Courageous Conversations
Working Together: Practicing the Science of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
October 10, 2024
Presented by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’s Courageous Conversations Speaker Series in collaboration with the Haskayne School of Business.
Mikki Hebl (left) and Eden King (right)
The recent movements, such as #BLM and #MeToo, have brought to light the deep-rooted biases that affect various aspects of life, including the workplace. Events such as the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, xenophobic acts against Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sexual misconduct cases involving figures like Harvey Weinstein, underscore that discrimination and victimization often happen within professional environments. This raises an essential question: What systemic issues in the American workplace allow these incidents to occur, and how can leaders foster meaningful change?
This talk is timely, as organizational leaders are now more than ever responsible for creating strategies that support equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Drs. Hebl and King will share insights from their recent book, blending real-world case studies with extensive research to help leaders understand the imperative of EDI, identify obstacles within themselves and their organizations, and outline effective strategies for promoting lasting positive change.
In their presentation, Drs. Hebl and King will delve into the scientific basis for the importance of EDI in organizations. They will discuss demographic trends expected in the U.S. and the various forms of discrimination that people with stigmatized identities encounter. The talk will highlight best practices for EDI throughout the employment cycle, from attracting and selecting employees to retaining them. Their research spans a broad spectrum, addressing issues related to race, gender, sexual orientation, weight, religion, neurodiversity, pregnancy, medical conditions, and age.
Resources
- Hebl, Mikki, and Eden King, Working Together: Practicing the Science of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (New York, 2024; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Feb. 2024), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197744383.001.0001
- Cook, K. S., & Hegtvedt, K. A. (1983). Distributive justice, equity, and equality. Annual Review of Sociology, 9(1), 217–241 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.09.080183.001245
- Shore, L. M., Randel, A. E., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., & San Diego State University. (2011). Inclusion and Diversity in Work Groups: A review and Model for Future research. In Journal of Management (Vols. 37–37, Issue 4, pp. 1262–1289). https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385943
- Carr, E. W., Reece, A., Kellerman, G. R., & Robichaux, A. (2019, December 16). The value of belonging at work. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2019/12/the-value-of-belonging-at-work
- Twaronite K. The Surprising Power of Simply Asking Coworkers How They’re Doing. Published March 21, 2019. https://hbr.org/2019/02/the-surprising-power-of-simply-asking-coworkers-how-theyre-doing
- Sherbin L, Rashid R. Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion. Published August 27, 2021. https://hbr.org/2017/02/diversity-doesnt-stick-without-inclusion
- Phillips, K. W., Dumas, T. L., & Rothbard, N. P. (2018, March–April). Diversity and authenticity. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/03/diversity-and-authenticity
- Lim, K., & Zabek, M. (2021, October). Women’s labor force exits during COVID-19: Differences by motherhood, race, and ethnicity. Federal Reserve Board. https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/womens-labor-force-exits-during-covid-19-differences-by-motherhood-race-and-ethnicity.htm
- Miller, C. C., Quealy, K., & Sanger-Katz, M. (2018, April 24). The top jobs where women are outnumbered by men named John. The New York Times.
- Barragan, J. (2022, June 24). In Roe decision, Justice Clarence Thomas invites new legal challenges to contraception and same-sex marriage rights. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/24/roe-wade-clarence-thomas-contraception-same-sex-marriage
- Georgeac, O., & Rattan, A. (2022, June 15). Stop making the business case for diversity. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2022/06/stop-making-the-business-case-for-diversity
- Todd, S. (2021, July 29). Is McKinsey wrong about the financial benefits of diversity? Quartz at Work. https://qz.com/work/2038103/is-mckinsey-wrong-about-the-financial-benefits-of-diversity
- Phillips, K. (2014, October 1). How diversity makes us smarter. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter
- Zheng, L. (2019, July 24). The business case for diversity is a sinking ship. https://lilyzheng.co/the-business-case-for-diversity-is-a-sinking-ship
- Todd, S. (2021, July 29). Is McKinsey wrong about the financial benefits of diversity? Quartz at Work. https://qz.com/work/2038103/is-mckinsey-wrong-about-the-financial-benefits-of-diversity
Dr. Mikki Hebl
Dr. Mikki Hebl is the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Professor of Psychological Sciences with an additional appointment in the Jones Business School. Her research primarily focuses on workplace discrimination and explores how individuals and organizations can remediate such discrimination and successfully optimize diversity.
Dr. Hebl has an impressive body of work, including approximately 200 publications, and has been recognized with 21 teaching awards, including the prestigious National Cherry Award. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Hebl has also received several gender-related research awards, such as the Academy of Management’s Sage Award in 2014 for lifetime achievement in advancing knowledge of gender and diversity in organizations. In 2018, she was honored as the Woman in Academia with the Outstanding Career Award from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland business school.
Dr. Hebl graduated with a B.A. from Smith College and earned her Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.
Dr. Eden King
Dr. Eden King is the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University, where she leads a research program aimed at promoting equitable and effective management in diverse organizations. Her extensive research portfolio includes over 100 scholarly publications and has been highlighted in prominent media outlets such as the New York Times, Good Morning America, and Harvard Business Review.
Dr. King's research focuses on three key areas: current manifestations of discrimination and barriers to work-life balance in organizations, the consequences of these challenges for affected individuals and their workplaces, and strategies for reducing discrimination and enhancing support for families, both at the individual and organizational levels.
Beyond her academic contributions, Dr. King collaborates with various organizations to improve their diversity climate, enhance fairness in selection systems, and develop and implement diversity training programs. She has also held leadership roles, including serving as President of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and co-editor of the Journal of Business and Psychology.
Dr. Malinda S. Smith
Dr. Malinda S. Smith (she/her) is the inaugural Vice Provost and Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and a full professor of political science at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining the UCalgary she was a full professor of political science at the University of Alberta, where she held various roles including Provost Fellow (EDI Policy) in the Office of the Provost, and Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) in the Department of Political Science.
Dr. Smith has served on numerous higher education governance committees, including as Vice President (Equity Issues) for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and as Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion External Review Committee for the Canada Research Chairs. Currently, she serves on SSHRC Governing Council and Executive; as Vice Chair of the Inter-Institutional Advisory Committee for the Scarborough Charter, on Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Statistics Advisory Committee; and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s External EDI Advisory Board.
Dr. Smith is the coauthor, editor, or coeditor of 7 books, numerous articles, book chapters and reports and has given dozens of invited keynotes and public lectures in the areas of equity, diversity, human rights, and decolonization in higher education, African political economy, and international relations. Dr. Smith is the coauthor of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (2017); coeditor of Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics (OUP 2023); the Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy (UofT Press, 2022); States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century (BTL 2010). and three books on Africa, including Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism (2010).
Dr. Smith is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including Calgary Black Chambers’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Simon Fraser University (2021), Compelling Calgarians (2021), the International Studies Association’s Women’s Caucus’s Susan S. Northcutt Award (2020), 100 Accomplished Black Women Honouree (2020), the ISA-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), P.E. Trudeau Foundation Fellow (2018), the HSBC Community Contributor of the Year Award (2016); and the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ Equity Award (2015).