Introduction
The September 2020 Presidential Executive Order on Combating Race or Sexual Stereotyping has all but completely halted diversity training in the government and military sectors. It has also had a chilling effect on the profession. The government argues that the executive order is needed to address unfair and disruptive training that blames and shames staff on the basis of race and gender. In response, many cultural diversity professionals have made a case for the training programs and exercises that challenge assumptions about racial and gender differences.
A white male, for example, won a legal suit against the school district he worked for after experiencing what he felt was a demeaning mandatory diversity training role-play exercise. Research investigating the efficacy of diversity training is inconclusive – mostly due to methodological challenges. Yet, diversity training continues to be widely accepted as an indispensable best practice. A group of corporations recently signed a letter in support of diversity training. They argue that the training is indispensable for managing a diverse workforce.
How did the diversity best practice get here? What are the facts? Will the use of diversity training decline as a result of the attacks or will the experts simply get more clever about how to package and deliver it?
Making sense of it all is not easy. This prompted The Diversity Executive Leadership Academy advisory board to offer three 30-minute interviews on November 19, 2020, to address these and other issues concerning the current controversy concerning the use of diversity training as a tool for achieving inclusion.
Sessions
Interviews Moderator: Jewel Martin, CDP is a retired United States government employee. She is currently working as a recruiter.
Interview #1. Billy Vaughn, PhD
Billy Vaughn Ph.D. is Senior Managing Partner of Diversity Training University International (DTUI.com). He founded the organization in 1998 to develop cultural diversity expertise through credentialing training. He created the first certified diversity professional credentials programs (e.g., the CDP and CDT). The Diversity Executive Leadership Academy is the DTUI.com subsidiary that houses the certification programs and Dr. Billy is the director. He is also an accomplished consultant, trainer, and instructional designer, and has written extensively on cultural diversity training. His assumption is that diversity training serves as an important educational and skill-building tool, but insufficient alone, for developing cultural competence. Clients across sectors have contracted with Dr. Billy for training, organizational assessment, and culture change consulting since 1986.
Interviewer: Pamela Fann CDP CDT is Director of Membership and Diversity Integration for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Interview #2. Howard Ross
Howard J. Ross has had a considerable impact on diversity training practice. His unconscious bias publications and training programs started a global movement. The result is that the best practice is no longer focusing solely on awareness and sensitivity training. Howard is a lifelong social justice advocate, a builder of innovations in the field of diversity and inclusion, and a unifier of people, organizations, and causes. He is the Founder of Cook Ross Inc. and an advisor to major global educational, corporate, philanthropic, and governmental organizations. Through his unique combination of a personal and system-focused approach, Howard is an advocate for high-performing organizational cultures that advance people, performance, and profits. [From LinkedIn]
Interviewer: Juan Meraz, PhD CDP is Assistant Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion at Missouri State University
Interview #3. Mary-Frances Winters
Mary-Frances Winters president and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a 35-year-old organization development and diversity and inclusion consulting firm with an emphasis on ethnic and multicultural issues, truly believes that diversity and inclusion work is her “passion and calling.” Dubbed a thought leader in the field, for the past three decades she has impacted hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals with her thought-provoking message, and her approach to diversity and inclusion. She is the author of six books, including the recent release of Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit and Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity Empathy and Belonging Across Differences.
Interviewer: Kathleen McLean CDP Executive Director of the McLean Group