Diversity, equity and inclusion meeting agenda

Introduction

As per a study by Catalyst conducted during the pandemic, it was found that about 45% of women have felt they were not heard during virtual meetings. The stats for other groups like religious minorities, queer people, racial minorities, etc. are even more shocking.

This implies the need for healthy, diverse and inclusive workplaces and in a virtual space, it starts with a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) meeting. 

Have you ever conducted a DEI Meeting? At the end of a diversity and inclusion meeting, you might have a lot of good ideas. But what do you actually do with them? Well, the first meeting should be run by CXOs and management, impact starts from the top. We've put together this list of top five items that should be on your agenda for every DEI meeting to make your company inclusive for everyone.

‍Sharing your DEI vision for the meeting

Having a clear vision is important to communicate it to your employees. Management should come up with Inclusive policies and talk about how one can benefit from them. Here are some things you should include:

• A brief of company policies on DEI. 
• Talk about what diversity and equality means in clear terms.
• Lay out the ways that will be used to deal with offenders.
• Discuss the paths you will take to make the workplace inclusive.
• Are there any special programs or a team managing DEI? Speak about it!

To begin with, it’s important to make everyone feel comfortable and valuable. A company grows only when its people do too. Assure your employees that their voice is heard and their opinions valued (make sure they are). 

Recognizing the unconscious biases we all carry 

Now that the vision is clearly laid out, try to understand what your employees think. We all have conscious and unconscious biases that are rooted deep into social constructs. The first step to break these biases is to know what they are exactly. 

What is an unconscious bias?

• How do we recognize our own biases?
• What can we do to overcome our biases?
• Examples of unconscious biases:

        - "I'm not a sexist, but..." (think: "I don't have any prejudices against people based on their gender/sexual orientation.")

         - "If you're a woman in tech and you have any ideas, I'll listen!" (think: "If I disagree with your idea, it's because I think men are better at this than women." Or even worse: "It's because you're a woman.")

Do a round of questions and ask everyone to talk about a bias of their own. This will start the process of individual introspection and help you hold people accountable for their mistakes.

DEI statement of commitment and goals

The Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) team is a group of people who are dedicated to creating an environment that is welcoming, respectful, and safe for all employees. It welcomes suggestions and criticism from colleagues on how to make the workplace more inclusive.

The D&I team’s core mission is to ensure that every employee has the opportunity to be successful, grow professionally, and have a positive experience in their work environment. D&I goals are:

Diversity and Inclusion – To create a diverse environment that supports diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Inclusivity – To provide an inclusive environment that embraces differences in race, gender identity or expression, protected class status, sexual orientation, age, religion/spirituality, disability or veteran status.

Inquiry – To foster an atmosphere where all employees feel comfortable asking questions about anything related to their employment or professional development opportunities at DEI.

A D&I team should comprise of members from both minorities and the dominant groups to make sure fair decisions are taken.

Everyone shares an idea to further our commitment and goals

If there’s one thing most meetings like, it’s interaction. Take suggestions from employees to make their lives better. Let everyone share an idea to further the commitment and goals, for example, nominate someone to join the committee or make a suggestion for a new goal.

Give people the opportunity to share their ideas. The more people who participate in this process, the better. Inclusion is not just about having diverse groups at meetings; it’s also about including everyone else in your organization so that you can improve how you work together as well!

Discussion of how DEI lives at work 

Talk about what employees should expect when the expect DEI at work. It’s important to make sure you speak of the goals and practices clearly here.

• How does diversity and inclusion live at work?
• What are the challenges, successes and next steps for DEI in your organization?

These are the top 5 things you should include in a diversity & inclusion meeting agenda.

• Share your DEI vision for the meeting.
• Recognize the unconscious biases everyone carries.
• Share your DEI statement of commitment and goals.
• Discuss how diversity & inclusion lives at work, from senior leadership down through every level of your organization to employees who are part of your team or department (and beyond).
• Everyone shares an idea to further our commitment and goals - and you do not just talk about it but actually act on it!

Conclusion

We hope this helps you to create an amazing DEI meeting agenda and an inclusive workplace. Use ‍this as a meeting layout in Meetly or a guide for ensuring DEI!