DEI Champion Certificate Series
When employees feel truly valued, engaged, and included, amazing things happen – retention improves, creativity soars, and performance reaches new heights. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a powerful strategy to transform your workplace culture, strengthen your community presence, and boost your organization’s success.
As a DEI Champion, you’ll embark on a three-part series designed to deepen your understanding of DEI in both the workplace and society. Each session builds on the last, with engaging themes that spark awareness, inspire meaningful conversations, and lead to real, actionable change.
By the end of this series, you’ll walk away with the knowledge and tools to help create a more inclusive, equitable, and thriving community.
The series is facilitated by Sandra Etherly-Johnson, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Community Relations at the Flint & Genesee Group.
Group discount available for businesses that send 3+ employees. Please contact Jazzmin Scott at jscott@flintandgenesee.org for more information.
What You’ll Gain
At the end of this series, participants will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the following:
- The fundamentals of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- How identity impacts the workplace
- The implications of power and privilege
- The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
- Exclusive access to the DEI Champion Training site with a library of DEI training
- Participants will also gain a DEI Champion badge that they can use in email signature and on their company’s website.
Understanding Diversity Equity & Inclusion
We’ll kick off the series with a deep dive into the basics of DEI and why it’s a game-changer for workplace culture. In this first session, you’ll get a clear understanding of key DEI concepts, explore its many dimensions, and discover how inclusion boosts everything from team morale to employee engagement. At the end, we’ll participate in a fun group activity to put your new knowledge into action and reinforce what you’ve learned.
Identity, Power, and Privilege
In session two, we’ll dig into the topics of identity, power, and privilege, and how they shape both personal experiences and workplace culture. Through engaging discussions, you’ll explore how factors like race, gender, and class influence perspectives and interactions. We’ll also uncover how conscious and unconscious biases can sneak into decision-making and impact team dynamics. To wrap it up, we’ll tackle power dynamics and privilege, examining how they show up in organizations and affect opportunities and outcomes. At the end, you’ll reflect on your own identity and privileges – it’s a great chance for some personal growth!
Corporate Social Responsibility
In this final session, we’ll connect what we’ve learned about DEI with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to show how organizations can drive meaningful change. First, we’ll break down what CSR is all about and why it’s such a big deal in today’s world. Then, we’ll dive into real-world examples of companies that have nailed it – integrating DEI into their CSR strategies – and uncover their secrets to success. Finally, we’ll team up to create practical, impactful strategies to level up your organization’s DEI while staying true to its mission and values. At the end, we’ll participate in a hands-on activity where we’ll make bold personal and organizational commitments to foster more inclusive and equitable workplaces and address racial and social inequalities.
