Programs & Events

 

Join Us Next Thursday to Hear From Different Industries With Shared Diversity Goals

We hope you’ll be joining us next Thursday, March 16, for our annual conference, Diversity + Flexibility = An Evolving Culture, at Jones Day in Washington, DC. Please register now if you haven’t already! We know you’ll be impressed by the wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise presented by executives representing a myriad of industries.

In particular, our 10:30am session, Corporate America Making Cultural Change, promises to be an extraordinary presentation by senior executives from Booz Allen Hamilton, Morgan Stanley, Verizon, and Wal-Mart. The panelists will provide their personal perspectives on the change in American business towards a more inclusive and diverse culture. They’ll highlight the challenges, as well as the opportunities, they see day to day in their offices. They’ll also explain how they as leaders are helping to influence change within their companies and with their suppliers and professional services firms.

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Don’t Miss Keynote John Veihmeyer’s Insights on KPMG’s Diversity & Inclusion Evolution

Our 2017 Annual Conference on March 16 is titled “Diversity + Flexibility = An Evolving Culture.” This cultural evolution would not be occurring without industry leaders who are committed to creating inclusive workplace
cultures and diverse teams. These leaders understand that in 2017 the only way to recruit and retain top talent and to thrive as a business is to embrace diversity and inclusion. They aren’t simply creating policies and hoping they stick, they’re weaving diversity and inclusion into the fabric of their organizations. They’re creating unbiased cultures where their employees, clients, and businesses are thriving. We are proud to have one oJohn Veihmeyerf these trailblazers as our keynote speaker on March 16, John Veihmeyer, Global Chairman of KPMG.

At the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, we advise our members that the key to successful cultural change is authentic support and communication from the top of any organization. With Mr. Veihmeyer’s unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion, it’s clear that he has driven the cultural evolution at KPMG. In his 35 years in the business, Mr. Veihmeyer has not only built a reputation as an influential voice on business and financial issues, but he has been recognized countless times for his genuine dedication to philanthropy, diversity, and inclusion. With diversity and inclusion at the core of the KPMG culture, he has created a high-performing work environment where employees are dedicated, successful, and fulfilled.

We are honored to have Mr. Veihmeyer as our keynote and we hope you’ll join us on March 16 to hear how this inspirational, influential, and deeply committed leader has successfully steered the culture of his firm.

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Is Your Recruitment Process Biased?

Most well-intentioned firms and corporations understand the value in hiring a diverse team and believe that their recruitment process is transparent and impartial. With the premise of equal opportunity, you hire the candidates who are the most intelligent, most successful, and most hard-working.

The featured speaker at our 2017 Annual Conference on March 16 might disagree. Kellogg School of Management Professor Lauren Rivera spent years going inside the recruiting process at top investment banks, law firms, and consulting firms. She conducted countless interviews and observed hiring practices first-hand. Her book, “Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs” provides an insider’s view of how some firms hire for their most elite entry-level positions. She found that in many cases it is the affluent applicants from the elite schools who are receiving the top-paying offers at leading firms.

Lauren’s insights could help firms and corporations improve their recruiting processes and hire a more successful and diverse team. Her intriguing research into unconscious class, gender, cultural, and racial bias is truly eye opening and will inspire you to look at your organization’s recruiting process with a different lens.

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Are You Managing Your Team Effectively?

If you’re a manager, you know that it’s not always easy to successfully manage your team and cultivate effective time management skills. It’s often challenging to establish a strong foundation to motivate your team to deliver top-quality work. According to Paul Burton, time management expert and Founder & Principal of QuietSpacing LLC, there are four key elements to successfully managing a team: Consideration, Collaboration, Communication and Coordination.

Join Paul at 3:00pm EST on Monday, September 19 as he leads our bi-monthly Signature Seminar entitled “Orchestrate: Four Productivity Skills Every Manager Needs.” Paul’s webinar is open to all Alliance members and will provide immediate, actionable tips for mid-level managers on how to:

– Find the correlation between goals and how things get done;

– Effectively connect and engage those with whom you work;

– Diplomatically manage up and manage down; and

– Navigate the important landscape of middle management. Read more

Upcoming Event -Signature Seminar Series

Flexibility: A Simple But Essential Recruitment Tool

Flexible work options are important to all of us, but when it comes to millennials, flex is essential. In today’s recruitment process, law firms need to understand the importance of having a flex policy and of showing new recruits that flexibility is part of the firm’s culture. Research clearly shows that flexibility is a key consideration when students and lawyers are choosing their firms (and when deciding to leave). Keeping up with the flexibility demands of this generation of law school graduates is an effective and inexpensive way to recruit the best students. Read more

Highlights from the Alliance’s 2016 Annual Conference – What An Inspirational Day!

In case you missed our 2016 Annual Conference, here’s a rundown of some of the highlights of the day…

Partner-in-Charge of the DC office for Jones Day, Kevyn Orr, set the inspirational tone for the day by sharing his moving story of how he was literally born into segregation after his mother was refused medical care at the hospital when he was born. Now as the Partner-in-Charge of a major law firm, he is “living the American Dream” but always remembers to reach out and help others in his quest for diversity and inclusion. Read more

Upcoming Event -Signature Seminar Series

Sponsorship: A Key to Your Career Advancement

Do you have a sponsor within your firm? If not, are you taking the right steps to find one and to build a successful sponsor relationship? These and other questions will be answered next Tuesday during our latest bi-monthly Signature Seminar Series teleconference, “Investing In Your Success: Preparing Yourself For Sponsorship.” Our special guest, Ritu Bhasin, LL.B., MBA, Founder and Principal of bhasin consulting inc., a leading global people strategies firm, will explain the importance of sponsorship and how it can effectively advance your legal career. Read more

There’s Still Time to Register for the 2016 Annual Conference!

Our 2016 Annual Conference, Diversity + Flexibility = Talent Success, is just days away! It’s not too late to register if you want to learn more about enhancing your firm’s diversity and flexibility initiatives.

As a conference attendee you’ll be inspired to help your firm move to the next level and embrace the benefits of optimizing diverse talent and flexible work options. Read more

Overwhelmed? Come and Hear Brigid Schulte’s Advice on Work-Life Control

Did you know that Americans work among the longest hours of any advanced economy?   And, why do we take fewer vacations than the rest of the world? What can we do to balance productivity and profitability with flexibility and leisure?

Join us at our 2016 Annual Conference to hear from a true expert on these issues, New York Times best-selling author, Brigid Schulte. Ms. Schulte will be our special guest for a fireside chat with Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance at 1:15pm on Wednesday. Read more

Thought-Provoking Panels Are Sure to Stimulate In-Depth Conversations on Diversity and Flexibility at 2016 Annual Conference

Do You Need Help Tearing Down Structural and Cultural Barriers To Diversity?

The third panel at our 2016 Annual Conference (Wednesday, March 16) will focus on steps you can take to interrupt unconscious bias and pave the way for the advancement of diverse talent.

The panel, entitled “Effective Change Management Strategies,” features advice from Carter Phillips, Chair, Sidley Austin LLP; Alice Valder Curran, Regional Managing Partner, Hogan Lovells US LLP; Maurice Watson, Chair, Husch Blackwell LLP; and moderator, Maja Hazell, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, White & Case.

This panel, which runs from 2:15pm-3:15pm, will explore how to combat second generation bias (that is, practices that appear neutral but that reflect the dominance of those who created them) in recruitment, evaluation, and compensation. Read more