▶What's the difference between diversity and inclusion?
Diversity: hiring people from different backgrounds. Inclusion: making them feel they belong, their voice matters. You can be diverse (30% women, 40% non-white) but not inclusive (women get passed over for promotion). Both needed.
▶Why does DEI matter for business?
Diverse teams solve harder problems. Gender-balanced teams 15% more likely to outperform. Ethnic diversity 35% more likely to outperform. Also: reduced legal risk (discrimination suits), better reputation, easier talent acquisition (attracts socially conscious workers).
▶What's unconscious bias and how do you address it?
Unconscious bias: prejudice you're not aware of. Example: women interrupting 3x more often than men in meetings (not intentional). Address via: bias training, structural changes (encourage all to speak), accountability (record who speaks, provide data).
▶How do you build psychological safety (foundation of inclusion)?
Psychological safety: feeling safe to be authentic, speak up, fail. Build via: leader vulnerability (admit mistakes), soliciting feedback actively, no punishment for good-faith failures, celebrating diversity of thought, diverse hiring (homogeneous teams lack psychological safety).
▶What's the role of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups)?
ERGs: voluntary groups for employees with shared identity (women, LGBTQ+, parents, etc.). Purpose: peer support, mentorship, recruiting diverse talent, shaping company policy. Research shows ERG participation improves retention 5-10%.
▶How do you measure DEI progress?
Metrics: representation (% women/minorities in each level), promotion rates (do diverse employees advance?), pay equity (are compensation gaps closing?), turnover (do diverse employees leave more?), engagement (do they feel included?). Measure all, not just hiring.
▶What's pay equity and why is it critical?
Pay equity: equal pay for equal work. Audit: compare salary for same role, similar experience across demographics. If women earn 10% less, that's inequitable. Legal exposure + retention risk. Many companies fixing this via regular audits.