Racial Justice by Harvard Business Review

Author:Harvard Business Review
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published: 2020-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

1. Make Sure the DE&I Leader Has the Authority to Make Systemic Change.

For years, the standard DE&I playbook has been to hire a CDO with a budget for consultants and enrichment programs. But you can’t build capacity if the problem is not with the diverse talent but with the culture that determines their future. And hiring a consultant to give bias training is fine, but doing anything once cannot change a corporate culture that reinforces itself day after day.

Sweeping overhauls require support from the top that only a CEO can deliver. When White became CEO of Jamba Juice, he went structural in ways most CDOs could never accomplish. When he was hired, all 10 members of the board of directors were white men. White championed two new board members, both women, one African American. White firmly believes that the board’s new range of voices changed the way the company thought about its people and its business. Though White would have led the same way with a less diverse board, he might not have been supported in the same way—which may well have limited his ability to undertake the broad structural changes he accomplished.

DE&I initiatives either need to be led by the CEO, or companies need to empower their CDO with substantial authority. Better yet—the CEO may also serve as CDO; Nielsen’s David Kenny is one example of this approach. The CDO has to have the power to make the kinds of systemic changes we describe below.

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