At The Podium

	Roberta B. Fields
	Charles S. Plumb

In a culture that has become increasingly divisive on a number of fronts – including matters of race, religion, politics, ethnicity and gender, just to name a few – what can employers do to ensure that such tensions don’t permeate the workplace? Better yet, what can employers do to create a positive, productive and respectful working environment where diversity is not only embraced, but also leveraged for the benefit of the employees and the organization itself?

Speaking at the April 2018 meeting of the OKC Metro Employer Council, McAfee & Taft labor and employment attorneys Roberta Fields and Charlie Plumb look beyond state and federal anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws to discuss why diversity is good for business and to offer practical steps organizations can take to foster a culture of inclusion and respect. Topics include:

• Diversity and inclusion defined
• Projected diversity trends
• Why anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training and compliance isn’t enough
• Downside to not addressing diversity
• Recognizing and dealing with implicit bias
• Action steps to promote inclusion

The OKC Metro Employer Council is a cooperative educational effort of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, Oklahoma Works partners, local area human resource professionals, and employers.