Equality

The pandemic has upended business. Let’s consider how managers should respond.

The Special Report in MIT SMR‘s Summer 2021 issue looks at how businesses can support a more inclusive workplace culture. Also in this issue: ways to communicate — and disagree — using candor and logic, business’s role in national emergencies, how volunteering helps workers’ skills, and changing the rules to suit turbulent times.

Knowing why racial equity initiatives provoke opposition can help you lead employees through change.

Businesses that pledged to support racial equity in 2020 must maintain their commitments to effecting change.

Supplier diversity initiatives can drive positive change, boost earnings, and build resilience.

New research on subtle gender bias highlights the anxiety underpinning biased behavior and suggests ways to defuse it.

Sponsors can play a role in growing and strengthening the pipeline of women leaders in organizations.

Collecting and analyzing the right employee data can help leaders build more equitable workplaces.

The highlight of the 2019-20 NBA season was a player-led response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

To show respect for individuality, leaders should support the use of personal pronouns in communication.

Companies put themselves at risk by making four key mistakes with corporate social responsibility.

The emerging frugal economy, ethical employee surveillance, and building organizational AI capabilities.

Today’s leaders can reinvent our dysfunctional economy for increased financial, social, and ecological benefits.

Companies that show the most agility and resilience in responding to the global pandemic pursue four main strategies.

Organizational leaders can begin to address racial discrimination in the workplace by taking strategic actions.

Identify which stakeholders will create long-term value for shareholders.

Often dismissed as a “feel good” option, B2B supplier diversity initiatives can reap financial rewards.

Leaders should focus on starting conversations, emphasizing individuality, and measuring feedback.

Leaders must prove their commitment to diversity by acting on the issue of racism and discrimination.

Computer scientists typically lead AI development, but teams with diverse expertise can build better systems.