Creating Equity in Career and Leadership for Black Women in Corporate America

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March 20, 2023 • 50 mins

Dr. Jim discussed the importance of building equity for Black women in leadership and welcomed a panel of guests to the show. T

The three panelists discussed the role of leadership in advancing black women into leadership roles in sales.

Sertrice Grice has a background in industrial organizational psychology, and is passionate about allyship and inclusive behaviors. She and her business partner recently wrote a book called Inclusalytics and are also creating a training course on allyship .

Dr. Jim asked Grice why it's important to have a data-driven approach to DEI. Grice explained that collecting data and hearing the employee voice is critical in order to drive DEI strategy, before beginning behavior change interventions.

She also emphasized the importance of not just collecting data but also being transparent about it and taking action based on it. This is necessary to avoid the performative space and ensure that employees actually see changes being made.

Wesleyne shared that many leaders have a similarity bias and don't look outside the box, industry, or what they know to find people with innate sales skills. Whitney Goins noted that leaders need to create an inclusive and diverse work environment and empower black women to take on leadership roles.

She suggested that leaders should also provide mentorship, resources, and support to help black women in the sales field. They concluded that leaders should prioritize creating a culture of inclusion and opportunity for black women in sales if they want to create meaningful change in the industry.

Whitnie Goins is a Global DEI Manager for a real estate investment trust company. She has had success in sales and marketing in multiple organizations, but she has always gone beyond the scope of her role to amplify the voices of historically marginalized groups.

When she was working in marketing innovation, she noticed an opportunity to educate their commercial organization on how to approach communications during times of communal trauma and horror. This started her transition into DEI, and she loves her work. Her role involves going into offices and organizations to discuss what can be done better to make people feel like they belong and are treated equitably.

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