From the Nominator

Like many organizations, the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP) has been actively working toward becoming an anti-racist workplace. We began progressing toward this goal through strategic plans and other formal initiatives, but felt that there was a need for more dialogue between employees on a human level—and that it was especially important for senior leadership to demonstrate their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in a genuine way. UCOP’s EDI and internal communications teams partnered to develop the Leading Toward Equity speaker series as an opportunity for staff to talk with each other and share unvarnished truths about their personal experiences with EDI. We also wanted them to open up about EDI learning and their efforts to further EDI and anti-racism at UCOP. During these conversations, two senior staff members engage in a dialogue about EDI with a moderator, who also shares experiences during the conversation. The events are all virtual. Following the moderated conversation, staff can ask questions verbally or through the Zoom chat feature. This series has received an overwhelmingly positive response from all levels of the organization. Senior leaders are eager to participate, and our audience size has consistently grown. Several UCOP divisions are now using these sessions as starting points for EDI dialogue amongst their teams.

From the Judges

This was a good way to discuss what can be a difficult topic. They did a good job using a diverse range of people who have had different experiences. The program also gave viewers the option to ask questions. A thoughtful and authentic way to provoke conversations and demonstrate experiences from staff. Good internal initiative leveraging transparency. This could easily be replicated at other institutions with little to no cost.