Are companies walking their diversity talk?

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the worldwide social justice protests that followed, businesses acted swiftly to pledge change for their BAME workers. Nearly everyone wanted to post a black square on their corporate Instagram feed - but what real action has been taken? And is there anything you can do to speed up change in your own workplace? 

In this episode Isabel talks to Taylor Nicole Rogers, the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, and Working It regular, to get a snapshot of where corporate America stands on diversity, equity and inclusion. She talks about her own workplace experience as a Black woman - and the toll of ‘code switching’ - changing the way you talk, act or dress - to fit in with white corporate culture.

Plus, Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, a huge human capital management company, on what US payroll and employment data can tell us about progress on diversity at work. 

Want to read more? 

Taylor Nicole Rogers on why Black American workers need economic reform https://www.ft.com/content/377a163d-fdbf-4f11-bb4a-e26465f8c2aa

Pilita Clark on why minority staff want to spend more time working from home https://www.ft.com/content/0049bea8-2d5a-42f4-9ac6-cc79402a7bb9

The evolution of the chief diversity officer - and the problems of embedding diversity right across workplaces, by Emma Jacobs https://www.ft.com/content/6eac296d-acf6-4b41-9349-dc9723212914

ADP’s Nela Richardson on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nela-richardson-59813613/

Employers shift focus from education to skills - featuring LinkedIn’s programmes  https://www.ft.com/content/4e610474-9c93-4e47-a042-915d2222cc4b

We love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle in 2022? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter 

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Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Renée Kaplan. Assistant producer is Persis Love. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. Produced by Novel.

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