April 10 Community of Practice Call – Securing and Sustaining Organizational Commitment to DEIA Initiatives

The next C4DISC Community of Practice call will be on April 10, 2025 at 11 am Eastern / 4 pm UK. Time converter link.

The theme this time is Securing and Sustaining Organizational Commitment to DEIA Initiatives.

At our 1 year anniversary call, our COP members said they would like to hear from the community on how others have achieved C-Suite and senior leadership buy in. Not only can it be challenging to present a case, but also to obtain sufficient and sustained leadership engagement and resource. Further, the current climate in the US brings new challenges.

Some questions that may guide group discussions:

• Discuss existing corporate support and implementation challenges:
  1. Many US corporations have publicly committed to DEIA initiatives, often in response to social movements and increasing pressure from employees, consumers, and investors. This includes statements of commitment, the creation of DEIA roles, and the establishment of employee resource groups (ERGs).
  2. Currently, in the US, there is a growing backlash against DEIA, with legal challenges to affirmative action and corporate DEIA programs. This creates a challenging environment for implementation.
• Sharing of committee members’ experiences with organizational buy-in or lack of:
  1. 1. Discuss why initiatives lose momentum and how to maintain them

   

• What are strategies for embedding DEIA principles into standard operations:
  1. Identify key stakeholders needed for successful implementation (who are they, what are their roles, titles)

   

• How do we measure success beyond traditional metrics:
  1. Are there alternative funding models for DEIA initiatives

 

• Are there targeted approaches for increasing leadership buy-in?
  1. 1. Effective communication strategies to demonstrate value beyond financial returns
     2. What accountability measures can be established

   

Participants will have breakout room discussions around any aspect of this topic they wish to bring and we will come together for the last part of the call to hear key takeaways.

If you are a COP member you will receive the Zoom link ahead of the call. If you have not yet joined the COP then – learn more here on how to join the community. We have (usually bimonthly) calls looking at topics suggested by community members and a discussion group for asynchronous communication.

You can find previous DEIA Community of Practice Call Summaries here.