Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:: An Answer?

RIGHT NOW, it sure seems as if our world is undergoing tidal shifts from several viewpoints. The war in Ukraine with its various twists and turns and surprises, the divisiveness on the political stage, the rise of what some would call fringe social ideas, the popularity and convenience of working from home, the growing popularity of smaller cities, the accelerating move to electric vehicles, the spectacular rise and recent nail-biting fall of crypto currencies, rising interest rates along with the possibility of a recession, mental illness seemingly on the rise, homelessness now prevalent in many cities, the increasing impact of tech tools and the use of social media on peoples’ thinking. It’s quite a bit to absorb. How much stress does all of this put on each of us, and how does that stress manifest itself?

The USA is evermore a land of many peoples—from all cultures and probably all countries—living together and calling the USA home. So, let’s ask a similar question: Does this impact our view of how we should act as a society, and how does that manifest itself?

In the midst of all of these forces, in our professional and in our personal lives, we hear an almost ubiquitous conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion—or DEI for short—and how we all could bridge our various divides and problems by embracing DEI. Is the focus on DEI at the right level, or is it overblown?

Equity Forum speakers Wayne Super, Julia Gavrilov, Joseph Hernandez and Ginny Clarke.

Consider the adage, in its many forms, “two hands are better than one,” “we are stronger together than apart,” “a group is better than an individual.” Now let’s add on some complexity—the idea that diversity of thought results in better outcomes. There have been many studies conducted by the top consultancies in the world such as McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, Deloitte, etc. during the past 10 years that have demonstrated that companies that embrace diversity create greater shareholder value, higher employee engagement scores and greater customer satisfaction ratings than their competitors who do not. Take a look at these studies located in the ELFA Equity Committee’s ToolKit on ELFA’s DEI webpage.

Do you think that the stresses and their manifestations discussed above could be addressed in a positive, powerful and engaging manner? Do you think that the diversity analyzed in those consultancy studies could be embraced to create positive outcomes every day, all of the time? Do you think that, in fact, embracing DEI is the bridge we all need? Could we perhaps acknowledge that storms in life are normal and instead of looking the other way, we could sit with them and discover how they can teach us to grow? Isn’t a part of sitting with them in fact a focus on DEI?

Answering those questions was the goal of the Equity Committee when it hosted its first ELFA Equity Forum in November in Washington, DC. The focus of the day-and-a-half confab was to experiment and to see how people from far-ranging backgrounds could move in sync, happily for the good of each attendee and the good of the whole—the attendees and, more broadly, our industry. The overriding goal was to talk about and experience diversity, equity and inclusion in all of its real and raw facets and emotions, and to brainstorm about how the fundamental and foundational concepts of DEI could be brought to each company operating in the equipment finance industry and, by the way, in everything ELFA does, too.

Attendees Catherine Springis, Vishal Mistry, Beth Henderson and Beverly Brinkley.

Since its official beginning at the ELFA Annual Convention in 2019, the ELFA Equity Committee has brought together people of all races and genders, people from the LGBTQAI+ community, people who are neuro-diverse and people who are military veterans to talk about and suggest ways that DEI can be embraced by all businesses and all people working in the equipment finance industry. The Equity Forum was the first ELFA in-person venue dedicated solely to an examination of DEI.

I have been attending ELFA events since 1999. The Equity Forum was unique. A panel discussion entitled “Creating a DEI Focus and Launching DEI Initiatives in Your Business” featured four women of color which was, to my knowledge, a first. Another panel, comprised of one gay and two Black professionals, focused on the power of telling your story and how it makes you feel. Again, a first for an ELFA event. Multiple members of the LGBTQAI+ community conversed about how to have a successful career and how to handle micro-aggressions at work. Usually, I’m one of only a couple of members, and often the only one, of the LGBTQAI+ community in attendance. Multiple people told their very personal, and often heart-wrenching, stories of how they overcame discrimination and their personal obstacles to succeed in the equipment finance industry, and most importantly, how telling their story made them feel. Yes, a few tears at an ELFA event. Every session ended with a room full of people continuing the discussions and enjoying sharing their stories, rather than rushing out to take a break. A room full of people of all ages, multiple races, many with diversities—some obvious, but mostly not—and many without. An ELFA event, but not a typical one. Hopefully, a new look for an ELFA event.

Melissa Donaldson, Lisa Haynes, Darlene Slaughter and Nancy Robles presented a session on ”Crucial Conversations.”

Most importantly, I had never met, nor ever seen, many of the attendees at another ELFA event. I’ve never experienced so many people coming up to me and introducing themselves by saying something along the lines of, “This is the best ELFA event I’ve ever attended—thank you for creating a safe space where I could be myself, tell my story and think about how to further DEI.”

The Equity Forum’s keynote speaker, Ginny Clarke, first set forth her perspectives on DEI at the 2022 ELFA Annual Convention. For the Forum, she targeted her remarks more specifically to people who self-identify as diverse—how they could be more successful and happier at work and how they could encourage their companies to increase their focus on DEI. At the upcoming 2023 ELFA Executive Roundtable, March 26-28 in Amelia Island, Florida, she will join us again, and will orient her remarks toward encouraging leaders to embrace DEI in all its facets.



Ginny was joined by two luminaries outside of our industry who gave us slightly different perspectives on how to approach DEI from a diverse person’s perspective: Lisa Haynes, D&I Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and Darlene Slaughter, Chief Diversity Officer of the March of Dimes. Melissa Donaldson, Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer of Wintrust Capital, weighed in on how to create and what it means to be a successful DEI-focused financial institution.

During the Forum, there was considerable discussion about how to have a successful career—the career you want. A number of salient points emerged:

1. Have a mentor
2. Be trustworthy
3. Be competent and inquisitive
4. Learn to empathize really well—truly care
5. Volunteer readily
6. Do as much of your boss’s job as possible
7. Create a safe space for others
8. Tell your story not because it’s about you but because it will influence another person

At the end of the day-long event, everyone engaged in an open discussion about what they learned and what they wanted to accomplish in their organizations. Let’s look at some of the learnings and action items as well as questions that were raised.

Lead with Equity and Accountability

• Be respectful
• Meet people where they are
• Listen with the intent to learn
• Set boundaries on what’s acceptable from the top down

Be Respectful

• Speak up; confront if necessary
• Stop justifying
• Be aware
• Be brave

Tell Your Story

• Share your vulnerabilities
• Say what you want/need
• Don’t judge a book by its cover letter
• Have the courage and patience to start the conversation

How To Best Handle Folks with Different Opinions

• Embrace vs exclude
• Where do you draw the line?
• What responsibilities do you have within that relationship?
• Importance of engaging with respect

Become One with the Business

• Use accountability to drive economic success
• Don’t let production excuse behavior
• Empower lower-level employees to raise issues
• Capture exit interview data and learn from it

Thoughtful Questions

• How do smaller companies realistically implement, develop and sustain DEI initiatives?
• How do we as leaders create a safe-place culture where employees can feel safe addressing microaggressions?

Leigh Ann Fagan, Quentin Cote, Christopher Johnson and Nancy Robles.

What does all of this mean and how was the Forum impactful and successful? Can DEI create a bridge to bring us all closer together? Here are my takeaways from the Forum:

• Tell Your Story. Diverse or not, tell your story in a way that the listener—your ally—can empathize with you. Understanding one another is more than half the battle to acceptance. At the Forum, hearing the stories people thoughtfully shared was eye-opening and made me think, How could this have possibly happened to that person?
• Be a Leader. Take responsibility for spreading DEI throughout your organization. Whether you have just joined your organization or are the longest-tenured person, make something positive happen. Whether you have just started your career or are in the C-Suite, make something positive happen.
• Embrace Incrementalism. Successful and permanent change happens slowly. Introduce that which you and your organization can absorb.
• Encourage Energy. The energy and positivity in the room during the Forum was palpable. Think about what all that energy could do if focused on your business.
• Plan on attending the 2023 ELFA Equity Forum Sept. 13-14 in New Orleans!

In closing, a comment that exemplifies many of the comments I heard at the Equity Forum indicates that the 2022 Equity Forum was successful: “As a 50+ white male, I was concerned my perspective would not be valued as I was a minority in the audience. I also realized the other attendees would have likely felt this way at every conference I have attended in the last 25 years. It was an enlightening experience, and I commit to be an ally for DEI.”

Attendees Patrick McLamore, Thomas Bessinger, Quan Hounshell, Katie Crawford and Brad Peterson.

We thank the six corporate sponsors of the Forum, the 19 members of the Equity Committee who had a hand in organizing the Forum and our ELFA staff liaisons Lisa Ramirez and Emily Winkler, without whom it would not have occurred.

Nate Gibbons, Ralph Petta, Kinna Pattani and Scott Thacker.

Disclaimer - This article reflects the author’s opinions, not those of Ivory Consulting Corporation.