Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI Three years ago, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) was at the forefront of many organizations’ agendas. Motivated to change their cultures and drive greater inclusivity, awareness of biases and the importance of embracing employees’ differences, companies committed to change. They launched DEI initiatives, sponsored employee resource groups (ERGs), hosted training ...

DEI Feature BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI Unconscious biases (also called implicit biases) are the engrained social stereotypes about other people or groups that everyone carries without being aware of them. These attitudes can be related to age, race, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, appearance, political affiliation and many other attributes. Why does ...

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI One of the benefits of a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative is a company’s ability to leverage that distinction when recruiting, retaining and empowering employees. There’s something very Field of Dreams about that idea. “If you build it, they will come…” (and work for you instead of another employer), right? ...

DEI Feature BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP FIZKES/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM At October’s Annual Conference, MHI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Committee presented “Discussions about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs.” Moderated by Dr. Shanthi Muthuswamy of Northern Illinois University, the panel included: Edward Lada Jr., president & CEO of Goodwill Keystone Area and the Goodwill Keystone ...

DEI Feature BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP The recently released Supply Chain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Survey from Gartner noted that supply chain organizations in publicly held companies employ more people of color than their privately held counterparts. Specifically, people of color comprise 35% of the overall supply chain workforce at publicly held companies, ...

Is fear keeping your company from achieving, or exceeding, its goals? If you don’t have psychologically safe work environments across your organization, then it probably is.

Determining if your suppliers are helping or hurting your drive to net-zero and other business sustainability goals is easier said than done. New supply chain mapping and monitoring tools are helping crack the code.

While microaggressions can be deliberate, most of the time they are unintentional. These suggestions and experiences from MHI member companies can help reduce their occurrence.

Feature Strong leadership, effective communication, authenticity and a shared sense of ownership are keys to building an ESG culture that can help differentiate your company and gain a competitive edge. BY DAVID COBURN VALEX/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM ABCITY3D/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM ANDRII ZASTROZHNOV/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM YEAMAKE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Just over two years ago, in August 2019, a prestigious group of American CEOs known as Business Roundtable announced a change to ...

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP Organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a strategic and competitive advantage, both for operational performance and to attract the best talent. According to McKinsey & Company, culture “is the common set of behaviors and underlying mindsets and beliefs that shape how people work and interact.” It matters, note ...