January 26, 2022

LCLD Diversity News Digest

Customized for LCLD Members and Diversity Professionals, this weekly digest brings the latest, most relevant headlines straight to your inbox each Wednesday. Scroll down for thought-provoking articles about LCLD organizations, diversity in the legal profession, leadership and talent development, and the society we live in and serve.

On the Need for Equity in America

3 Steps to Battle Microaggressions and Improve Workplace Inclusivity

However subtle, behaviors that lead marginalized people to feel devalued must not go unaddressed. Here’s how to reduce or eliminate the various forms of microaggressions in your company.  Inc.

Understanding the White Gaze and How It Impacts Your Workplace

“To create a world, and more specifically a workplace, that is built on equity, understanding the ways that the white gaze shows up is imperative.” Here are a few of those ways—and what leaders can do to combat them.  Janice Gassam Asare for Forbes​

5 Reasons Your DEI Initiatives Implode

From lack of C-suite support and trust to implicit bias and budgeting constraints, DE&I programs get derailed when strategy becomes “a muddled mix of good intentions and poorly communicated goals.”  Fast Company

Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Training for Boards – Not Just a Compliance Exercise

If you want company leadership that is “more culturally competent, empathetic, and self-aware,” then make board DE&I training and education a top priority.  The National Law Review

LCLD Leads on DE&I

How Law Firms Are Leveraging Leadership to Build Positive Cultures and Address Burnout

Here are some programs, ideas, and strategies that Goodwin, Foley & Lardner, Sheppard Mullin, Arent Fox, and Sidley Austin have implemented to address burnout and produce resilient teams and cultures.  Forbes

Arnold & Porter’s Black Equity Certification Plan Gets the Green Light

Arnold & Porter’s plan to achieve equity for Black lawyers and professionals by 2025—which includes “Black representation at every level, employee compensation, and racially just business practices,” among other goals—has been certified by nonprofit organization Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT).  The National Law Review

Attorneys With Disabilities Claim Role in Big Law Diversity Push

Littler Mendelson is latest Big Law firm to launch a disability affinity group, and Reed Smith and Greenberg Traurig recently signed the ABA Pledge for Change: Disability Diversity in the Legal Profession.  Bloomberg Law

Walmart Bolsters Commitment to Black Entrepreneurs

Walmart will provide nearly $3 million in new grants to organizations devoted to supporting Black-owned businesses and uplifting Black entrepreneurs.  Winsight Grocery Business

Freshfields Launches ‘The Returners’ Recruitment Program, Starting in Silicon Valley

In a continuation of the firm’s efforts to diversify its attorney ranks, Freshfields is launching a new recruitment initiative for individuals looking to return to the legal profession after a hiatus.  The Recorder

Leading for Tomorrow

Leadership Training Shouldn’t Just Be for Top Performers

Expanding your company’s leadership training to include often-overlooked employees can help you avoid the “leadership development paradox,” wherein “the individuals who receive the most development are also the ones who arguably need it the least.”  Navio Kwok and Winny Shen for ​Harvard Business Review

How Leaders Can Build Connection in a Disconnected Workplace

In the thick of the Great Resignation—or “Great Disconnection”—here are four practical ways to build stronger relationships within your team, no matter where your employees are based.  Harvard Business Review

Reimagining the Workplace

Communicating Authentically in a Virtual World

Breaking down the nuances of “authenticity” in the workplace, and how inauthenticity can be a useful communication tool when utilized tactfully.  Harvard Business Review

How to Handle Remote-First Work as a New Business Norm

With 67% of white-collar US working remotely at least part of the time, remote-first work is here to stay—and a robust transition requires infrastructural adjustment, from tech to communication.  Inc.

Last week, Barbaros Karaahmet (Herrick, Feinstein LLP), Lisa Tanzi (Microsoft), Joseph Hanna (Goldberg Segalla), and Shaun Clifford (Federal Home Loan Banks) stepped to the Front and published their Leader Pledges.

Want to know more about creating an effective Leader’s Pledge? Sign up for our Virtual March Leadership Summit (LCLD Members only).

See the full list of LCLD Members who have made their commitments public here, and learn more about how you can join the movement here.

If you have questions about the Leaders at the Front initiative, please contact Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Membership and Communications Manager.

Upcoming Events: Members & Diversity Professionals

JANUARY 28  ||  Diversity Professionals + Members
2022 Fellows Nomination Period Closes
2022 Pathfinder Nomination Period Closes

FEBRUARY 16  |  1–2 pm ET  ||  LCLD Community
Language of Leadership Series with Deborah Telman (Organon and Co.)

FEBRUARY 22  |  12–1 pm ET  ||  Diversity Professionals
[ NEW ]  LCLD Virtual Office Hours with Robert Grey, Jr.

MARCH 1  |  11 am–2 pm ET  ||  Members Only
LCLD Virtual Leadership Summit