Last May 11, 2023, I attended the third Weekly with JC Leadership and HR Series Fireside Chat, entitled “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: A Blueprint for a Better Workplace”. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are closely related values that are now being given much attention by many organizations that seek to provide equal opportunities to their people. As companies strive for progress, experts declare that DEI can help strengthen organizations.
The first speaker, Junie Del Mundo—Chief Executive Officer of EON Group, shared that his company is promoting DEI and believes that it fuels innovation and promotes creativity. He cited that embracing sexual orientation and gender identity expression (SOGIE) is integral to cultivating a flourishing work environment that empowers every individual to excel. They have proactively implemented a policy that fosters an unbiased recruitment and hiring process, ensuring that they acquire top talent regardless of their background, social orientation, and gender identity. He believes that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are not mere buzz words, but are rather cornerstones of successful organizations and thriving communities.
The second speaker was Chiles De Leon, Senior Managing Director and Head of Business Services of QIAGEN Manila. Chiles shared that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is close to his heart and that this plays a big role in shaping a culture that the leader and organization should embrace. He cited some of the benefits of diversity within the organization, and they are:
- Diverse teams solve problems faster.
- Diversity matters to our people.
- Diverse organizations are employers of choice.
- Diverse teams perform better.
- Diverse teams are more innovative.
- Diverse employees are more engaged.
- Diverse leadership teams are more effective.
According to Chiles, “Diversity starts with you. It’s important to cultivate a culture of respect for individuality in all levels”, further stating that diversity is the engagement driver of the organization.
The last speaker and moderator for the session, Marianne Hontiveros—Partner and Managing Director of CEO of Advisors, Inc., mentioned that “There is no democracy if there is no respect for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” She cited an example of how to practice DEI when conducting music auditions, wherein the musician’s age and gender are unknown. You just listen to the music and assess the musician’s ability behind the curtains. She also shared that in their recruitment process for cabin crew and pilots in AirAsia, they don’t really look at educational attainment since the industry is customer-centric, adding that they hire for attitude rather than ability since their staff can be taught and trained.
You can find more articles about our past events, as well as interesting topics on The Lookingglass archive.
