How to Be a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador

Everyone’s Role in Helping All Feel Accepted, Engaged, and Valued

Berrett-Koehler, 2022

15 min read

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Learn to become a DEI advocate in your workplace regardless of job title.

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Anyone can play a role in promoting workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to thought leader Celeste R. Warren. She provides employees at all levels with a concise, workable guide to becoming a “diversity ambassador.” While you might find some chapters repetitive, Warren offers something for everyone, outlining tailored action plans for individual contributors, frontline managers, senior executives, chief DEI officers and HR professionals. She argues convincingly that any successful diversity ambassador must be self-aware and emotionally intelligent.

Summary

Everyone in an organization has a role to play in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

When it comes to workplace DEI, many people feel unable to lead change. Those who don’t occupy positions of authority might feel powerless or constrained by leaders. Colleagues might not want to talk about DEI, considering the topic too fraught with personal risk or inappropriate for conversation in a professional setting.

But DEI is here to stay. Around the world, workforces are becoming more diverse with each generation as people become more interconnected, workers migrate across borders and cultures blend. And two trends in business also mean DEI will remain a focal point. First, economic inclusion – the idea that all people should be able to access financial products and services – is becoming more widely accepted, and that means all companies will need to know how they can contribute toward reducing financial inequality. Second, corporate social activism continues to grow in importance, as consumers and employees increasingly insist that companies align with their values.

Despite perceived barriers, any employee, no matter their role or ...

About the Author

Celeste R. Warren is vice president of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence at Merck. For her leadership in global diversity and inclusion, she’s earned recognition as one of Black Enterprise’s “Top Executives in Global Diversity and Inclusion,” Savoy’s “Most Influential Women in Corporate America” and DiversityGlobal’s “Influential Women in Global Diversity.”

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D. D. 6 months ago

Nowadays, it is very important to understand Diviersity and its impact, and how to address these principles to our day to day work. Very Interesting!

Celeste Warren