Giving Compass' Take:

• Corporate diversity pioneer Bernard Kinsey offers 20 ‘guiding principles’ to ensure a diverse and equitable corporate culture in the workplace. 

• How can philanthropy contribute toward prioritizing inclusiveness and expanding support for individuals? How can open dialogues help? 

• Here's how innovation can help build an inclusive workplace for the future. 

As an executive at Xerox, Bernard Kinsey helped launch the National Black Employees Caucus, believed to be the first-ever employee resource group. He went on to serve as chief operating officer and cochairman of Rebuild Los Angeles and now serves as president of KBK Enterprises, a management consulting firm. Here he shares his guiding principles for corporate inclusion:

Change starts with the CEO/chairperson.

  1. Your corporation/organization should look like the communities you serve.
  2. Document and track every aspect of your program, tie performance/employment to achieving objectives. (What you expect you must also inspect.)
  3. Conduct exhaustive surveys by EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) designation to determine salary and position equity. Identify and examine shortcomings and develop solutions. This will solve inequities among all protected classes within the organization.
  4. Ensure/monitor that every position opening has a Black candidate.
  5. Identify and break up “white islands,” i.e., all-white groups of decision-makers.
  6. Ensure that there is a pool of Black candidates in your management program, and provide mentorship.

Read the full list of tips for inclusivity by Bernard Kinsey at Fast Company.