To celebrate the launch of Season 4 of the In Reality Podcast, our host John Rebecchi (M.B.A. ’83), Ph.D. welcomes Rohini Anand, Ph.D.

Anand is a sought-after expert, published author, thought-leader, and is recognized as a pioneer in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She has been featured in CNBC, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, in addition to appearing on CNN, Bloomberg, and more.

Growing up in Mumbai, India, Anand considered her move to North America an inflection point in her life. She explains, “that move [to North America], my identity shifted from being a majority to a minority.” The realization that identity is situational later informed her Ph.D. research which continues to inform her work today. Anand’s DEI journey was a calling and a reminder that our personal story matters.

Understanding the culture of the organization is the first step when considering doing a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative. Anand explain that an organization’s culture is found on “shared values, beliefs and patterns of thinking.” The culture is essential to DEI to be sustainable. Anand added that it has to “be rooted in the culture of an organization in the deepest level” and it starts with the corporate leadership.

Anand also shared five principles that form the framework to successful change to empower global leaders. The first principle is “make it local” by understanding localized standards, culture, and language then engage and empower local change agents. The second principle is “leaders change to lead change.” Anand believes that it is important for leaders to hear personal stories of those who are affected. ”And it is good business too” is the third principle where she explains why DEI improves business outcomes. In the fourth principle, Anand discuss how organization needs to take a system approach by going “deep, wide and inside out.” While the fifth principle is to “know what matters and count it” as metrics is valuable in measuring goals and improvements.

Learn about Dr. Anand’s new book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations.

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