Diversity & Inclusion

Tobi Young - November 24, 2020 - 247 views

I’m blond and fair-skinned—and I’m a proud Chickasaw Indian. You can imagine the collision of assumptions I’ve encountered throughout my life. And truth be told, I’ve also grappled with my own. At a time when unwarranted assumptions about others seem as ingrained in our culture as ever, the workplace is ground zero for having difficult […]

In our divided and socially-distanced COVID age, leadership has never been more important. But effective leadership for these times is as difficult to find as it is to define. Is it an iron-fisted presence that commands respect? Deft negotiating to topple opposition? An irresistible influence to sway crowds? In our experience, the best leaders are […]

Roger Nii Lante Plange - October 23, 2020 - 586 views

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is one of the oldest idioms, yet we often assess our peers based on what we think and see of them, rather than what we know and learn about them. UK Black History Month gives us all a chance to get past that, to celebrate Black contributions. Here […]

Alagappan Veerappan - October 14, 2020 - 374 views

[This blog was written by the author and his 17-year-old daughter.]  My priorities have always been my work and my family. This summer, my daughter’s entry in a drawing competition on racial injustice changed that perspective for me, maybe forever. I was inspired by what was going on around me. We live in the Twin […]

Margaret Schweer - October 7, 2020 - 749 views

Intensified by the global pandemic, a sense of belonging has become a pressing organizational priority.  Work routines have been upended for leaders and employees alike – office shutdowns, remote work, extended work hours, and furloughs and layoffs. Given the prolonged nature of the disruption, what does it mean to “belong at work” during a sustained […]

If Black hair could speak, it would tell a tale of comedy, romance and horror. Hair is an opportunity to express personality and style. Yet as Black women, we learn that our hair isn’t a matter of whimsical choice but of strategic management. While this issue also affects Black men, it’s a particular pain point […]

Irene Sandler - September 22, 2020 - 899 views

On a cold and cloudy January day in Portland, Oregon, I gave birth at home to my first child, a boy. He was perfect, and perfectly healthy, with all fingers and all toes, just as we had wished. We named him Isaac, which means, “he laughs.” And so did the universe. By six months, it […]

Meganne Franks - September 14, 2020 - 867 views

There’s a reason racial gaslighting is so widely talked about: It’s everywhere, especially the workplace. Gaslighting is a covert form of undermining others so that they doubt what they experience, see or feel. Racial gaslighting spurs self-doubt about racist experiences. It often subtly shifts the dialog from the topic at hand to the speaker and […]

Noe A. Gutierrez - September 10, 2020 - 399 views

Diversity has always mattered to me. But back in 2014, I was one of very few Hispanics working at Cognizant. As a friend and I brainstormed about ways for more diverse talent to find their way to the company, he suggested I join the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC), a professional association for senior business […]

Lance Moncrieffe - August 13, 2020 - 708 views

I’m convinced that the boundaries between us are not our cultural differences at all. What really divides us are the walls of misunderstanding about our differences – and the actions we take based on those misunderstandings.  I can recall with unfortunate clarity the close of my first full year in the workforce: Disbelief. Frustration. Fear. […]