A DIRC21 Panel
Putting Inclusion and Equity at the Forefront of the Return-to-Workplace Decision
Panelists: Homa Bahrami, Guy Berger and Dionna Smith
Moderated by Jill Finlayson
What are the DEI implications of the new hybrid workplace? While flex time and remote work were already happening, COVID accelerated adoption by companies and led to wide-spread shifts in employee preferences and expectations to be allowed to work from home. A greater percentage of women and people of color prefer the remote work option, so to promote acquisition and retention of diverse teams, we need to find the best ways to ensure return-to-workplace policies and practices are intentional, fair, and inclusive. In this panel, we will learn from the macro corporate and hiring trends as viewed by Guy Berger, Principal Economist at LinkedIn, policies and practices being trialed by various companies via Professor Homa Bahrami, Haas Business School, and examine the vision and realities of implementing a remote-first policy from the perspective of a global tech company with Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Thumbtack Dionna Smith. This session is moderated by Jill Finlayson, Director, EDGE in Tech Initiative at the University of California.
