Holiday Wishlist
C-suite executives and Diversity Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) influencers tell us about their holiday wishes.
Dec 17th, 2021
So-Young Kang
Founder of Gnowbe
(where anyone can design action-based learning experiences )
"My wish is for organizations to move beyond just talking about “diversity and inclusion” to having the courage to take action on unconscious bias in small daily interactions."
Kevin R Martin
Global COO and Head of Digital transformation at HSBC
"May the 2022 holiday season bring good health and well-being to all of the world's communities and let's join together in ensuring that 2022 is a year to celebrate a safe, open and truly inclusive world where every individual is actively supported to help fulfill their life goals and ambition."
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Mita Mallick
Head of Inclusion, Equity & Impact at Carta
"I wish more employees would own the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey that their organizations are on. The Chief Diversity Officer alone cannot create a more inclusive culture. We each play a role in creating cultures where we all can thrive."
John Wang
President at Asian American Business Development Center
"I wish that there was more recognition of the fact that Asian Americans are not all successful professionals, but that many small business owners struggle for survival and are overlooked during corporate giving campaigns."
Mary Sue Bissell
President at US-Asia Institute
"My wish is that diversity and inclusion continue to be a consideration and grow in every aspect of life. Much value is gained in hearing from, and listening to, different voices. I look forward to the day when the contributions of all are celebrated and woven seamlessly into the fabric of our society."
Dr. John A. Davis
Professor of Family Enterprise, MIT Sloan School of Management
Chairman and Founder, Cambridge Family Enterprise Group
"My D&I wish is for families to recognize that their diversity makes them stronger. What matters most to long-term family success is the alignment of family members around the family’s important goals and values and their contributions to the family’s success. Families have diverse goals and needs and it takes a diverse group to meet these needs. So, embrace and celebrate your family’s diversity in ages, generations, lifestyles, approaches, skills, interests, and goals. Make it okay for family members to be different and still belong. Diversity and inclusion can motivate more meaningful relationships and activities, spur innovation, and lead to value creation in many ways."
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Selena Cuffe
President at SodexoMagic
"Companies would seriously consider recruiting at HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) – so much incredible talent at these institutions."
Stuart Parkinson
Chief Executive Officer at Lombard International
“At Lombard International Group, it’s our talented, diverse, multicultural team of experts and professionals that ensure we are renowned as a market leader. I wish for all business leaders to strive to cultivate and nurture an engaging and inclusive workplace that is built on openness, fairness, collaboration and trust, where everyone feels comfortable and empowered to speak up and be a part of the conversation.”
Laura Ortman
President and Chief Revenue Officer at Cologix
“My diversity and inclusion wish is for more companies to listen, learn and lead to achieve sustainable change. All of us can drive awareness through storytelling, training and leading by example.”
Nancy Power
Managing Director of HR and Co-Chair of DEI Council at Andersen
“My wish is that individuals in positions of authority or influence could understand that advancing discussions on fairness and equality in the workplace is not a barrier to achieving excellence but rather a catalyst to getting there.”
Bernard Zen-Ruffinen
Chairman at Korn Ferry, EMEA
"I expect to see more companies building the right culture focused on inclusive behaviors to beat bias, release the potential of everyone and build the best teams."
Yai Vargas
Vice President, Strategic Engagement and Initiatives at Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and Founder of The Latinista
"I wish more corporate leaders would spend time evaluating core business areas for equity. Assuring there are processes and systems in place that encourage fair access to development opportunities."
![Jack Guest relaxed[36].heic](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2cb2a0_9359944122df4432a5b72624d6bccf2a~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_78,h_77,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/Jack%20Guest%20relaxed%5B36%5D_heic.png)
Jack Guest
"My D&I holiday wish is for us to fully understand the unseen impact that Covid has had on our families, friends and colleagues and use our skills as D&I advocates to raise up and address the new challenges this period has exposed."
Luisa Guzman
Chief Executive Officer at ConsulTree & Founder and Managing Partner Proactel Inc.
"My holiday wish is to progressively see all of us valuing the human in every being, regardless of ..."
Anderson, Phillip P
Executive Director at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
"I wish CEOs would manage inclusion as they do other imperatives, including rigorous oversight, accountability and incentives to accelerate change."
Jikyeong Kang
President and Dean at the Asian Institute of Management
“In my experience, a lot of apprehension related to DEIB comes from a low level of knowledge about the subject. It’s in our human nature to be afraid of things we know little about. My holiday wish on DEIB is for all of us to take a little bit of time from our busy schedule to learn about different gender, race, ethnicity, culture, or religion. Grab a book; watch a film; strike a conversation…be curious and culturally competent.“
![2021 Headshot[57].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2cb2a0_f8004578a6f94c2da0ec13611eaa433c~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_67,w_427,h_573/fill/w_69,h_93,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/2021%20Headshot%5B57%5D.jpg)
Janine Ting Jansen
Senior Director of Inclusion & Diversity at Teva
“My holiday wish is for leaders to reflect upon their new learnings over the past year when it comes to diversity, and how they will seek to double that in the new year. The great strides we’ve made give us even broader goals to achieve when it comes to support a diverse community in the workplace. I will seek to understand the intersectionality of generations and the influence of global cultures here locally.”
Linda Akutagawa
President & Chief Executive Officer at Leadership Education for Asian Pacific and Commissioner at California Citizens Redistricting Commission
"I wish company CEOs and executives would be open to recognizing and acknowledging that leadership can look different, be demonstrated in multiple ways, and still achieve the same goals and objectives."
Javier Rivero
President and Chief Operating Officer at Insigneo
"In this holiday season, I want every organization to continue to make DEIB a business imperative. Inclusion is a critical component to our ability to achieve our goals. Our employees must see and experience inclusion in every aspect of our operations."
Share your own Holiday DEI Wish in the comment section