DE Talk Unplugged | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Progress Amidst Opposition within Corporate, Political, & Social Spheres

by | May 9, 2024 | Diversity & Inclusion, Networking and Education

Our latest episode of DE Talk was extra special. Not only were we thrilled to welcome diversity activist and strategist Torin Ellis and Principal Financial Group’s Chief Inclusion Officer Miriam Lewis to the podcast, but this episode was also recorded live during our 2024 Annual Meeting & Conference (DEAMcon24) on April 3rd in New Orleans. During this conversation, the two addressed the importance of resilience, knowledge, and tangible progress in the pursuit of creating more inclusive environments within corporate, political, and social spheres. Take a peek at just a snippet of their powerful talk and be sure to listen to the full episode for even more great thoughts. At a time when DEI is at the forefront for most, this episode is not one to be missed!

 

A man sits on stage speaking into a microphone and gestures to the audience with his other handTorin Ellis:

Let me ask you this question. When you talk about that swinging door and it being important, where does the forensic discovery of D&I in all of the value… Let me ask it differently. How important is it for us, Miriam, to explore how that D&I is being explored in all of the value points, meaning recruiting, employer branding, supplier diversity, corporate social responsibility, learning and development? I can go on and on and on. Is it critical that we do it through the entire organization, or would you say that we can make way by just looking at talent acquisition?

Miriam Lewis:

It has to be pulled through the entire organization. We put too much pressure on a talent or acquisition function, and we don’t hold leaders accountable for the equity and the inclusion part of it. That’s where we’re not able to retain talent. So, they’re all equally important. One is not more important than the other, and making sure that… The way that we do that is through what you just talked about. It’s accountability, right? It’s how are we holding leaders accountable for all three? We have three measures across all of those factors to make sure, and we also at Principal tie it to the short-term incentive not just for leaders but for all employees, because inclusion is not just up to the leadership team, but it’s who I’m interacting with on a given day. They need to respect me, and I need to respect them.

That’s how I feel included is when I’m respected. I remember in kindergarten, Torin, I would get this… You probably got your little folders that you took home on Fridays, as well – was that just an Alabama thing, or anyone else have folders? You get a smiley face if you treated others well. That’s just what inclusion is today. I recall just a couple of years ago, my mother asked me, “What do you do at work?” I went through this long spiel about embedding things and people processes and all of this. She said, “So, you get paid to teach people to respect each other.”

Torin Ellis:

That’s right.

Miriam Lewis:

That’s really what it’s all about. So, it’s really about respect, and how are we going to do that?

Torin Ellis:

That’s right.

A woman sits on stage during her presentation, gesturing while she speaksMiriam Lewis:

We’ve been taught it for a long time, but now it’s a matter of just embedding it in every phase, every aspect of our lives. I’m probably going on a rant right now, but I’m going to continue.

Torin Ellis:

That’s right.

Miriam Lewis:

So, that really bothers me When we are… That’s basically what we’re doing. When we’re doing our self-assessments, we’re looking to make sure that people are being respected in our promotion systems. We’re making sure people are being respected in our talent hiring practices. So, all of this boils down to treating people the way you want to be treated and getting that smiley face at the end of the day when it comes to how well we performed.

 

Powerful stuff – and this isn’t even the half of it! Listen to Season 5, Episode 10 to hear more from these two and their take on the state of DEI and how you can stay the course to drive progress in your own efforts. Stay tuned for the final episode of season five in the coming weeks for an in-depth conversation on military spouses in the workplace. Want to know when new episodes are available? Subscribe to our emails or sign up to receive SMS notifications!

Kacie Koons
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