Attracting Leaders Voices: People, Culture & Perspectives.

It's challenging for organizations to

wrap their arms around such a hefty topic as diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). There can be uncomfortable conversations. There's the prospect of one's mind being changed in the course of those conversations. Not to mention a sense of, "Where and how do we even begin, much less determine how to make an impact?"

While a seemingly daunting topic, our previous columns have chronicled some areas of focus including raising awareness of the issues, attracting diverse talent and driving career choice that can serve as starting points to developing solutions.

And part of this initiative, of course, are ongoing discussions discussions about what's worked and what hasn't, and what can potentially be done differently.

As Denise Froemming, CalCPA's new president and CEO said in the December issue of California CPA (Page 2), "The best way to address DE&I is to be curious, have uncomfortable conversations, remember it's a journey not a destination and continue to move forward with measurable results. There will be bumps in the road and times we skin our knees, but we need to keep moving."

A portion of our recent virtual Council meeting was spent on DE&I, with members exchanging thoughts and ideas in various breakout rooms related to a DE&I best practices framework and considering questions that asked what should the framework look like, what should be included, how can it be structured and how do we measure progress?

The aim of the session was to gather input and potential action items that CalCPA can use when promoting leadership opportunities whether at the chapter or state level.

The following are selected highlights from the various discussions.

* Make it personal: Promote personal stories of DE&I successes.

* Expand what diversity includes: Focus should be diversity in all areas, including experience and background.

* Next-gen: Evaluate our professional makeup to help drive engagement of Gen Z and Millennial, as well as understand the...