Inclusion, Equity and Diversity

An inclusive and diverse workplace not only increases resilience, enhances innovation, improves hiring and retention, and elevates an organization’s public image – it can help employers better reflect and respond to their consumers and the communities they serve. But when an employer tries to update its inclusion, equity, and diversity (IE&D) program or readjust its objectives, it can run into unexpected legal or practical roadblocks, or experience unanticipated reactions from employees or other constituencies. Littler has helped numerous employers at every stage of the process, designing IE&D programs, reviewing and revising them, and defending them if and when challenged in court.

We work with clients first to understand where they are on their IE&D journey, and we then craft counseling and/or training based on the organization’s specific IE&D needs. Littler spearheads IE&D initiatives from design through execution, resulting in counseling and training that is precise, practical, and persuasive.

What We Do – Diversity Counseling and Planning

Uniquely positioned in employment law and cross-cultural capabilities, Littler possesses an exceptional ability to respond to the human resource challenges of an ever-evolving workforce. We are more than respected IE&D consultants. We have years of experience helping employers navigate through the legal, cultural, and public relations issues that can complicate IE&D efforts in the U.S., and across the globe. Littler helps companies hire and retain employees across a breadth of cultures and backgrounds without resorting to unlawful quotas or otherwise adopting problematic practices.

We focus on the practical issues that resonate with executives, other management leaders, and employees – improving communications, enhancing leadership skills, avoiding conflicts, expanding brand recognition, enhancing community engagement, and limiting the potential for liability.

Some of the projects we partner with our clients on to help them reach their IE&D objectives include:

Counseling and Advice

Advising employers regarding issues as they arise, identifying potential legal and policy implications of both on and off-duty conduct, including political speech, social media and hair and dress code issues
Helping management teams respond to current events and workplace IE&D goals and initiatives
Evaluating current or proposed policies and procedures, recommending legally compliant adjustments

Program Development and Implementation

Advising on IE&D program development
Reviewing and developing mission statements and policies
Reviewing benchmarks of organizational cultural competency
Supporting workplace inclusion through formation of diversity councils and affinity networks/Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Facilitating the sustainability of an organization’s IE&D goals through the development of achievable annual plans

Analytics and Assessments

Performing and advising on cultural assessments/climate surveys
Conducting privileged analysis of diversity metrics
Conducting privileged pay equity analyses for private employers
Performing privileged diversity audits and analyses
Conducting availability analyses

State and Federal Agency Reporting and Compliance

Advising on development of diversity goals and targets
EEO-1 and state agency reporting compliance
Conducting pay equity analyses for government contractors
Preparing affirmative action plans
Performing OFCCP audits

Crisis Management and Communication

Advising on crisis prevention, mitigation, and response
Developing internal and external messaging

Globalizing IE&D Initiatives

Ensuring compliance with global data protection laws when conducting multi-national IE&D surveys and analyzing survey results
Developing strategies to integrate non-U.S. corporate group members into U.S.-led IE&D initiatives
Counseling on how to navigate local employment practices and cultural differences to engender widespread acceptance of IE&D initiatives among workers outside the U.S.

What We Do – Diversity Training and Facilitated Discussions

Littler is proud of the in-person and online diversity training programs we provide employers. They are among the most extensive labor and employment law training systems available for companies today. We offer workshops for executives, managers, and rank-and-file employees, in-house presentations and online briefings that address the cutting-edge issues required for hiring and retaining a diversified workforce.

In our post-COVID-19 virtual world, Littler has dedicated more to educational resources for businesses than any other law firm. Our curriculum is developed by a team with backgrounds in diversity consulting, unconscious bias, leadership and performance management, and instructional design – qualities that are vital in understanding human behavior and how people get along in the workplace.

Some of the educational workshops we design and deliver to employees at all organizational levels include:

Unconscious bias training
Respect in the workplace training
Facilitated race-focused discussions
Facilitated listening sessions
Executive orientation sessions with guidance surrounding meaningful diversity initiatives
Leadership group sessions that discuss cultural differences and recommend processes that legally mitigate challenges or conflicts within work groups
One-on-one coaching sessions that address and rehabilitate troubling behaviors of executives
Turnkey design of diversity training programs for self-driven, in-house use
Train-the-trainer services for a company’s in-house facilitators
The Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Video Channel, offering enterprise licensing for video vignettes that depict real-life diversity challenges

Better Together

Supporting an inclusive, equitable, and diverse culture requires ongoing attention – particularly as both your talent corps and business dynamics evolve. At Littler, we pledge to meet you wherever you are on your company’s IE&D journey, and we will partner with you to achieve those goals in a robust and legally compliant way.

Littler Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Podcast

The Littler Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Podcast features conversations related to the human resource challenges of an ever-evolving workforce.

Listen on iTunes

Littler Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Video Channel

With more than 25 diversity and inclusion-specific videos available, Littler offers both stand-alone and package pricing for clients looking to supplement their in-house, facilitator-led training initiatives. Scenarios cover a wide range of workplace challenges and opportunities around which learners can dialogue. We also have the resources to produce customized video vignettes.

Access our video library