

design & production editor: Shawndra Cox

for All People Interested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

*Please share this newsletter and the GDEIB with others. Our goal is to increase its visibility, credibility, and usability. 

Share your news with us for inclusion in a future newsletter!*

NEED AN ACCESSIBLE COPY OF THIS NEWSLETTER?

Contact [email protected] 

and we will send this newsletter to you each month in a Word version without graphics.

Issue: February 2022

WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Quote from

EP Paul Deemer

A Note

from The ED

Centre Earns

Gold Seal!!!

Free Centre Webinar

on Artificial Intelligence

Call for Proposals – International Leadership Association–ILA

US Navy Dedication

to DEI

Many Faces

of JEDI

AEG & Goldenvoice Hold Career Event for Students

Thank You Avery

For Assisting Us

Solving for X: Forum on Workplace Inclusion Conference

CCDI UnConference 5 Feb (English) & 15 Feb (French) on GDEIB

Carrie's

Article

Goodbye to Newsletter

Co-editors

Upcoming GDEIB

Launch Events

Spotlight on Our Sponsors

CO-Brand the GDEIB

“What distinguishes the GDEIB from other global benchmarking tools is that it has both gravity and gravitas. It also has longevity and maturity due to it being developed over many years in collaboration with some of the most progressive organizations and diversity experts in the world. Taken altogether, the end result is a tool that has credibility, sustainability, and the capability to bring about real change.” 

Paul Deemer

Head of Diversity and Inclusion

NHS Employers

Essex, UK

A NOTE FROM THE ED

Dear Readers, 

During my engagement with many of our subscribers, I have received much feedback as to how they would like to receive their information through the newsletter. Your comments, feedback and honest opinions were received with gratitude. As I have said to many of you, I am trying my best to leave no one behind.

To address all that I have received, I have set up a Communications Committee comprised of DEI interested young individuals across the globe who will help me tailor the newsletter in a manner that will match close to your expectations. Some of my own ideas will also be included as well. 

Thus, in the coming months there will be much work and you may find some delays receiving the newsletter, or find further improvements as we develop a format that is acceptable to all. Forgive me and the Committee.

I wish you all well, stay safe and take care

Sudeep

Executive Director

ANNOUNCEMENTS

THE CENTRE EARNS

GOLD SEAL FOR TRANSPARENCY!

Congratulations to us!!!! The Centre has earned a GuideStar Seal of Transparency. This means our donors now have more detailed information, aiding in their search for a trusted organization. Our Gold Seal denotes a form of transparency that offers details about our finances, Board of Directors, staff, and overall demographics.

Go here to learn more about this seal.

PRESENTS A FREE WEBINAR

sponsored by:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a new powerful tool to address inclusion in the workplace and society, but it is fraught with pitfalls and marketing hype, which overshadow reality and can lead to results that are opposite to expectations. In this webinar, you will gain some insight on: 

• The basics of algorithms and how AI algorithms operate 
• How poor quality, as well as conscious and unconscious bias can affect algorithms 
• How to ask questions, leading to understand their fit for purpose and effectiveness 

Understanding how AI algorithms are developed and how they operate, and developing a methodology of validation, can facilitate the appropriate deployment of such tools, prevent painful blunders and foster outcomes that align with your organization’s values and expectations.

"WE'VE LEARNED WHAT WORKS"

-GDEIB BEST PRACTICES-

ACTIONS TO HELP ACHIEVE THIS GLOBAL DEI BENCHMARK

THE US NAVY’S DEDICATION

TO DEI LEARNING

Written by Jessica Milam, Inclusion and Diversity Advisor at US Navy & GDEIB Expert Panellist.

To reach GDEIB Level 4 in Category 10: DEI Learning and Development, your organization needs to master benchmark 10.7, “DEI learning and education involves ongoing, multi-year, developmental curricula.” This is a small but mighty standard and here’s how the US Navy tackled it. 

The Navy developed diversity, equity, and inclusion core competencies for all military members. The competencies came from a model developed by GDEIB Expert Panellist Dr. Renee Yuengling who customized them for the Navy. The competencies are designed like building blocks throughout a career, and woven into each stage of professional military education. Military leaders are “grown” from the bottom up; you must enter the military and work your way through the ranks. A person recently assessed into the Navy is responsible for demonstrating simple DEI competencies and as their career progresses the competencies increase in complexity, so our senior personnel are true inclusion champions. 

In addition to training all Navy personnel in DEI, practitioners are assigned throughout the Navy who bring a higher level and more nuanced knowledge of DEI to their units. They complete additional training, starting with a two-day course for newly assigned practitioners and then participate in monthly webinars on a variety of subjects. A helpful hint is that we develop the webinar topics through feedback from our practitioners but also keeping the topics listed in GDEIB Level 5, benchmark 10.3. 

Additionally, in order to leverage the experience of all of our practitioners, we host quarterly roundtables to facilitate sharing promising practices and house resources. All practitioners are part of a Navy-wide culture working group that situates DEI work as key to cultivating a culture of excellence. 

For more information, contact Jessica at [email protected]

SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH A CIRCLE MENTORING APPROACH

By Dianne Bennet, Carrie Elrick, Louisa Pohl, and Dr. Cranla Warren. See end of this article (after READ MORE) for author bios.

Organizations should consider developing DEI programs to support women in their career development. This helps achieve GDEIB Benchmark 5.3: “The organization’s reputation for quality DEI initiatives enhances its ability to retain and advance diverse employees.” One such example is the circle mentoring program developed and implemented by the authors. 

Key learnings indicate circle mentoring supports women in their career development in several ways:  

1. The notion that sexist behaviour is something that women must endure at work is dispelled.  
2. Women develop an intentional and supportive professional network to help plan their career. 
3. A circle mentoring approach upends the traditional mentoring model to a more mentee-centric focus. The result is an engaged group committed to supporting each other. 

Mentoring generally refers to an experienced person sharing their knowledge with a less experienced person.  The benefits of providing mentoring within organizations is well documented[1], and the need for women to be mentored by other women is stronger than ever. Women in the workplace are impacted greatly by the Covid-19 pandemic in myriad ways. Developing a circle mentoring approach to support women, especially women at the margins, is of great benefit to both the individuals involved and the organization, as mentoring develops higher rates of engagement and lower rates of employee turnover.[2] 

FROM & ABOUT EXPERT PANELLISTS & ALLIANCES

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Centre has an Alliance with the International Leadership Association—ILA. The 24th Annual International Leadership Association Global Conference theme, Wisdom in Times of Crisis, invites an inquiry into how wisdom might catalyze transformation in global systems contributing to environmental, social, economic, and political crises.  #ILA2022Global will offer an expansive space for exploring wisdom and its role in this historical moment, in this historic place (Washington, DC • 13 to 16 October 2022). The largest gathering of those who research and study leadership, teach and develop leaders, and engage in the practice of leadership will gather to share creative new ideas, cutting edge practice and theory, hopes, innovations, and suggestions for the future. Come with your ideas and leave inspired!

Learn more here: https://ilaglobalconference.org/call-for-proposals/

Submission deadline is 15 February, 2022

A TRIBUTE TO OUR PROMINENT

AND DISTINGUISHED DEI LEADER

—LORIE VALLE-YAÑEZ RETIRES FROM MASSMUTUAL AS HEAD OF DEI—

AND LEAVES LORIEISMS

FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW

Lorie Valle-Yañez is currently a GDEIB Expert Panelist and has been since the 2011 GDIB Edition. In addition, MassMutual is one of The Centre’s sponsors. But most of all, “Lorie is one of the finest chief diversity officers I know,” says article author, Julie O’Mara.

From Michael Muñoz, Global Marketing DEI, Google: “Lorie, in many ways, is a trailblazer and I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat for almost ten years while Lorie was my boss at ESPN and MassMutual. Lorie took me in when I was super green and taught me, by example, what the practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion truly means long before it was in vogue. Lorie role modeled humility, resourcefulness, telling truth to power, servant leadership, and vulnerability before there were podcasts or HBR articles on the subject. She was selfless in the work—always putting people and groups that have been historically in the margins at the center of the work and doing so unapologetically. I will be forever indebted to Lorie for everything she has done for me and can say unequivocally that I would not have the career I have today had I not spent those years with Lorie. Lorie is a mentor, a role model, and above all a friend, and I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to start my career by working with Lorie. Her impact on the companies and, I know to her more importantly, the people within those companies, cannot be understated   they and we are all better for having Lorie at the helm all these years.”

From EP Chris M. Mendoza, DBA, Multicultural Marketing and Strategy, Prudential Financial: “It was great to work with Lorie. In fact, I was on the selection committee that recommended she be hired. During the interview process, I could see Lorie had a lot of drive and personal passion about the work. Her energy is what I saw that she would or could bring to the role. That, I believe, is what's needed to do this work. Without it, people approach things like a project. DEI is MORE THAN just a project – it’s about being a practitioner and evangelizing about it nonstop until you have converts, believers, and supporters. She did that.

“It was my sincere pleasure to work alongside Lorie at MassMutual advancing inclusion and diversity at the company. Lorie brought energy, excitement, passion, and motivation to her role. Her energy for the work spread quickly, creating supporters and sponsors for the work at all levels of the organization. She was a mentor to many, including myself. 

“I learned a lot from working with Lorie, perhaps the most important lesson being about how to get support for your work and then step back and let leaders lead. Meaning, while the work of a diversity practitioner is important, one cannot mandate or direct others to do anything. The role of the DEI professional is to empower and influence the business leader with strategies to advance their areas. By doing this, the business leader goes from being a passive participant to an owner and sponsor for the work. Lorie provided the company with a solid foundation for the future. She will be missed.”

Click on "READ MORE" below to learn of Lorie’s accomplishments… and her LORIEISMS. There are so many. Actually, Lorie … hint, hint…you should write a book. And read more quotes about Lorie at the end of the article.

THE MANY FACES OF JEDI:

A DEVELOPMENTAL EXPLORATION

Written by Dr. Aftab Erfan, Chief Equity Officer, City of Vancouver, Canada, a GDEIB user. This paper was originally published in INTEGRAL REVIEW, an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing a transdisciplinary and transcultural range of works that, taken as a whole, model integral ways of perceiving, thinking, researching, and serving the world we live in. There’s a link to the full PDF of the paper at the end of this newsletter article.

Below is our summary of Aftab’s paper, The Many Faces of JEDI.

Many organizations and communities have grown initiatives dedicated to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) at a time when global and local inequities are front and center in the societal discourse. The movement towards JEDI is simultaneously full of positive transformative potential, and also full of both ideological and interpersonal conflict.

In the paper, Aftab applies the structure of seven action-logics from adult development theory to describe how one’s orientation to JEDI issues may mature over time. She offers suggestions for how those with more mature action-logic can become more effective in the JEDI space by recognizing the dynamics at play from a developmental perspective.

Adult development theory suggests that people develop through several stages or plateaus (also known as action-logics). Research has shown that leaders at later action-logics are more effective in complex organizational contexts.

The Seven Action-logics

Different schools of adult development theory describe the stages of development in somewhat different ways. Here, in its most condensed form, is Torbert’s articulation of the seven action-logics:

• Opportunist – Deeply concerned with their own needs. Tries to win any way possible.
• Diplomat – Focuses on conforming with the rules and norms of the organization or peers.
• Expert – Motivated to gain mastery and expertise. Values logic and respects other experts.
• Achiever – Driven by goals, achievement, and meeting the standards they have set for themselves.
• Redefining – Inspired by meaning and purpose. Challenges the status quo to find new ways.
• Transforming – Generates organizational and personal transformations. Sees the system they are in.
• Alchemist– Leads with fluidity, seeing the interdependent nature of things. Integrates wisdom and a global conscience.

AEG AND GOLDENVOICE HOST

INAUGURAL DAY N VEGAS COMMUNITY PROGRAM—STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT JOBS IN THE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

This article is provided by

GDEIB Expert Panellist, Jae Pi’ilani Requiro,

Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,

AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company.  Goldenvoice is a subsidiary of AEG.

During the week of 8 November 2021, AEG and Goldenvoice welcomed more than 200 high school and college students from Clark County, Nevada and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to participate in the inaugural Day N Vegas Community Program. Students received exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the Day N Vegas music festival and insights about jobs in the live entertainment industry.

“When I was getting started in my career, I never saw women of color in leadership roles,” said Jae Pi’ilani Requiro, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, AEG. “Representation matters and when young people see people who look like them in leadership roles, they can see that their career opportunities are endless,” said Jae Pi’ilani Requiro. 

“At Goldenvoice and AEG, we prioritize diversity in all aspects of our business and community programs like this as a great steppingstone to engaging young people by exposing them to careers and viable career paths that they otherwise might not have known existed,” said Requiro. 

THANK YOU TO COLLEGE STUDENT,

AVERY CORDOVA, FOR ASSISTING THE CENTRE

Many thank yous to Avery Cordova, a student at San Diego State University in San Diego, California, USA, who is assisting The Centre in tasks she can do remotely and where the deadline is flexible. She is a Liberal Studies major with an emphasis in Elementary Education with the goal of being a teacher. She finds working for The Centre enjoyable and appreciates the flexibility, plus she is personally aligned with The Centre’s mission. Regarding remote learning and working, she says, “I like remote learning, even though I like seeing my professors as there’s a stronger connection face-to-face. Thankfully San Diego State offers both remote and in-person learning.” And, Avery, The Centre highly appreciates you and your work for The Centre.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE 34TH ANNUAL

FORUM ON WORKPLACE INCLUSION

APRIL 5-7, 2022

Early Bird Pricing Currently Available

The Forum on Workplace inclusion is the largest DEI conference in the U.S.A. This year’s theme is “Solving for X: Tackling Inequalities in a World of Unknowns”.

Addressing complex challenges can be daunting, especially when the foundations of our structures are shifting. As we look to a future of continuous and unforeseeable change, what must we do to tackle systemic inequities deeply embedded in our everyday environments and unharness inclusive, equitable, and sustainable ways of working?

The Forum on Workplace Inclusion offers a wide array of learning opportunities, including sessions facilitated by several GDEIB Expert Panellists and sponsors.

Alan Richter,

GDEIB coauthor &

The Centre Board member,

is orchestrating a panel on

Global DEI Best Practices. 

Panellists include:

Riikka Salonen

and colleagues

will speak about

“Imagine Belonging – An Organization without White Supremacy Culture”

Karen Francis

and colleagues

will speak about

“The Power of Reciprocity: How Reciprocal Mentoring Makes for a More Inclusive Organization”

Bernardo Ferdman

and colleagues on Measuring Workplace Inclusion: How to Assess Progress Toward DEI Goals & Hold Leadership Accountable

In addition, the program includes several presentations from some of our Sponsors, including:

• The Winters Group • The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group

Apologies if we missed you. Please let us know if you are speaking at the Forum on Workplace Inclusion.

Register for the Forum here: 

The Forum on Workplace Inclusion

is a Alliance of The Centre for Global Inclusion and the GDEIB.

ANNOUNCING

CCDI’s UNCONFERENCE

CCDI’s immersive and collaborative UnConference encourages people with an interest in diversity and inclusion as well as diversity professionals to break away from the boredom of traditional conferences with a high degree of participation – perfect for those who value networking, interactive workshops, and experiential learning.

Our annual one-day UnConference is being delivered to you this year as an immersive, interactive, entertaining virtual experience.

Theme for UnConference 2022 -

Navigational strategies in IDEA:

From Why to How

in English: Tuesday: 8 February 2022

in French: Tuesday 15 February 2022

CCDI UnConference 2022 sessions are based on the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) model: 

Full-day Agenda: Note * as there will be a beginner and an advanced concurrent session choice

• Welcome from CCDI Executive Director

• Indigenous Elder Blessing

• Keynote Speaker: Julie O’Mara, GDEIB Coauthor and member, Board of Directors The Centre for Global Inclusion

• *Activating your workforce: An internal focus

• Break – There will be multiple breaks throughout the day

• *Activating your community and services: An external focus.

• Plenary 1: Driving the vision and strategy: A foundational focus

• Networking and Roundtables

• Plenary 2: Sustaining and communicating your efforts: A bridging focus

• *Activating your workforce: An internal focus

• *Activating your community and services: An external focus

• Closing words

FROM & ABOUT THE GDEIB & THE CENTRE

THE GDEIB CO-BRANDING OPPORTUNITY

Your logo here!

+ 2 inside pages 

about your DEI program

The Centre is offering all GDEIB users an opportunity to add your organization logo to the front cover of the GDEIB and create two inside pages that will be positioned before the Table of Contents. You may use those two pages to contain a message from your organization or diversity leaders, or a description of your DEI program, or however you see fit.   

Please send us a high resolution logo and prepared “camera-ready” copy for the two pages. The two pages will be side by side; therefore you can create a spread. Cost is $1,000 and we will invoice you. This offer also applies to the Portuguese, Spanish, and French translations. Please give us about a week or 10 days from the time we receive your logo and copy for the two pages before we send you your customized GDEIB. Contact: [email protected].  

SAYING GOODBYE AS

NEWSLETTER COEDITORS

With a wonderful degree of satisfaction, Cathy Gallagher-Louisy and Julie O'Mara say goodbye as your editors of this monthly newsletter. We have done this as volunteers and it has been a pleasure, as well as an opportunity to learn. Cathy has served as an editor since the July 2020 edition and Julie since the Centre for Global Inclusion began in July 2017. 

What Cathy and Julie say about Jeanne Spahr and Shawndra Cox. “We are grateful to Shawndra for making our plain copy come to life with wonderful graphics, and putting it all together and to Jeanne for managing the information we include, proofing, and helping with the newsletter in too many ways to mention."

What Julie says of working with Cathy: “Cathy has been a pleasure to work with. As you can imagine the monthly newsletter is filed with many tasks such as selecting potential topics to address against objectives, much administrative effort to follow up on information needed from sources, not to mention writing, editing, and proofing. Even though Cathy’s new consulting business has grown significantly since she started it in August, 2020, she has managed to write her share of the articles with clear-headed thinking and staying on deadline. And she’s just been fun to work with and full of ideas. I will miss our strategy meetings and her thoughtfulness.”

What Cathy says of working with Julie: “I have long been impressed by Julie’s passion, energy, and fierce commitment to the integrity of The Centre, the GDEIB, and the Expert Panellists. Working more closely with her showed me how Julie centers her principles and business ethics in her day-to-day work and decision making. Julie has been a driving force advancing the work of DEI practitioners globally for many years. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to work with her and learn from her. I will certainly miss it.”

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SPONSORS

Brown-Forman

Brown-Forman Corporation enriches the experience of life by responsibly building quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s, Finlandia, Korbel, el Jimador, Woodford Reserve, Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Benriach, GlenDronach, Slane, and others. Founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, for more than 150 years the company has worked to uphold the signature promise of its founding brand, Old Forester, that there is “Nothing Better in the Market.” Brown-Forman’s brands are stewarded by approximately 4,800 employees and sold in more than 170 countries worldwide. The company is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization as supported by its numerous Diversity & Inclusion Councils, ten Employee Resource Groups, and its Many Spirits, One Brown-Forman: 2030 Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which, for the first time, set quantifiable ambitions for the representation of women and people of color. In June 2020, Brown-Forman issued new “Be Better, Do Better” commitments as part of its ongoing journey to drive meaningful change within its organization and hometown community of Louisville, Kentucky.

www.brown-forman.com

Forum on Workplace Inclusion



The Forum on Workplace Inclusion® – or The Forum for short – expands mindsets, skill sets, and tool sets necessary for true workplace inclusion. We do this through our events and programs like our Diversity Insights Presentations and our monthly professional Webinars as well as our website and Forum Podcast. Each year, we host our flagship event – The Forum on Workplace Inclusion annual conference: the largest workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion conference in the US and one of the largest in the world.

www.forumworkplaceinclusion.org 

AIR 

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of human services, health, and international development. AIR’s mission is to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. AIR’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) is essential to our mission and pivotal to our strategic goals. To support diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce and enhance capacity to work effectively in diverse communities, we are guided by principles of cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) to enhance knowledge, skills, and dispositions of staff to effectively conduct projects, research and operations necessary to address the wide-ranging needs of clients and the communities that we serve. Staff at every level within AIR are engaged in our intentional and comprehensive approach to DEI and CLC integration efforts. We constantly assess where we are as an organization, we set goals and benchmarks, and we create opportunities to share and course correct as necessary to drive our improvement and progress.

www.air.org

THANK YOU TO OUR DIAMOND, 

PLATINUM, GOLD & SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS

TOOLS

GDEIB EXPERT PANELLISTS

Our 112 GDEIB Expert Panellists are the thinkers and contributors behind the GDEIB. They have contributed to the development of our latest editions, guide us in preparing for the next update, and serve as strategic partners. This month we feature these four:

UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL EVENTS BY OUR ALLIANCES OR OUR EXPERT PANELLISTS 

OR WHERE THE GDEIB IS INCLUDED

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Using GDEIB to Guide

Our Way Toward DEI

https://centreforglobalinclusion.org/using-gdeib-to-guide-our-way-toward-dei/

PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED BY EXPERT PANELLISTS & ALLIANCES

Listed here are programs offered by GDEIB Expert Panelists and Alliances. Many are offered numerous times on an ongoing basis. While these courses may not be specifically about the GDIB, the content will be helpful in achieving many of the GDIB benchmarks. If you are an Expert Panelist or Alliance and offer programs open to the public, please let us know and we will list here.

U.N. EDITORIAL STYLE

Because we are a global organization, from now on The Centre for Global Inclusion will follow the editorial guidelines for English published by the UN. Go here Spelling - United Nations Editorial Manual Online (dgacm.org)

<http://dd.dgacm.org/editorialmanual/ed-guidelines/style/spelling.htm> 

These guidelines mix American and British spelling. 

OFFERING SUPPORT

If you want to use the GDEIB in conference presentations, blogs, articles, chapters and so forth, we will support by providing slides, handouts, and ideas. Go to our site and explore. We’ve put a lot of effort into providing these resources. Please help by adding to what we offer.

TO COMMUNICATE WITH US

Please direct any queries, clarifications, questions, and concerns to [email protected]

DON'T FORGET!

SEND US YOUR NEWS 

SO THAT WE CAN FEATURE YOU

in upcoming editions of the GDEIB Newsletter

We are always looking for stories of organizations around the world that are making strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and/or organizations that have achieved GDEIB benchmarks. You don’t have to be at the Best Practice level on every benchmark to be featured. We like stories that describe how an organization achieved ONE of the benchmarks. To submit a story, please contact us: https://centreforglobalinclusion.org/contact/

Please pass this newsletter along to anyone you think might be of interest. 

Thank you!