Robert Matthews says one of the main barriers for corporations in succeeding in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is a lack of awareness.
To him, businesses can't make their environment more equitable without knowing the systemic recruiting structures that exclude people of color, women and other minorities.
“A company has to ingrain it and into who they are, right? Who’s the leadership? What does the leadership believe? And to what extent does it make it into how the company defines itself?," said Matthews, vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Exelon Corp. (NASDAQ: EXC) in Washington and Baltimore.
Matthews made his call to action on Thursday at the Baltimore Business Journal's annual Leaders in Diversity awards breakfast during a panel discussion moderated by BBJ Publisher and Market President Rhonda Pringle.
Four other panelists, Imoh Akpan, partner at Goldberg Segalla; Tracy Curry, director of human resources at Fearless; Margaret Falzon, chief operating officer of Squadra Ventures; and Gina Merritt, owner and principal of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures, joined Matthews in the discussion at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.
The conversation repeatedly went back to May 25, 2020 — the day George Floyd was murdered by Dereck Chauvin, a police officer for the Minneapolis Police Department.
"At that moment, in late May, when everybody stood in attention, there were many of us who were already thinking about that and who were weighted down with that pressure," Matthews said.
The video of Floyd's murder, which went viral shortly after his death, sparked national outrage at the state of race relations in America and prompted corporations to reflect on their commitment to DEI.
Now, two years after the murder, many minorities want to ensure that companies do not treat DEI as a trend or a promise to be taken in vain but as an ongoing commitment to minorities, women and other underserved communities.
Curry voiced this sentiment and said that companies must embed diversity into their structures and continue working hard to implement DEI.
"[We need to make] sure that while we're embedding it, and we're measuring it and all of those things that we're doing that consistently and it doesn't feel like it's a fad, or it's a moment in time," Curry said.
Still, some companies have remained committed to DEI but do not see the fruit of their labor.
Merritt said that for all companies, social capital and the strength of networks and relationships, especially in minority and underserved communities, is a primary driver of DEI.
"What I usually focus on actually is social capital, and the strength of weak ties theory, right, which is that, you know, most of our networks are closed by the same people," Merritt said.
"And so when you're recruiting, and you just hire your friends, you're just having the same people that are like you," she said. "So in order to be an attractive employer, I think these days you need to go outside of your network and employ people."
Curry agreed and later added that the main barrier for companies to gain social capital is the lack of trust.
"I think this connection to community is one way to establish trust with candidates," she said.
Curry added that businesses with a lack of diversity throughout the company and in executive roles must be honest with potential and current employees about the obstacles they face with DEI.
"Be honest about where you are and what that journey might look like for you, and invite them into that process to give feedback — I would say — without making it their responsibility to fix," she added.
