Anna Taylor (Speaker) West Coast DEI Lead, VMLY&R Demographic transference within organizations is shifting and there will continue to be an upsurge of more diverse and inclusive organizations as they outperform homogeneous organizations. But this is a slow progression, where can we start making organizational transformation now? We can start from the bottom; employees have more power than they may realize, to affect change. And although this may seem like a daunting call-to-action, employees have the power irrespective of budget or team size, to make an indelible impact on organizational change. Like many effectual grassroots movements, employees have the ability to create a new model that renders the existing model obsolete and lead the evolution of organizational transformation.

1. IMAGINING DIVERSE, EQUITABLE & INCLUSIVE WORKSPACES
HOW EMPLOYEES DRIVE CHANGE

2. 01 Change is Hard
02 Where to Begin
03 Change Agents: What’s Your Role?
04 Leading Your Revolution
05 Workplace of the Future: Space for Everyone
AGENDA

3. NOT EVERY LEADER HAS A DIRECT PATH TO DEI WORK

4. -Audre Lorde
" When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard or
welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is
better to speak.”
CHANGE IS HARD

5. Factors such as status quo bias (a preference for keeping things the same) and loss aversion (the
tendency to prefer avoiding losses more strongly than acquiring gains) interact to stack the odds
against employees acting very differently for very long.
WHY CREATING CHANGE IS HARD

6. We need to go beyond a general passion for social
justice or the chance to drive shareholder value, teams
looking to find a more specific why can connect DEI
efforts back to the company mission. At VMLY&R, we
resist the usual ways of seeing, thinking and doing. We
question everything, using data and insights to
reimagine the entire connected consumer experience.
From this, we create work that brings brands closer to
customers, customers closer to communities, and
communities closer to the wider world. And to state the
obvious, the teams that we serve around the world are
really diverse. So we can’t serve our customers and sell
them amazing solutions if we can’t figure that out on the
inside first. We need to look like the teams we’re
serving. We have to get it right if we’re serious about
achieving our company mission.
HOW DO WE
EFFECTIVELY MOVE
PEOPLE OUT OF THE
COMFORT ZONE?

7. -Margaret Mead
WHERE TO BEGIN
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

8. Assess the current state to understand where the organization is starting
from as it begins the change process. What are the organization's strengths?
What are its barriers to change? Are employees ready and willing to embrace
the change and adopt new behaviors?
Assessing the current state can also identify employees who can serve as
advocates for why the change is needed. Teams that are already embracing
change can provide best practice examples to other groups. And employees
and key stakeholders who openly express the need for change during this
phase are more likely to support the change when it occurs.
ASSESS THE CURRENT STATE

9. Paint a clear, compelling picture of the future state and explain why change
is necessary. Employees are more motivated to change if leaders can give
them hope and inspiration. The team needs to envision the change and
understand how their efforts will contribute to achieving it.
The second step involves creating and communicating a strong, compelling
vision of the future. A process such as collaborative inquiry -- where
individuals in teams are all active participants in researching and developing
the future vision -- or other similar processes can help employees "own" the
destination.
PAINT A CLEAR, COMPELLING PICTURE OF THE FUTURE STATE

10. CREATE A PLAN OF ACTION TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE
CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE
FIND YOUR PEOPLE AMPLIFY VOICES MAKE MOVES

11. LADDER ACTIVITIES & COMMS TO AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR

12. ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH

13. BLACK HISTORY MONTH

14. WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

15. -Angela Y. Davis
CHANGE AGENTS: WHAT’S YOUR ROLE?
“In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-
racist.”

16. • Own the development and drive the implementation of the DEI strategy
• Deeply understand the needs of employee, prospective employee and partner communities
• Serve as influential leaders, change agents, external influencers and internal consultants to implement
effective and innovative solutions that deliver meaningful results
• Build strong relationships with senior business and talent leaders, partnering to launch initiatives and
provide insights, resources and tools that increase representational diversity across the company that
foster an environment where employees are respected and celebrated for who they are
• Develop awareness of DEI and a communication strategy that will keep team members informed about
our strategy, goals, initiatives and progress plan
• Advise on local priorities as they relate to DEI team’s priorities
• Partner with senior leadership to prioritize key initiatives, understand the local context and create
relationships/partnerships within the community
• Work with employees to integrate internal communities (i.e., women’s, LGBTQ and PoC alliances) into
overall DEI strategy to leverage their power of connection, community and engagement to achieve goals
and foster the growth of additional communities within the company
YOUR DEI TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

17. LEADING YOUR REVOLUTION
”No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed."
-Billie Jean King

18. 1. ANALYTICAL: One approach to reduce bias in recruitment is to define scoring criteria for
each candidate and use an algorithm rather than human judgement to make decisions
based on the criteria (horizontal scoring) .
2. DEBATE: One effective way to identify bias in decision making is to institute a “pre-
mortem” by asking people to imagine what could go wrong if a particular decision is taken.
Another technique is to nominate an individual to act as devil’s advocate and challenge
assumptions behind decisions, such as implicit stereotypes.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL: Companies can create a decision challenge team.
CHANGING PROCESSES & STRUCTURES TO REDUCE BIAS IN
DECISION MAKING
Source: Diversity Matters, McKinsey 2015

19. 1. PEERS: HIGHLIGHTING THE POSITIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF PEERS: This has been shown to
be one of the most effective ways to influence people. A company could use internal
statistics from other departments or business units that are more advanced in achieving DEI
goals, as well as external data on highly regarded competitors.
2. REFLEXES: PRIME PEOPLE WITH IMAGES & WORDS THAT DISCOURAGE BIASES:
Companies can use priming techniques strategically to reduce bias, for example by
displaying pictures of powerful & well-known women in traditionally male-dominated
workspaces.
3. ORIGIN: MAKE SURE THAT DIVERSITY MESSAGES COME FROM TRUSTED OPINION
LEADERS: Within the organization, whether they are line workers or managers, rather than
from a diversity group that may be seen as an outsider.
APPLYING BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS PRINICPLES TO DEI
EFFORTS
Source: Diversity Matters, McKinsey 2015

20. To really get a feel for the company’s culture and inclusiveness, you can’t rely on potential red flags to
just reveal themselves. Ask intentional questions, too. Here are a few to get you started — and FYI,
these questions should be a green flag to a really inclusive employer that you’ll be a fully
participatory, company-minded employee.
• How do you create an inclusive environment?
• What are your core values?
• Do people at this company ever include their pronouns when they introduce themselves? How
might they react if I included mine?
• Do you have any employee resource groups? What are they doing to make a difference here?
• How do you make people feel included in meetings? What happens when someone gets
interrupted?
More than any single answer, though, the most important thing to listen to is your gut. If something
feels off, even if you can’t put your finger on exactly what or why, trust your instincts.
LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB?
QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING YOUR INTERVIEW

21. WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE: SPACE FOR EVERYONE
”Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is
the key to growth."
-Jesse Jackson

22. THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY TO THE INCOMING
GEN Z WORKFORCE
"Gen Z consumers are mostly well educated about brands
and the realities behind them. When they are not, they know
how to access information and develop a point of view
quickly. If a brand advertises diversity but lacks diversity
within its own ranks, for example, that contradiction will be
noticed."
McKinsey , November 2018

23. For the first time in the modern age, we have five generations
present in the workplace. From the Traditionalists born before 1945 all
the way up until Gen Z, the generational diversity present in most
companies can create a wide range of challenges.
Having a multigenerational workforce can, and should, be a distinct
advantage for companies today. The wide range of ideas and
knowledge from a broad group of people can actually serve the
company well, and help employees excel in their work.
Forbes, 2017

25. Flexible + prepared
Thoughtful about what they want
More “traditional”
Human element
In-person communication
Worries: skills being underutilized
+ not advancing fast enough
Feedback is a driver
Stepping up to leadership
Connection more frequent
Motivation of belonging
Meritocracy-driven
Worries: building confidence in
“soft skills”
How you learned will NOT be
how they learn
Share interpersonal + leadership
lessons (tell stories don’t talk at)
Shift priorities from bottom line to
experiences, environment, society
Shift to talent-driven strategy
(people allocation is as powerful
as financial allocation)
MULTIGENERATIONAL EMPLOYEE TRAITS & COLLABORATION
X+B ZY

26. KEY FOCUS AREAS
• Lead through complexity & ambiguity
• Lead through influence
• Manage employees remotely
• Creativity & problem solving
• Socially & emotionally intelligent (i.e., sensitivity, patience, cooperation, tact)
• Novel/adaptive thinking
• Sense-making, work to understand & build insights
• Teach employees how to be generalists
• Give employees choice in their career journey
DEVELOPING MILLENNIALS TO ATTRACT GEN Z

27. THE CASE FOR INCLUSIVE CULTURE,
INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONS OUTPERFORM:

28. THE CASE FOR INCLUSIVE CULTURE,
INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONS ARE:

29. Companies invest a lot in the external branding piece of DEI, but that
needs to be coupled with making sure the folks who are already in
your organization are brand advocates. The whisper network is real
and it has a huge impact. Creating a great environment is an
incredible recruiting tool that’s often underutilized. Make everyone
want to stay and eager to recruit others. When you’ve built a culture of
inclusion where people feel they belong, you can get an overshare of
that underrepresented talent.

30. THOUGHT STARTERS
OFFICE AND COMMUNITY WAYS OF WORKING
• Reminding people about biases at key moments, such as
before reviews & interviews.
• Hire for passion, train for skills
• Create multigenerational teams to maximize collective
strengths
• Add diversity requirements in RFP selections
• Invite coworkers outside your team to coffee or lunch
• Invite a diverse group to initial RFP brainstorming
sessions
• Feed your knowledgebase with diverse media
• Attend community events that you where you have the
opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds
• Have an open and transparent culture so everyone feels
comfortable sharing the good, bad, and the ugly.
• Long-term goal should be each office reflect the diversity
of the communities they’re in. And that looks different in
different places
• Invite younger coworkers to offer input in ongoing projects
• Seek feedback from more experienced coworkers
• Practice mentorship in the moment. We can all learn from
each other
• Allow employees to work from home
• Provide employees with milestones and feedback
• Fostering empathy and taking the side of the minority
group by constantly asking, “How would I feel in this
situation?”
• When someone is recognized for an idea that someone else
put forward earlier in the meeting, point out who shared the
idea originally
• Celebrate employee differences
• Listen to employees – surveys, townhalls, 1:1 check-ins
• Hold more effective & inclusive meetings
• Provide learning resources for employees such as a DEI
newsletter, local cultural events, or a small culture library

31. 1. Beyond Small Talk- New Year’s Resolution: Conduct a Passiveness Audit, Julie Pham
2. Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture, ProInspire
3. Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization, Crossroads Ministry
4. Confronting Racism is Not About the Needs and Feelings of White People, Ijeoma Oluo
5. White Supremacy Culture, Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones
6. Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change, Jennifer Brown
7. 2019 SHE Index
8. Good Faith Recruiting Efforts
9. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/measuring-what-matters-gender-diversity.aspx
10. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2019/fixing-the-flawed-approach-to-diversity.aspx
11. https://qz.com/781404/women-at-the-white-house-have-started-using-the-simple-trick-of-amplification-to-get-heard-not-interrupted/
12. https://blackcensus.org/
13. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236528/why-creating-organizational-change-hard.aspx
14. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4209_Diversity-and-inclusion-revolution/DI_Diversity-and-inclusion-revolution.pdf
15. https://medium.com/diversity-together/70-inclusive-language-principles-that-will-make-you-a-more-successful-recruiter-part-1-79b7342a0923
16. https://medium.com/diversity-together/70-inclusive-language-principles-that-will-make-you-a-more-successful-recruiter-part-2-eb0f5e4f6e80
17. https://www.thefemalequotient.com/the-modern-guide/
18. https://www.thefemalequotient.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MGTE-6.pdf
19. https://www.ellevest.com/magazine/career/company-culture-red-flags
20. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0418/pages/6-steps-for-building-an-inclusive-workplace.aspx
21. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/started-from-bottom-now-were-here-whole-team-taylor-she-her-hers-/
22. https://firstround.com/review/eight-ways-to-make-your-dandi-efforts-less-talk-and-more-walk/
23. https://www.nonprofitleadershipalliance.org/dei-resource-library
24. https://firstround.com/review/eight-ways-to-make-your-dandi-efforts-less-talk-and-more-walk/
25. https://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ec_whiteracialidentity_english.pdf
26. https://www.bustle.com/p/10-books-about-race-to-read-instead-of-asking-a-person-of-color-to-explain-things-to-you-8548796
27. https://www.racialequityinstitute.com/resources-links/
28. https://oeop.larc.nasa.gov/ergs/guidance-for-developing-effective-employee-resource-groups-ergs/
29. https://www.talent-champions.com/
30. The 1619 Project: https://pulitzercenter.org/sites/default/files/full_issue_of_the_1619_project.pdf
31. The 1619 Project Reading Guide: https://pulitzercenter.org/sites/default/files/reading_guide_for_the_1619_project_essays.pdf
32. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-to-change-uncovering-true-stories-diversity-inclusion/id1208603357
SOURCES & RESOURCES:

32. THANK YOU