Equity Through Leadership summit spotlights diversity, equity and inclusion tensions, future

Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis delivers keynote address

Co-sponsored by EY, General Electric and Procter & Gamble, the 10th annual Equity Through Leadership event, held Dec. 7 at the University of Cincinnati’s Tangeman University Center, focused on cultivating the future of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The event featured a keynote address by Marianne Lewis, PhD, dean of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, two breakout sessions — including one headed by Melinda Hubbard, assistant professor-educator of management — and networking opportunities.

Nick Castro, assistant dean of Lindner’s office of inclusive excellence, opened the summit with a reminder that “words without actions are useless.”

“As inclusive leaders, we need to make sure that we create spaces where people feel safe and valued, where people have the resources they need to be successful and where we can hold off any challenges,” Castro said.

Nick Castro

Nick Castro, assistant dean of Lindner’s office of inclusive excellence.

EY Partner Kristi Eckert thanked UC for hosting Equity Through Leadership and current students — including many from Lindner — for attending, especially during finals week.

“This is our 10-year anniversary, so it’s a really big milestone for us collectively at P&G, GE and EY. A big part of that when we were planning this event is talking about the future. How do we cultivate the future of DE&I?” Eckert said. “And a big piece of that was the next generation and students. All of our companies — EY, P&G and GE — source top talent from the University of Cincinnati.”

Lewis’ keynote centered on managing personal and professional tensions, the subject of her coauthored book, “Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems.”

“What you find is these same tensions show up in different places,” Lewis said. “They certainly show up in our leadership. Am I monitoring or empowering? Am I building teams and fostering culture or hitting targets? It’s always going to be ‘both’ around diversity, equity and inclusion.” 

Executive panel

An executive panel titled “Cultivate the Future of DE&I,” followed Lewis’ keynote. Moderated by Eckert, the panel comprised UC’s top diversity officer and executives from EY, GE and P&G:

Panel 1

Attendees look on during Equity Through Leadership's executive panel.

  • Bleuzette Marshall, vice president, UC Office of Equity & Inclusion
  • Maureen Howard, vice president of human resources — global equality and inclusion, P&G
  • Germaine Hunter, chief diversity officer, GE
  • Susan Marshall, Ameritas Consulting DEI Leader, EY

After answering prompts on points of pride in their work and scenarios that forced them to reconsider previous initiatives, the panelists tackled the sustainability of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“There’s benefit for everybody, but we find the ‘and,’ right?” Howard said. “Because in saying it’s for everybody, we cannot walk past the fact that there are underrepresented and marginalized populations who have distinct needs and biases against them. You have to be able to hold those two tensions side by side without smashing them together.”

Hunter addressed the inherent tensions of diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

“We’re putting new wheels on the bus as it rolls down the freeway,” Hunter said. “I think one of the things that I've certainly come to appreciate about our organization is our willingness to create space for lots of different divergent points of view. The real trick of the game is to figure out how we can exploit the things we all hold in common and use those as a springboard to advance not only our organization but our own growth as individuals.”

Breakout sessions

Students_Mare_VRegan

Dean Marianne Lewis (first row, third from left), Bleuzette Marshall (second row, first from left) and Victoria Regan, an assistant director in Lindner’s office of inclusive excellence (first row, first from right), with Lindner students who attended Equity Through Leadership. Photo provided.

Hubbard’s session, “Inclusive Leadership — Benevolent Bias,” began by noting the meaning of benevolent bias, which is action taken with the desire to help/assist an individual, but that instead removes the agency of the individual. Attendees were split into groups to role play a fictional workplace scenario involving benevolent bias.

Whitney Gaskins, PhD, associate dean, inclusive excellence and community engagement, College of Engineering and Applied Science, led “AI Integration — Navigating Ethical Challenges.”

Gaskins described the nuanced relationship society enjoys with technology and addressed bias and discrimination in AI (artificial intelligence), third-party auditing of AI and algorithm transparency.

Featured image at top: Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis (third from right) with (from left) Maureen Howard, vice president of human resources — global equality and inclusion, P&G; Germaine Hunter, chief diversity officer, GE; Bleuzette Marshall, vice president, UC Office of Equity & Inclusion; Susan Marshall, Ameritas Consulting DEI Leader, EY; and Kristi Eckert, partner, EY. All photos by Joseph Fuqua II unless noted.

Diversity, equity and inclusion at Lindner

The Lindner community is driven by inclusive excellence, valuing the synergistic power of collective aspirations, diversity and collaboration. We enable servant leaders that inspire confidence and empower others to do their best work and be their authentic selves. Learn more about student programs, inclusion partners and more.

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