Arthur Woods: Operationalizing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to Drive Impact

On episode 21, we dive deep with social entrepreneur Arthur Woods to explore all things diversity, equity and inclusion and how this triad comes to life operationally in today’s organizations. Arthur works at the intersection of equity, inclusion and technology and was named as Forbes 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 by BEQ. He is the author of Hiring for Diversity, a three-times TEDx speaker and has advised leading brands from Disney, Sonos and MetLife to the Smithsonian (with a background at Google). Most recently, he is the Co-Founder of Mathison, a talent marketplace helping employers recruit and retain professionals from underrepresented communities globally. 

While evidence from McKinsey shows a strong and consistent case for diversity and profitability, the question still remains -- how do today’s leaders operationalize DEI and move from intent to impact? It’s not enough to simply hire for diversity or build solutions at the organizational level. The truth is, to build inclusive systems and culture where everyone feels empowered to be themselves and show up fully, leaders must rise to the occasion and commit to both a mindset and behavior change. When leaders change, everything changes -- everything from redesigning the hiring process to be more equitable to enabling members of our most underrepresented communities to discern which organizations they choose to work for (and from there, holding their leaders accountable to act on their inclusive promise).

Speaking from personal experience, Arthur embodies his own call to action -- to empower not just leaders, but also job seekers to demand the inclusivity they wish to see in the workforce.

In this episode, we cover wide ranging topics:

• What “forced innovation” looked like in 2020 and the potential it has to integrate with inclusive leadership 

• Unpacking the triad of diversity, equity and inclusion and which one currently presents the greatest challenge

• The vision (and business model) of Mathison to diversify hiring through the Equality Hiring Index and reinvest profits in our most underrepresented communities 

• What a healthy DEI culture looks like, and why real change starts at the level of leadership 

• A call to action for leaders and job seekers in 2021

More about the show: https://www.digseedgrow.com/thealtnormal-podcast

Produced by Resonance™, the creative practice of Dig | Seed | Grow

This show is hosted at Destination Outpost, a coliving and coworking community based out in Bali.