Americans are approaching the third year of a global pandemic that has both spotlighted and exacerbated workplace inequities — and employers are taking heed.
The troubling statistics collected over the course of the pandemic are hard to ignore: By the end of 2020, 49% of Hispanic adults reported that they or someone in their household had experienced a job loss, layoff or pay cut compared to 44% of all U.S. adults, according to a survey by
And although
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Amid the upheaval of the so-called
We chatted with Michelle Rodriguez, LinkedIn’s director of diversity, inclusion and belonging, to gain insights on how LinkedIn is creating an environment of belonging for its own workers, and to learn about how companies across industries are embracing DEI as the workforce acclimates to a new normal.
What gaps in DEI did the pandemic create or worsen?
The last two years have been such a heavy time. In the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, just going to the subway station now is scary for many who are just trying to travel safely to work. Parents are worried about their children’s well-being and navigating caretaking around school closures. Latino mothers, and women of color, have been especially hit hard. Now that we're entering year three of a pandemic with these hardcore, chronic stressors, people are leaving because they’re burnt out and needing to create their own new, fresh start. With that, entrepreneurship is on the rise. More than half of our professionals see themselves venturing out on their own. In the U.S. we see Black and Latino workers in particular taking the reflection time of COVID and saying, “I'm done with the corporate 9-to-5, I have my own idea.”
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At LinkedIn, how have DEI efforts evolved to align with the new culture of remote work?
Even as people are getting excited to go back to the office, we're maintaining this remote-first mindset with our events in particular. Our LinkedIn events used to be in person with people flying from all over the world to meet in California. And now we've completely moved to Zoom, and people have told me, “I could only participate in that because it was online.” So I think it will be important to maintain that access while still creating opportunities for in-person experiences.
Another theme at LinkedIn is skill development. In our pre-COVID world, we had a traditional sense of how you prepare for a career or a job: you go to a four-year college, you major in what you want and then you work in what you want. But now everything's so fluid. Anybody can pick up a phone and be a creator. Anybody can learn how to work remotely. The whole game has changed. Employers are asking, “How are we evaluating talent for their skills versus the traditional degrees?”
How can companies get employee buy-in and participation in DEI efforts to create a more inclusive culture?
Our Employee Resource Groups have been a really powerful platform of engagement and retention for us. These are employee-led entities that are strategically aligned with our diversity, inclusion and belonging strategy. We have an ERG for veterans, for our Latino community, for those that identify as caretakers with families. At the height of the COVID surge, one of our Families at LinkedIn ERGs in India was even helping employees connect to oxygen tanks.
ERGs are a great educational leadership development tool, but they're also a safe haven. At LinkedIn, they’re a top retention tool for us, particularly when we look at people from underrepresented groups. Marketers, communicators and companies have turned to the insights of our employee resource groups to ask, Does this sound right? Is this tone right? What are we missing? And I’ve seen that across peer companies as well. The value of our ERGs to amplify these voices in these times is everything.
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As we emerge from the pandemic, how should DEI efforts continue to evolve?
At this stage, employees are looking for accountability systems. After 2020, a lot of people started DEI efforts for their companies and put out pledges. DEI leaders have to be accountable for what we've punched towards, by looking at the entire company and how we're setting measurable goals for our leaders, how we're designing equitable systems and processes. Historically, there’s been a focus on hiring, but now employers are looking at what happens once people are in the door. Once you start looking at the whole talent life cycle, that is when the fabric and the culture of your company starts shifting.
Upskilling and preparing our people managers has been another huge focus for us at LinkedIn in the last 18 months. Middle managers hold the everyday sense of belonging for employees. We're asking people to do so much when they're already burnt out, so it's important that we prepare managers to shift the way they show up as people leaders, understanding that someone's 100% on Tuesday may not look the same as their 100% next Thursday, and being ultra compassionate. Saying, “Hey, I want you to take time off so that you're still able to run next month,” is a way to be productive and have great results while being flexible and compassionate.
Those are the leaders that go from being transactional managers to inclusive leaders that people want to follow. That’s going to help you all around in terms of your talent brand and people wanting to work for your company.
