5 Things / Everybody In
This week the U.S. Congress passed a significant and transformative climate bill that President Biden is expected to sign. Among many other things, the law will provide many incentives for shifts to clean energy, including rebates for car buyers.
I found this timely when I read how GM connects the dots between diversity, equity, and inclusion and its goal to be an electric vehicle leader. Telva McGruder, chief diversity, inclusion, and equity officer at GM, shared:
“Our tagline, ‘Everybody in,’ means that we are designing vehicles that will be able to accommodate people regardless of their level of income. So vehicles from low- to high-income price points. It also means people who purchase electric vehicles are going to have the ability to charge them wherever they are, regardless of location…We're also thinking about the impact on the electrical grid, making sure that communities that are typically underrepresented or under-considered when major infrastructure plans are made are indeed represented.”
A holistic approach to DEI is deep and robust and hard work. But wow, when it’s thoughtful, what a difference it can make in the lives of others – literally in the lives of Black and brown communities. That’s what matters. Read that whole article above about GM – they’re doing some fantastic stuff with DEI.
Here are other good vibes I found this week:
2. Private equity giant Carlyle thinks it’s found the formula for incentivizing diversity work
Carlyle Group is incentivizing diversity with DEI Incentive Awards. The event recognizes (and pays) employees who have contributed significantly to the company’s DEI efforts, where employees nominate their peers to earn the awards. In the program’s second year, the number of nominees and employee engagement scores went up, and DEI has become increasingly embedded in the company’s operations. The article details Caryle’s impressive process and results. This matters because we’ll take buy-in any way we can get it.
3. Taco Bell has a unique strategy to improve its frontline ... a six-week program aimed at helping store workers move up the ranks.
I care deeply about the experience of front-line employees, so it’s heartening to read how Taco Bell is investing in them. Taco Bell has created a program to help employees move up the ranks to store managers and, ultimately, franchise owners. The program includes free college tuition, scholarships, and new business school training. This matters because front-line employees are disproportionately BIPOC and often undervalued and underappreciated. Programs like these can chip away at the racial wealth gap.
4. LinkedIn has added nudges to its hiring platform to prompt recruiters to consider diversity.
Notifications tell recruiters if gender representation in a given talent pool is unbalanced. The recruiter then receives recommendations of Skills, Locations, and Companies filters to add to the search to improve the gender balance. This matters because the nudge interrupts the unconscious bias that may prevent a recruiter from considering this independently . Fundamentally, it can increase gender diversity.
5. Gender neutral ‘Mx.’ prefix option added to the Disney experience.
I’m going to Disney with my family next week and was playing around with the app. I went to update my son’s profile and saw the list of title options: Mr., Ms., Mrs., Mx… Wait? Mx! That’s a gender-free title/honorific, and I love that Disney included it as an option. This matters because more than two genders exist in this world, and their offer provides an opportunity to help everyone feel seen.
Listen here:
Watch here: