It is the responsibility of business leaders everywhere to advance racial and ethnic equity throughout every aspect of their organization. This initiative takes a true commitment from not only leadership, but every individual across the organization. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) is no longer a matter of “if and when,” but a priority and a commitment that businesses of all sizes and industries need to make moving forward. Workplaces committed to DE&I are better able to attract top talent, engage their employees, and perform competitively in new markets. McKinsey & Company reports that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
One of the most commonly asked questions when discussing diversity and inclusion is “where do we begin?” Catalyst Connection is partnering with Sustainable Pittsburgh, to utilize and share the “Leading Forward RoadMap.” Created by Sustainable Pittsburgh and its CEOs for Sustainability network, the Roadmap contains a seven-step model for advancing racial and ethnic equity in the workplace. Together our organizations are encouraging other businesses to follow these same principles.
The first step in the Leading Forward Roadmap is to establish an internal strategy team who will lead the effort to advance DE&I throughout your organization. Not only should this team create and implement your DE&I strategy, but they should continue to meet on an on-going basis even after the strategy is put into place.
From there, identifying and engaging stakeholders is key. Who is most likely to be impacted by the work you’re doing to improve your organization’s DE&I efforts? Who will help you take those efforts to the next level? It’s crucial to work with a diverse set of groups such as diverse suppliers and women, minority and veteran-owned businesses. When you partner with other organizations who care about diversity, diverse talent will follow.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) is no longer a matter of “if and when,” but a priority and a commitment that businesses of all sizes and industries need to make moving forward.
Step three is assessing current racial and equity performance. Chances are your organization has a long way to go toward the advancement of DE&I efforts. It’s important to establish where you’ve been in order to get where you’re going. What are the current numbers? What are the benchmarks you can work towards throughout your journey to ensure that progress is being made? Make sure to assess core business operations, including hiring and recruitment, workplace culture and supplier engagement.
Once the current performance is established, step four is creating racial equity goals. How many diverse individuals do you want to hire in the year ahead? What DE&I-specific policies do you want to implement? As your strategy team thinks through these goals, it’s just as important is to identify the risks and opportunities associated with them. Some goals will be more challenging than others, and it’s important to note the challenge level per goal in order to establish the right plan of action to get there.
Exploring and prioritizing actions to achieve racial equity advancement is next. There are many local resources that can be of great assistance along the way who can connect your business with diverse talent and potential partnerships. Some of those organizations include Vibrant Pittsburgh, the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council, Partner4Work, and of course, Catalyst Connection and Sustainable Pittsburgh. The DE&I actions highlighted in Sustainable Pittsburgh's Leading Forward Roadmap intentionally overlap with those that Vibrant Pittsburgh assesses through its Vibrant Index, making it easy for companies to maximize the benefits of engaging with both tools.
Step six is creating an action plan to achieve your racial and ethnic equity goals. The Leading Forward Roadmap will help you map out your goals on paper and the steps required to complete them. This will help keep your organization on track and moving forward.
Finally, it’s time to implement and monitor your DE&I plan. At this stage, you should include every individual within your organization and get them on board to do their part in creating a diverse and inclusive culture. As previously mentioned, your strategy team should continue to meet not only to track against progress, but to consistently discuss any roadblocks and future opportunities. Your DE&I plan should be viewed as a forever-commitment, not just a one-and-done initiative.
Catalyst Connection is proud to partner with Sustainable Pittsburgh in promoting and supporting the Leading Forward Roadmap. In addition to supporting a company’s DE&I strategy, Catalyst Connection can help to implement your strategy with low and no cost training to all of your employees, including those from underrepresented populations. Our Operation Next program is offering no-cost flexible training pathways to upskill or reskill employees returning to work or looking to develop new skills. Additionally, our Training-to-Career Grant is providing funding to develop the Essential Skills for Manufacturing (ESM) entry-level training program which supports the expansion and hiring needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers in southwestern Pennsylvania.
To learn more about these opportunities, visit catalystconnection.org, access the Leading Forward Roadmap, or contact Sustainable Pittsburgh to request more information.