EY's Los Angeles Black History Month Black Executive Roundtable

On February 22, I had the pleasure and honor to moderate EY’s Los Angeles Black History Month Executive Roundtable to celebrate the power and works of black leaders as distinguished professionals, students and community leaders. This was my third opportunity to host this annual event, and the relevancy and the need grow each year. Today’s political climate is increasingly divisive, which elevates our need to be even more inclusive.

In partnership with NBC Universal, EY’s Black Professional Network provided a venue for guests to not only hear personal insights from an incredible group of panelists (i.e., minority leaders who have reached senior executive ranks), but to engage and interact with them. Each year, this is a space where relationships are brokered – people meet for the first time and end up collaborating long afterward. With more than 250 attendees at the always-impressive Universal Studios location, this year’s event had a bit more flair and gravitas than before. 

This year’s distinguished panelists that exemplified EY’s focus on diversity and inclusiveness included:

●      Christine Simmons, President and Chief Operations Officer at Los Angeles Sparks, has worked through diversity issues by understanding the value of differences. Diversity is in her DNA, and she seeks to promote such diversity through advocacy.

●      Paul Martin, Senior VP & Chief Diversity Officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment, finds himself connected more to similarities than differences. With experience as one of the few blacks in a group, Paul emphasizes that the things we’re focused on will be the reality that we dwell in.

●      Karen Horne, Senior VP of Programming, Talent Development and Inclusion at NBC Universal, believes that “diversity is not a risk; it’s good business.” She strives to increase diversity in the entertainment arena.

Cultivating a safe environment for dialogue, the roundtable encouraged personal stories and advice, building a sense of belonging among participants. Conversations revolved around celebrating history and different ways of thinking, and also around offering tangible career advice to professionals.

To highlight some of the key thoughts and insights from the event, I thought I’d share a just a few comments made from each of the three key themes that set the tone:

Safe spaces to discuss views and emotions at work

In opening the event, I shared that, “Diversity and inclusiveness is a business issue. Employees are learning that they have a voice, and they want to talk about the issues that affect them. In order to help foster a more inclusive environment, it’s important for organizations to create a ‘safe space’ for employees to engage in a dialogue and listen – with empathy – to each other.”

Paul acknowledged past practices where “if you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist.” He encouraged more platforms for discussion and safe spaces for dialogue. You can’t willfully ignore what’s happening around you, he insisted.

Christine shared that “the LA Sparks organization is willing to take risks, as seen through athletes’ vocal positions on political issues. We can make decisions, affect decisions or enlighten.” Christine added: “There must be a brave space in addition to a safe space. Representation is key.”

Karen said she looks for the authenticity of someone and what they bring to the job.

Managing personal unconscious bias

When it comes to bias, the panelists agreed that awareness is key.

Karen said “that the way to battle unconscious bias is to acknowledge it. We need to have sensitivity to what may be offensive to other people.”

Paul shared that “in order to make progress, take a look at removing biases from your processes and understand how to reach across cultural lines ... everyone needs to be part of the solution.” He urged us ”to start working on ourselves and how we react to situations, which can shape the long-term impact.”

Christine advised “encouraging awareness of other challenges and embracing them as if they are our own.”

Moving the needle forward from a career perspective

Christine stated that ”we need to be brave when it comes to asking for mentorship, and be specific when expressing what we want.”

Paul said: “The path to success to not a straight line. Sometimes we may not be aware of the fact that we may already have a sponsor – we should understand who our sponsors are.” He added: “Don’t confuse failure with learning. It’s not about falling; it’s about how you get up.”

Karen assured the crowd that fear can be healthy and should be an engine to keep us going.

These are just a sample of the broader messages that were presented and is indicative that the conversations need to continue well beyond this forum. Whether by design or by chance, the social movements related to Me Too, Black Lives Matter and Never Again were interwoven into the conversations and helped make the interactive discussions meaningful.

After the panel ended, one young lady who has attended this event for the past six years said “this was the first time this felt real and relevant to me. Thank you for addressing the hard topics of our time.”

Today’s diversity issues are not necessarily different, but the times that we live in and the ways that we think and communicate are far from being familiar and expected. We all have a voice and a platform that can challenge the negative forces against us. As with Never Again’s recent progress, we need to leverage all our available resources and take clear, relentless actions to realize the workplace we want and deserve.