Race, Age & Re-entry at Work in the COVID Climate: Understanding Generational Shifts in Attitudes on Diversity to Maximize Unique Talent and Belongingness

Part 1:

Part 2:

In the midst of the perfect storm – most notably, the coronavirus pandemic and the killing of Georg Floyd – racial disparities and injustices took center stage. While many organizations were focused on safely reopening after weeks of sheltering in place, our diversity practitioners were curiously examining the “storm” through a generational lens to explore the implications on race relations for businesses.

Our efforts culminated in the creation of UnMasked™, a comprehensive equity and engagement program. Grounded in empirical science and observation, UnMasked™ exposes the complex nexus of implicit bias, current crises, and generational shifts in mindsets on race and diversity. UnMasked™ also uncovers intra-generational differences in expression and belongingness of Black American Millennials contrasted to pre-Millennial generations of Blacks in the workplace and marketplace. Understanding these nuanced differences fosters diversity innovations, deepens belongingness and reduces conflict to identity differences.  

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how recent events are affecting race relations in the workplace and marketplace.
• Explore assumptions and stereotypes that inform biases underlying the racial disparities unmasked by the current “perfect storm.”
• Examine generational differences in views on racial and ethnic diversity and the culture gap.
• Explore identity insights through an intra-race, cross-generation perspective.
• Explore concepts of belonging and social integration, and variations between pre-Millennial and Millennial Black Americans.
• Identify equity-minded and inclusive leadership skills to foster a culture of belongingness for NextGen.