Every person should be treated fairly and with dignity.
Staff
March 22, 2023
Birmingham Business Journal
What motivates you to be a difference-maker in the DEI realm?
It’s just the right thing to do. Every person should be treated fairly and with dignity. Beyond that, coming from an economically disadvantaged background and working in a male-dominated field, I have experienced discrimination many times. I remember how those experiences felt, and I don’t want anyone else to experience that. Now that I am in a position to make a difference, I feel it’s a moral imperative to do what I can.
In your career, are there any common missteps or misconceptions you’ve regularly seen for companies looking to improve their diversity and inclusion?
One of the biggest missteps I see is when companies engage in “diversity washing.” This means that they hire people from underrepresented or historically excluded groups to make it appear that they are improving diversity, but these employees are given low-level, low-impact, low-paying roles. These companies sometimes also appropriate DEI language without implementing policy changes within their organizations to create real change. In order to make real change, it’s important to hire people from diverse backgrounds at all levels of the organization, at all pay levels — from entry-level to C-suite — and ensure their voices are centered in company conversations. Real change means we must implement real, impactful systemic changes.
What’s a best practice for diversity and inclusion efforts that you would like to see more companies implement?
Making intentional steps towards creating more inclusive hiring practices. This means assessing the diversity of companies’ candidate pools. If candidates from all demographic groups are not applying to your roles, it’s time to review your hiring practices. This could mean anything from creating a culture of belonging, evaluating job postings for inclusive language, hiring where candidates are, and checking internal biases, among other steps.
In your view, what is the biggest opportunity for metro Birmingham and/or its economy when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
Birmingham is an incredibly diverse city with a history at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. Celebrating the diversity of our community and continuing the advance civil rights will allow us to enact real economic growth. Lifting up historically excluded groups within our community and creating more inclusive opportunities will benefit the entire community.
How do we get more Birmingham executives to buy into keeping DEI in the forefront?
We need to keep the conversation going and help executives see that not only is DEI the right thing to do, but that it has a documented positive impact on business and our economy. A number of studies have shown that embracing meaningful DEI efforts lead to higher profits, more innovation, increased sales revenue, and increased customer satisfaction. Well-executed DEI efforts are a net benefit to the business, with no real downside. What are we waiting for?
Are you confident commitments to diversity and inclusion will lead to significant change?
We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go to move the needle. “Diversity washed”, PR-focused efforts won’t result in change. Defunding these efforts when they’re not as exciting won’t result in change. But when DEI efforts focus on making meaningful, significant systemic change, they will be successful. The most successful commitments are those that recognize the social and individual harms caused by systemically excluding demographic groups, and get serious about eradicating harmful policy.
What is Birmingham doing right regarding diversity?
We have an amazing number of programs and organizations in Birmingham geared specifically towards improving economic outcomes for historically excluded groups: Bronze Valley, Prosper, and Magic City Match just to name a few. Private companies are getting serious about making progress with DEI efforts. Let’s keep that effort going!
What does Birmingham need to improve on when it comes to diversity?
Every company and organization in Birmingham should have a real DEI commitment and get serious about making systemic change. CEOs need to be actively and enthusiastically involved in all DEI efforts, pushing the ball forward on making change. A rising tide lifts all boats, and it’s imperative that we support every member of our community if we want Birmingham to prosper.
We should also continue facing our past and talking openly about the ways that systems have historically disadvantaged some people in order to give advantages to other people. These systems were created to intentionally uphold the status quo by causing direct or indirect harm, and many of them are still in place today. We should continue to examine these systems and dismantle harmful policies, laws, or cultural attitudes that lead to exclusion.