10 questions to decide – if your firm is still walking the walk or has given into Diversity fatigue.

D&I has become the buzzword of the decade and while many companies have put 1001 commitments to paper, many are dragging their feet towards making actionable change. This has resulted in Diversity fatigue.

“Aubrey Blanche spoke about this idea while working as the Global Head of Diversity and Belonging at Atlassian. “The topic is everywhere and people are tired of talking about it. And much like compassion fatigue, caring hurts. You get frustrated by all this discussion not turning into meaningful action. It’s a fight that takes resources and energy, and it’s hard to stay committed when you’re barely seeing results,” says Blanche. Surely, everyone cares about diversity and inclusion – but few are willing to put in the hard work it takes to make a long-term, impactful change. The issues are complex and can be emotional for many. But Blanche puts it best – “It’s not enough to just care about D&I. Without dedicating time and intention, you’re only reinforcing the pattern of mediocrity in the industry.”

While some companies and candidates may be burnt out on the conversation, it is still something prospective candidates want to know about. While it is important to most candidates it can be overwhelming to discern whether a company is actually making changes internally, or just talking the talk.

So, In honor of Juneteenth, we wanted to make sure we are also walking the walk and have created some questions that candidates can ask their prospective employer to make sure they align with their own personal values.

Internal D&I leaders can also use these questions to help evaluate their own plans, reignite their passion, and push through the diversity fatigue.

1. Does your company have a Diversity Vision & Statement/ Diversity Commitment, is it available on your website, and can I have a copy?
   
   
2. Does your firm host or attend college fairs specifically for minority students? How do you incorporate D&I into your college recruitment strategy? 
   
   
3. Does your firm partner with any MBE-owned brokerages? If not, have you thought about it?
   
   
4. What percentage of your clients are minority-owned?
   
   
5. What percentage of your employees are minorities, and what is the distribution of those employees across different departments?
   
   
6. One thing I really like about this firm is your pledge to give (X%) of your profits to charity, do any of those proceeds go to a charity that supports minorities, and is there a program within the firm that I can join to help volunteer if I’d like to?
   
   
7. Is there a plan in place within the firm to address the pay gap issue? If yes, how much of that plan has gone into effect, and is there a timeline in place for it? 
   
   
8. While meaning well do you think the “colorblind” strategy when recruiting causes more issues than it fixes/ do you think it actually works? What alternative tactics do your recruiters implement that better acknowledge the unconscious biases candidates of color experience during the recruitment process?
   
   
9. Do you feel people of color/ minorities can voice their concerns to their managers and do you feel management takes those concerns seriously?
   
   
10. Overall, what actionable changes has the firm made towards implementing its D&I plan/checklist?

We hope you found these questions useful and while some of them can be uncomfortable to ask; as an industry, we have to get comfortable being uncomfortable to continue forward with incremental progress. We’ve come so far let’s keep going!

From everyone at the Rogan Group we hope you have a restful, productive, and reflective Juneteenth.