Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Virtual Summit 2021

Speakers

(All times Eastern Standard Time)

Welcome! Virtual Welcome & Exhibitor Showcase Opens: Review navigation tools, visit exhibitor booths, chat with sponsors and fellow event participants

Chairperson Welcome

Keynote Presentation

Critical Leadership: The Role of DE&I as a Strategic Business Partner Across the Enterprise

Today’s DE&I leaders are developing real-time roadmaps within all areas of the business while delivering results to fuel long-lasting change and business growth. DE&I leader’s functional responsibilities are expanding from creating a more inclusive workforce that fosters a culture of belonging, to achieving business goals and sparking innovation through a DE&I lens. Join this session to hear how forward-thinking DE&I leaders are leading transformation from the top down, as a trusted advisor to the Board.

Topics to be discussed include:

• The path to Board buy-in and universal support from critical leaders
• Injecting DE&I into the organization’s mission, values and day-to-day business
• How DE&I leaders are reshaping business processes from idea to execution
• Achieving business growth through allyship, inclusion and equity
• Demonstrating business value of DEI through growth in the workplace and marketplace
• Ensuring DE&I is considered within all aspects of the business

Keynote Presentation

Engaging Middle Management as a Driving Force for Change

Inclusive leaders dismiss assumptions and fears daily—this requires keen self-awareness and commitment to their own change.  Managers need to be honest with themselves about what is holding them back from changing their habits.  What is it they fear; do they feel they alone can’t make a difference?  Where can they go for support and open, authentic conversation?

In this session, American Management Association will provide insight into how you can help your managers:

• Understand the advantages of a diverse team in driving innovation
• Ensure that all are heard, recognized, and appreciated—so productivity can soar
• Lead teams of diverse individuals who are engaged, energized, and willing to give their all

Panel Discussion

Leading Courageously: How to Develop Leaders with the DE&I Competencies that Foster Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

DE&I leaders must ignite change among leaders at all levels, to ensure leaders have the right mindset and behaviors to foster equity, inclusion and belonging. Leadership competencies must align with DE&I goals and objectives, while representing company culture and values. Training programs are needed now more than ever to ensure leaders are connecting with employees and bringing people together. Join this interactive panel discussion to hear how DEI leaders are ensuring organizational leaders are receiving the training programs, coaching, and mentoring needed to:

• Enhance emotional intelligence and develop self-awareness
• Improve listening skills and uncover listening blocks to expand personal views and outlook
• Understand their own biases and how to identify unconscious bias
• Become more culturally competent and agile
• Create an environment for everyone to bring their best selves to work

Lunch & Learns

Track A: Bringing your DE&I Strategy to Life

Track B: TBA

Keynote Presentation

Supplier Diversity: Expanding Internal Practices to Provide Equity in the Marketplace

Now more than ever, organizations must act and demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally. Supplier diversity is growing in importance as a pillar to highlight corporate efforts to be socially responsible, more competitive, and demonstrating equity in the marketplace.

Join this session to hear how DE&I leaders are developing effective supplier diversity strategies that align with business growth and DE&I values. Topics to be discussed include:

• Developing a top-down approach to enacting universal policies that provide supplier equity in sourcing and purchasing
• Increasing focus for underrepresented businesses
• Creating policies that elevate opportunities with businesses that align with your corporate social responsibility and DE&I mission
• Gaining internal buy-in to revamp sourcing and procurement policies

Keynote Presentation

Keynote Presentation

Transforming Diversity Recruiting and Inclusive Hiring Practices to Build the Diverse Workforce of the Future

DE&I leaders must build the workforce of the future; both by developing and nurturing the global workforce of today, and by recruiting and hiring diverse candidates to expand diversity in the workplace. Join this session to hear best practices and proven strategies that are producing results. Hear how organizations are successfully:

• Developing job descriptions to attract diverse candidates
• Training recruiters to prevent biases in identifying the right candidates
• Increasing recruiting diverse candidates
• Improving how companies appeal to diverse candidates
• Expanding university recruiting while maintaining equity in practice

Keynote Presentation

Keynote Presentation

Strength in Numbers: Establishing an Allyship Program in the Organization

With the national spotlight on issues of racism, responsibility, and white privilege, organizations are seeking to actively create more equitable environments and one method of particular importance is allyship. Many companies have struggled to go beyond optical and performative allyship and it is more important than ever to identify the best practices for successful allyship programs.

In this thought-provoking session, we will discuss what a strong allyship and mentorship program looks like and the steps to achieve it, including:

• Increasing the number of allies in your organization
• Understanding what it means to be a real ally
• Training people how to be good allies
• Preventing Optical and Performative allyship

While 2020 was faced with physical divides, 2021 is being defined by ideological divides. How do you foster allyship across ideological divides?

Keynote Presentation

A Blueprint for Your Immersive Environment: Fighting Fear and Inspiring Inclusivity

There are many ways organizations are working to foster an inclusive working environment, but a critical challenge is identifying a proper blend of efforts that contribute to near-term progress without hindering long-term change. Unfortunately, in the near term, not all hearts and minds are open to change. However, when thinking about an inclusive workplace strategy, there is a framework that supports this ideal blend, where the present focus is on how to act and react in inclusive ways. Immersive Learning in Virtual Reality enables employees to practice having the right actions and reactions by focusing on immersive inclusive conversations.

In this session, discover how to leverage Immersive Learning for inclusive conversation training and how companies can implement it at scale so their employees can develop the skills to:

• Become more situationally aware as well as self-aware
• Identify non-inclusive behavior of oneself and colleagues
• Make informed decisions on next steps based on data-driven insight and practice
• Reduce the fear and doubt that cause inaction
• Demonstrate proper action and reaction to non-inclusive and inequitable situations

Panel Discussion

Elevating Resource Groups as Business Drivers: How to Link ERG’s to Impact

Many organizations have been adopting Employee Resource Groups as an internal driver of inclusion, connection, and camaraderie. Some have realized the opportunity to leverage Resource Groups as an external driver of the external business mission. At the end of the day, businesses were created to fulfill a mission. By transforming Employee Resource Groups into Business Resource Groups, new business value is realized, and that is when everybody can embrace and understand why inclusion is important.

In this session, learn how DEI leaders can create Resource Groups that promote inclusivity by driving business outcomes, and the different ways they can be expanded for business impact including:

• Putting diverse employees in front of their connections and communities to empower them to build credibility
• Equipping resource groups with the opportunities to build professional relationships in the industry and serve as credible ambassadors internally and externally
• Communicating ERG opportunities to enable frontline employees to participate
• Leveraging digital transformation of ERG’s and networks to drive insights for the business

End of Live Summit Sessions

Sessions will be available On-demand June 11^th

Exhibitor Showcase Open: Visit exhibitor booths, chat with sponsors and fellow event participants