Whitney Harvey, senior director for workforce diversity and inclusion at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

Q. How has your leadership been impacted since May 2020? Can you point to a change you’ve made?

The murder of George Floyd in May of 2020 shed a light on the injustices and inequities that exist in our state and as business leaders, many of us were forced to engage in challenging conversations, take action and offer support to employees in new and unique ways.  While I had been doing diversity, equity, and inclusion work off the side of my desk in a volunteer capacity, I was able to use my organization’s commitment to action to gain awareness, advocate for full time resources and make an official transition into doing this full-time work professionally.  The work has fluctuated and will continue to change and evolve, but there will always be a need to build inclusive workplaces.

For those interested in taking meaningful and intentional actions towards a more diverse and inclusive workplace, visit the Minnesota Chamber’s DEI homepage, and read more about the chamber’s rationale for the initiative here.

Q. We’ve seen companies that created a DEI leadership role in 2020 eliminate it, or roll the responsibilities into other functions. Why do you believe a full-time DEI role is important going forward? 

Building inclusive workplaces and prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion is not only a business imperative, but also an economic imperative. Businesses that prioritize this work often have higher employee retention, employee engagement, and higher financial performance than their peers. Additionally, we have a tight labor market in Minnesota and are growing increasingly diverse, as our demographic trends show. Businesses not making concerted efforts towards attracting and retaining employees from diverse and underrepresented demographics are missing out on a crucial part of our workforce.