Here’s How The “Broken Rung” Could Be Affecting Your Promotion Pipeline Part II
In our last blog, we introduced the “Great Breakup” – a major workplace shift occurring across the country as women switch jobs in unprecedented numbers, according to a new report published by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.org. The report sheds light on how women have been underrepresented in leadership for years due to the “broken rung” that prevents women moving up the ranks at the very first step to manager. The fact is that there are a multitude of steps over a period [...]
Here’s How The “Broken Rung” Could Be Affecting Your Promotion Pipeline
There’s a major workplace shift happening in businesses nationwide as women switch jobs in unprecedented numbers, according to a new report published by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.org. In what’s been coined the “Great Breakup,” women are relocating to companies that more align with their values – and the phenomenon is shedding light on the workplace dynamics that are still preventing women from moving up the career ladder. McKinsey’s annual Women in the Workplace report reveals that in 2022, “women leaders are switching [...]
Should Your DEI And Organizational Values Be Aligned? Part II
In our last blog, we introduced how organizations can decide whether DEI and overarching organizational values should be aligned – or if having a separate set of core values is beneficial. We help organizations both establish DEI values or take existing company organizational values and define them from a DEI standpoint. What we’ve found is that there’s no single approach to deciding on core values since all organizations start off at different points in the DEI journey. If your organization opts [...]
Should Your DEI And Organizational Values Be Aligned?
When strategizing a diverse and equitable workplace, a question that often comes up for organizations is whether DEI and overarching organizational values should be aligned – or if there’s merit to having a separate set of core values. Since all organizations begin at different points in the DEI journey, there’s no uniform approach to deciding on core values. A good starting point is to look at how embedded your pre-existing organizational values are to begin with by getting feedback from employees [...]
Orange Grove Consulting Case Study: Access Fund’s JEDI Journey Part II
In our last blog, we introduced non-profit climbing advocacy group Access Fund’s vision and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) journey. In their February 2022 JEDI journey report, Access Fund shares that its vision is to build a community and workplace with a “staff from a multitude of backgrounds” that feel “ respected, valued, heard, and able to fully reach their personal and professional potential. Access Fund began their JEDI journey by conducting their own internal assessments, which included a quantitative aspect [...]
Orange Grove Consulting Case Study: Access Fund’s JEDI Journey
Awareness that a diverse and inclusive workplace is crucial to bottom-line business benefits has spread across the country in recent years. The effective implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has resulted in increased employee satisfaction, greater innovation, and so much more. Organizations that are seeing the tangible, long-term results of DEI initiatives are making a proactive effort to level the playing field. They focus on using objective data to implement solution-based strategies in order to achieve equity in the workplace. One [...]
The Steps that Lead to Promotion Bias
Two weeks ago we talked about how conscious or unconscious biases could be preventing your organization from hiring and promoting leaders. Leaders are struggling to identify the best talent, and making plenty of excuses to defend why women and people of color are not being promoted at the rate of other demographics. One story we hear over and over again is that organizations just aren’t ready for DEI, and that there aren’t enough qualified candidates in their talent pool to get the [...]
Biases Could Be Preventing You From Hiring And Promoting The Best Talent
Conscious or unconscious biases could be preventing your organization from hiring and promoting the best talent. The common cultural stereotype that women are more family-oriented, for example, can negatively affect candidates when being considered for promotion – due to the belief that they will be less committed to their jobs than men or leave their roles completely after they have children. Unfortunately, these biases exist not only in management, but throughout the entire organization. Managing Partner Jodi Detjen’s 2021 research, “Masculinity and [...]
The Missing Step In Your DEI Initiative: Assessments Part II
Two weeks ago we talked about how an assessment may be the missing step in your DEI journey. After all, the three components of an assessment – HR data, employee perceptions, and individual employee experiences – provide a qualitative and quantitative data-driven understanding of your level of workplace inclusion, helping you identify areas to expand on your diversity, equity and inclusion commitments as well as celebrate what is working well. What is the value of these assessments in accomplishing your DEI goals? [...]
The Missing Step In Your DEI Initiative: Assessments
Not sure if your current DEI initiatives are working, or why your diverse talent doesn’t stay? An assessment may be the missing step in your DEI journey. After all, assessments provide a data-driven understanding of how your workplace is currently doing, helping you identify areas to expand on your DEI commitments as well as celebrate what is working well. Measuring the progress of your DEI goals will set your organization up for the bottom-line business benefits that come with an inclusive workplace. [...]
Going Beyond Your D&I Acronym: Part II
Two weeks ago we talked about how focusing on what acronym you use for your inclusion efforts can often be a distraction. Today we are sharing how to impact inclusion through integrating DEI into operational goals. There are a few different ways that your company can integrate DEI strategy to align with overall operational goals. For example, intentionally examining your talent acquisition process to remove bias and unnecessary legacy requirements can have two major advantages: widening the candidate pool and potentially sidelining [...]
Going Beyond Your D&I Acronym: Taking Action In 2022
With the increasing spotlight on diversity and inclusion across the country, the two letters commonly associated with the initiative – D & I – have also seen an evolution. Leaders are opting to expand the language used to represent diversity and inclusion – and the classic acronym has added a few letters. You’ve probably seen acronyms like JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) or DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) making rounds on social media and the HR world lately. The [...]
Inclusion through Pay Equity: Data Analysis & Measurement
Pay equity in the workplace continues to receive focus due to recent legislation and awareness. Driven by national movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, California began requiring employers to file annual equal pay reports in March 2021, while Colorado’s pay transparency bill went into effect in January 2021. Pay equity is a key component of DEI strategy that will fuel a cultural transformation to eliminate workplace bias and improve hiring practices. After all, inclusion can only be achieved once employees feel [...]
The 2022 Top 8 Trends for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Across 2021, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has become more important than ever in the workplace, with HR leaders taking the initiative to drive meaningful change in their organizations. From shifts in office structures to hiring strategy, many businesses are putting DEI in the center of all their efforts. As the DEI landscape continues to evolve, we’re seeing 8 top topics emerge. If you’re looking to kick off the new year by prioritizing DEI, check out these eight trends -for 2022. [...]
We Hire Only the Best and Brightest: The Top 3 Diverse Hiring Practices
Diverse workplaces are the new normal. In fact, nearly half of American millennials say a diverse and inclusive workplace is an important factor in a job search. Though your organization may be familiar with the benefits of a diverse workforce -- from more innovation to better performance -- what’s less clear is how to actually hire for diversity. After all, reading about diversifying talent is not the same as actively assessing and reworking a candidate pipeline. No matter where you’re starting, our approach [...]
The Top Way to Jump Start Your DEI Program
If your organization is like so many others in the last several years, you have made the decision to foster more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Though you may be quick to announce feel-good statements or launch a DEI program right off the bat, these quick-fix solutions typically don’t see any sustainable changes. Where should you start? Assess. If you’re hoping to implement long-term DEI initiatives, the first step should be determining how diverse and inclusive your business already is — and how [...]
I’m Tired Of Walking On Eggshells – Diversity Fatigue: What It Is And How To Avoid It
September 2021 update: We originally published this article in 2018, and thought it was relevant to revisit given the recent spotlight on diversity fatigue. One of the most discouraging things for a Diversity and Inclusion leader to overhear is frustration expressed that including diversity in the workplace is “too hard” or worse, that “we’ve gone too far.” The fervor around systemic racism in recent years, following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police officers, has certainly [...]
The Future Workplace: How to Create Inclusion in Hybrid Work
The future of work is undergoing a significant shift as offices across the country begin to reopen. The pandemic has certainly transformed the way we work, and businesses are embracing a new hybrid work model that combines remote work with on-site collaboration. This paradigm shift is the perfect opportunity for leaders to rethink and reshape culture so that it retains and maximizes diverse talent. As employees return to the office, organizations are choosing to build a hybrid workplace with a human-centered design. It’s [...]
“The Reason Our Tampa Office Gets Along So Well Is Because There’s No Diversity”
The benefits of having a diverse team in the workplace are undeniable, with greater creativity, innovation, and long-term business profits. But without an effective strategy for implementing inclusion, diversity can actually create more conflicts and misunderstandings amongst employees in your company. So how can an organization effectively reach their goal of diversity without taking a toll on their teams? One of the concerns we hear from clients when discussing a workplace diversity strategy is the risk of disrupting the status quo and affecting [...]
The Case for Inclusive Leadership
As the country reopens, businesses are grappling with the lasting impact of the pandemic on the workplace. With the rapidly changing work and home environment, some valuable populations are at risk of being left behind. Many parents are still struggling with daycare scarcity and some remote employees who relocated to the countryside may be unwilling to return to old routines. Implementing an inclusive job-crafting strategy is certainly more important than ever if you want to retain the best talent in the post-pandemic workplace. [...]
“Women Don’t Want To Be Programmers” & Other Myths Designed to Keep Us From Measuring Equity
“Women don’t want to be programmers” and other famous myths that serve as common excuses for not setting and measuring specific diversity goals. There are plenty of myths circling around about why there aren’t more women and people of color in leadership and other male-dominated roles. These excuses may even seem plausible – “That makes sense” – because they confirm common stereotypes about gendered roles and leadership traits. Remember Barbie’s famous 1992 quip, “Math class is tough!” -now a generation of men and [...]
Why We Expanded Diversity
In today’s discourse, some organizations have shifted the focus from gender equity towards a broader view of diversity and inclusion. Corporations are waking up to the call to acknowledge the intersectional identities that people bring to work each day, including race, gender, and sexual orientation. And fortunately, these efforts are complimentary. At Orange Grove Consulting, we have expanded our training programs to incorporate all kinds of diverse individuals. When we first developed our training and development programs, our work focused on the largest [...]
Corporate Anti-Racism: Time to Take Action
By Daffany Chan, featuring Neli Fanning More than ever, corporations across the country are waking up to the call to tackle systemic racism and ensure that their workforces are more diverse and inclusive. But what does a corporate anti-racist strategy actually look like? There’s no one-size-fits all approach, but one thing’s for sure: Anti-racism needs to be an intentional focus. With more demand for equitable communities as well as bottom-line-business benefits at stake, now’s the time to take action to address corporate racism. [...]
Leading Inclusively: It’s All About the 21st Century Leadership Skills
Many organizations implement a diversity program in the hopes of avoiding bad publicity, but wonder why they don’t see long-term change. They hire a VP of Diversity and Inclusion and roll out bias training – now we’re fixed, right? Yet senior leadership still looks the same -other than the VP of Diversity and Inclusion, of course, who usually checks a demographic diversity box in some way. Guess what – that doesn’t fool anyone! What’s missing is a comprehensive plan to remove barriers [...]
Mindset Shift: The First Step To Building An Equitable Workplace
Plenty of organizations want to create an equitable workplace, and yet only 18% of women say their companies have done something. (Interestingly, 51% of men think their companies have made a difference). CEOs often make the mistake of claiming they’ll “prioritize inclusivity” and thinking demanding it is enough to solve the problem. The reality is that lasting organizational impact begins with shifting mindsets. In our new book, The Next Smart Step, we outline the process for making lasting organizational change for women [...]
