Caregiving responsibilities brought on by school and childcare closures and an increased need to care for sick and elderly family members fell mostly to women. Additionally, women were far more likely than men to be furloughed or terminated altogether.
Black and brown people were also some of the demographics hardest hit by the pandemic, with higher death rates due to disparities in access to healthcare and treatment.
Poverty levels rose significantly during the pandemic, exposing food shortages around the world. Nearly 1 billion people in the world went hungry in 2020, according to the UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
While the global pandemic was devastating millions, another major event of 2020 that I believe will go down in the history books as a tipping point and defining moment in DEI work was the murder of George Floyd. The world watched this unarmed Black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, being murdered at the hands (or in this case, the knee) of a white police officer on May 25, 2020. With much of the world under stay-at-home orders and able to watch the news coverage replay it over and over for weeks, the event sent shockwaves and launched protests reaching all seven continents.
For me and my DEI colleagues who have been in this work for a long time, we felt the sense of urgency like never before. It was as if we had been thrust to the front lines overnight. For years, we had been hoping for senior-level officers to place a greater focus/priority on DEI work because we observed too many companies becoming complacent; reverting to old ways and habits of being exclusionary and oppressive; and showing a blatant disregard for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We saw how divided and polarized the world was becoming, and our hearts were breaking while wondering whether the years of implementing DEI strategies were all in vain.
But nothing could’ve prepared us for how this re-shifting would happen. George Floyd’s murder, along with those of several other unarmed Black people that occurred just a few months earlier (such as Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor in February and March, respectively), received international news coverage. It changed our collective focus and raised the national consciousness to the racial inequalities, biases, and prejudices that have existed throughout history. Immediately following the murder of George Floyd, my firm and many others in DEI consulting were inundated with requests to consult with CEOs, presidents, and public relations and communications directors on crafting both public-facing and internal statements of commitment (and recommitment) to fighting injustices and inequities and creating cultures of inclusion and belonging.
My team and I conducted well over 100 listening sessions, focus groups, and staff town hall meetings within a ten-month period and administered countless inclusion and engagement surveys, DEI audits, and training programs on a range of topics such as DEI fundamentals, implicit bias, how to have courageous and impactful conversations, recruiting and building a diverse pipeline, building cultural competence, and cultivating cultures of inclusion and belonging. And for many of us, the demand hasn’t slowed down.
And I anticipate that it won’t, given the current and impending challenges we face. Leaders around the globe are grappling with the mental toll, the psychological trauma, and the stresses and fatigue felt by workers at all levels. And these effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, the exposed injustices and disparities, and the uncertainty of the economic recovery will be felt for years to come. Additionally, this book is timely and relevant (and, I would add, overdue) with the expected demographic shifts over the next decade, the complexities of working in a global marketplace, the continued advancements in technology that are redefining the way people work, the new kinds of skills that will be needed, and the ongoing war for top talent.
Understanding the History of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Diversity, equity, and inclusion work isn’t new. Human and civil rights movements and laws date back centuries, but understanding the historical context and the many ways that it has evolved over the years is important. This section brings to light the historical societal events that have greatly influenced the diversity, equity, and inclusion shift in the workplace and other institutions.
The Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), and the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) are the foundations of a long history of the fights for human and civil rights. When they were originally translated into policy, they excluded women, people of color, and members of certain social, religious, economic, and political groups. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the 56 members of the United Nations in 1948, establishing human rights standards and norms.
Since then, more historical events have significantly influenced civil and human rights across the world. In turn, they’ve brought about awareness to the importance of diversity and inclusion practices in the workplace and beyond:
1960 — Sharpeville Massacre (South Africa): In Sharpeville, South Africa, police fired on a group of Black people participating in an anti-apartheid demonstration without provocation.
1963 — March on Washington (United States): Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his world-famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. In the speech, Dr. King called for civil and economic rights and an end to segregationist policies and racist acts.
1964 — United States Civil Rights Act (United States): This landmark policy put into law the prohibition of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also banned racial segregation in schools, employment, and public entities and unequal voter registration requirements. This act has been amended to include those with disabilities and the LGBTQ community.
1965 — Executive Order 11246 (United States): This order signed by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson became a key milestone in a series of federal actions aimed at ending racial, religious, and ethnic discrimination. Also known as Affirmative Action, it protects the rights of workers employed by federal contractors to remain free from discrimination on the basis of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin and opens doors of opportunity through its affirmative action provisions.
1965 — United States Voting Rights Act (United States): This law prohibits racial discrimination in voting, as well as acts that prohibit a person’s ability to vote.
1965 — United Kingdom Race Relations Act (United Kingdom): This act was the first kind of legislation in the United Kingdom to ban discrimination on the basis of color, race, and ethnic and national origin.
1969 — Stonewall Riots (United States): In response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn (a gay club in New York City), members of the LGBTQ+ community held a number of violent protests.
1976 — Soweto Uprisings (South Africa): Black schoolchildren held protests in response to the government’s announcement that schooling would take place in Afrikaans, the language based on that of South Africa’s European Dutch settlers.
1987 — publication of Workforce 2000 (United States): Among this book’s predictions was that the future U.S. labor force would include more women and underrepresented groups. Many experts used it as the impetus for creating and making a business case for diversity training.
1994 — Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (United States): This U.S. military policy prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexual people from openly serving in the military. In 2011, this policy