The challenges that COVID-19 has presented to the United States and the world are largely unprecedented for businesses in every industry. So much of these waters are uncharted.
In the first of many planned webinars, the entire DiversityInc team met virtually with their partners to talk about how it is supporting them to continue achieving their diversity and inclusion goals during the pandemic. Diversity and inclusion are as important now as they have ever been. Reports of Black and Latino communities getting hit the hardest by COVID-19 come to light as a result of structural inequalities within society.
The DiversityInc team is stepping up in various ways to continue to support its partners.
- Providing key data and research through Meeting-in-a-Box and research roundups
- Constantly updating the DiversityInc Job Board
- Sharing the latest news from partners about their COVID-19 work
- Hosting two to three webinars on a variety of topics each month
Data is an essential aspect of continuing to improve as a company with diverse talent, especially during uncertain times. Lissiah Hundley, head of strategic partnerships and client fulfillment at DiversityInc, spoke about best practices to help stakeholders overcome their uncertainty for engaging, investing, and building in diverse talent pipelines.
“It’s all about the data and the revenue, the dollars, the data and the dollars,” Hundley said. “If you do not invest in diverse talent and high potential talent … You’re not going to be sustainable in your business or your industry. Diversity and inclusion drives business impact and it drives revenue for an organization.”
DiversityInc also announced the new format for the much-anticipated DiversityInc Top 50 event. Originally to be held at Cipriani on Wall Street on May 5, the daytime learning sessions and list announcement will be held completely online to comply with social-distancing guidelines.
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“We’ll have an opportunity for our sponsors to have some special messaging to all of our participants and as it relates to attendance, we’re expecting over 500 people to participate in the learning session, and be tuned in to find out, for 2020, for which company ranked number one and which other organizations were best in class when you think about some of our specialty lists,” CEO of DiversityInc Carolynn Johnson said.
As of April 22, there are now over 900 people signed up for the learning sessions.
The DiversityInc Top 50 dinner has been rescheduled for November 4 at Cipriani in a merge with DiversityInc’s other major event: Women of Color & Their Allies. Also, in the fall of 2020, at a Marriott property in Newark, New Jersey, DiversityInc will host their Supplier Diversity Festival.
“This is another way in which we are making sure that supplier diversity stays top of mind, and is managed as any other business essential area to make sure that you are competitive and to make sure that you’re taking care of the communities in which you operate,” Johnson said.
Click here for the full webinar recording and check out the upcoming webinars.
