
Ep. 217: Establishing Workplace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Shownotes
Shannell Chibueze is the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council at Woodruff-Sawyer, one of the country’s largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms. Woodruff-Sawyer provides customized programs and coverage based on your profile and your business through services like risk management in property, surety, management liability, casualty, and cyber liability. Shannell provides tailored coverage solutions with a wide range of clients, from Pre-IPO startups to Fortune 500 companies. Before becoming Chair, Shannell was the company’s Vice President and Senior Account Executive.
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Shannell joins us to discuss how to discuss workplace diversity and make your leaders see the benefit of having a diverse organization. She shares her experience with working in corporate as a person of color and how she chose her path to success instead of following the safe route. She describes why she uses real-world examples of social injustice to spark conversations at the workplace. She explains what workplace diversity means and why it’s not just about adding more minorities to your organization. Shannell also shares her advice to those who want to voice their concerns on workplace diversity and social equality and how you can incorporate diversity initiatives in the workplace, even while working remotely.
“When you look at diversity, equity, and inclusion, you have to expand it to be inclusive for everybody.”
Shannell Chibueze
What you’ll learn:
- Shannell’s experience in an all-woman-owned company.
- How she went against the norm when it came to her professional journey.
- Why People of Color have to be more innovative when it comes to accessing opportunities.
- How being honest about your hesitations can bring out the best in you.
- Shannell’s transition from being a broker to working in risk management.
- Why you should make an effort to connect to all the leaders in your company.
- Using examples of social injustice to start conversations about workplace equality.
- The grander picture of diversity in the workplace.
- The benefits of bringing the conversation of inequality into the workplace.
- Shannell’s advice for using your voice within your organization to spark conversations around diversity.
- Why employees need to have their leaders hear their stories.
- Having diversity initiatives while working remotely.
Key Takeaways:
- A lot of our gifts are in our fears.
- It’s important to connect to all leaders in your organization.
- Having the support of your leaders can make all the difference.