115 - The New Call to Action in a COVID-19 Era: The D&I Challenge Ahead for the Legal Industry

06/09/20 • 66 min

Littler Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Podcast

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas, Mishell Parreno Taylor, Littler Shareholder, and Kiara Harlow, Senior Recruiting Director of The Partners Group, present a multifaceted examination of the diversity and inclusion challenges ahead for the legal industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. In this podcast, Cindy-Ann and her guests address the following: • How will the pandemic crisis and associated fiscal fallout affect the legal industry’s efforts in the D&I space? • Why and how are female attorneys and attorneys of color disproportionally affected by the steps that law firms have taken to weather the crisis? • How does the killing of George Floyd and the resulting nationwide social unrest compound the pandemic crisis and further impact the industry’s efforts in D&I? • What can law firms do to protect any gains they have made to advance diversity in the profession since recovering from the last global crisis?

Previous Episode

114 - The Other Ugly Virus of 2020: Anti-Asian Bias

In the midst of our current global health crisis, the deliberate use of terms like “Chinese flu” and “Wuhan virus” has underscored hundreds of reports of racism and xenophobia directed to Asian-Americans. The spike has been so high that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently called on employers to be more attentive about creating “respectful workplaces” as reports continue to emerge about the harassment and mistreatment directed to people of Asian descent, in reaction to the novel coronavirus. In this podcast, Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her guests, Littler Shareholder Tahl Tyson and businesswoman Jeanne Guanzon discuss the following issues, among others: • Reasons for the persistent rhetoric pertaining to original terms given to COVID-19 • The historical, cyclical and personal realities of anti-Asian bias in the U.S. • The roles that leaders must play in dialing down “otherness” and “exclusion” - particularly in times of crisis. • What affirmative steps can organizations - and their leaders - take to bridge this developing divide in a post-COVID-19 world.

Next Episode

116 - Demystifying President Trump's Executive Order on Diversity Training

Littler’s David Goldstein and James Paretti join Alyesha Asghar Dotson to talk about President Trump’s Executive Order, “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” which curbs the discussion of certain topics from diversity and inclusion training provided by federal contractors and grantees.