The Importance of Diversity Education in the
Workplace: A Workshop for Virginia Tech Faculty
and Staff
Dan Lasik, Partner
Agenda for the day
Why diversity and inclusiveness is important
► Perspectives from Virginia Tech alumni
► How you can make an impact
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The global business environment
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Global Trends:
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Increased sophistication of global markets
Outsourcing/Offshoring
Impact of US Regulations
Convergence of accounting standards
Shift in demographics
Our clients are global
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Domestic companies with operations abroad
Foreign companies with domestic operations
Investors have a global focus
Cross border capital flows
Why diversity and inclusiveness is important
to Ernst & Young.
Americas
Japan
People: 41,500+
Revenue: $10 billion
People: 7,000+
Revenue:$1 billion
EMEIA
People: 68,000+
Revenue:$11 billion
Asia Pac
People: 27,000+
Revenue:$2billion
Driving seamless, consistent, high-quality
client service worldwide
Ernst & Young’s Transformational Priorities
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Diversity and inclusiveness. We must be the clear
leader in diversity and inclusiveness in order to recruit the
best talent, develop our people to their full potential and
team effectively.
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Global mindset and integration. We must extend our
leadership in global integration and mindset in response
to clients' desires for seamless global service, and the
shift of capital from West to East and from developed to
emerging markets .
Diversity & Inclusiveness at EY
Visible and invisible differences,
thinking style, leadership style,
gender, ethnicity, religious
background, sexual orientation,
DIVERSITY age, experience, culture etc.
Mix of our people
A quality of the organizational
environment that maximizes and
leverages the diverse talents,
backgrounds and perspectives
of all employees
INCLUSIVENESS
Leveraging the mix
Driving our Inclusiveness Recruiting Strategy:
From high school to high performing EY staff and seniors
Execute on Campus
Build Pipeline/
Systemic Change
Student Pathways to EY
Students
University
Attract high school students
to priority schools
Accounting & Business Awareness
Programs
Employer Branding
Influence freshman to choose
Accounting /Business as a major
Offer early exposure
opportunities within EY
Encourage and support
MSA/MST degrees
High Performing
Staff and Seniors
NEW: Ernst & Young’s Launch Program
Emerging Leaders Summit
Discover Tax
Horizon Internship
Supporting Master’s Degrees at
Priority Schools
National Conferences
Howard University Leadership Program
Inclusiveness Visits
Faculty Diversity and
Inclusiveness
Roundtable
Faculty Inclusiveness
Award
NEW: Thought
Leadership: Inclusive
Business Schools
Our Expectations…
► Universities
► Recruits
Perspectives from Virginia Tech Alumni
Ashley Perry ’11, Assurance Staff, Richmond
► Andre Crawford, Transfer Pricing Manager, Detroit
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Making an impact
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Share with you a glimpse of the learning experience that
all of our partners and senior managers have attended
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Provide you with a few resources
“Frames of Reference”
Our individual “system of meaning”:
• How we perceive, evaluate, and relate in
a social context
• Biases and preferences we apply in our
interactions based on visible and
invisible cues
Factors influencing our Frames of Reference
Age
Sex
Physical & Mental Qualities
Sexual Orientation
Skin Color
Personality
Etc.
Biological
Gender Identity
Socio‐Economic Status
Ethnicity/Race
Regional Culture
Disability
Religion
Generation
Etc.
Social/Cultural
Life Experiences
Education
Professional Training
Work Background
Marital Status
Parental Status
Lifestyle
Etc.
Individual
Example: The ladder of inference
Frame of reference in action
Take
actions
Jane may not feel
comfortable in a Big 4
environment
Adopt
beliefs
Draw
conclusions
Make
assumptions
Jane is a junior and
should speak up to
contribute
Jane would not be a
strong candidate for
Big 4 internship
Jane knows the content yet is
not assertive enough to
speak up during class
Add meanings
Select data
Frame of Reference
Observable data
Ladder of Inference, Source:
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge
Jane speaks once during
classroom seminar
Example: Change the frame of reference
Take
actions
Jane is a strong
candidate for a Big 4
internship
Adopt
beliefs
Draw
conclusions
Make
assumptions
Jane made a very
insightful comment
on the issue
Jane would be
successful in a Big
4 environment
Jane’s technical skills
would be valued on an
engagement team
Add meanings
Select data
Frame of Reference
Observable data
Ladder of Inference, Source:
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge
Jane speaks once during
classroom seminar
Insider-Outsider dynamics
Insiders
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Have the formal and/or
informal power
Set expectations and
reinforce and reward
Outsiders
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Have little or no power
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Expected to adhere to the
dominant standards
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Are put at a disadvantage
Have the most to gain from
the maintenance standards
Depending on the situation and circumstances,
each of us can be either an insider and outsider.
Resources:
Is your business school environment inclusive?
► Building a global mindset.
► Global and Inclusive leaders.
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