Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds
Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/510478
Upfront > d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m S u m m e r 2 0 1 5 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N 9 Teaching Inclusion A t her core, Darlene Slaughter sees herself as a teacher. So it's a bit of a surprise to learn that, even with a degree in elemen- tary education, she has never taught in a traditional class- room. Instead, she brought her skills to the corporate world. At AT&T;, she worked as a quality consultant, facilitating meetings, and later moved into human resources and organiza- tional development. Slaughter's next stint was at Fannie Mae, in quality manage- ment, where she spent 20 years working her way up to the posi- tion of chief diversity ofcer. Ten in late 2014, craving a more global role, she accepted the job of chief diversity ofcer at United Way Worldwide. Diversity Woman spoke with Slaughter about what it's like to lead a diversity and inclusion department in the nonproft sector. Diversity Woman: What ex- cites you about your new job? Darlene Slaughter: United Way has 1,800 local ofces in the US, and we are in 41 countries. I'm most excited that the United Way tagline, "Live Unit- ed," is all about diversity and inclusion. When you work at a corporation, D&I; is a program. Here, it embodies everything we do. DW: What D&I; challenges does the nonprofit sector face? DS: When you are working in a commu- nity, you can see yourself working in the D&I; space, but you may not have a D&I; mind-set. We need to fgure out how to DW: How do you measure the success of D&I; initia- tives? DS: Awareness. I give local of- fces strategies and resources so they can learn more about the communities they are working in. Board members in one community, for example, may all look alike. Tere are unconscious biases out there. Sometimes the best progress is just making people aware of things they are naturally doing so they can change. DW: How do D&I; initiatives at non- profits differ from those in corpora- tions? DS: Tere are opportunities in the cor- porate world to connect with people and go to D&I; conferences. Tat isn't the case in the nonproft world. We should be in the same places as our corporate partners. To put corporate dollars into communities where non- profts are and leverage those relation- ships—that is the future. Tat is the ultimate defnition of inclusion. help people have conversations without feeling as if they are in the wrong. At a nonproft, it can be easy to feel isolated. DW: What initiatives are you most enthusiastic about? DS: I'm excited about bringing chief diversity ofcers from our corporate partners together so we can look at the synergies between the work that we do and they do—around leadership development, board development, and programs and opportunities where employees can get involved. 5 Minutes with Darlene Slaughter Upfront written by Katie Morell Sometimes the best measure- ments of D&I; initiatives are just making people aware of things they are naturally doing so they can change.