Page 22 - BEQ Magazine Iss 20 Fall 2021 WebRev09272021

NICHELLE
GRANT, Head
of Diversity,
Equity and
Inclusion at
Siemens USA .
| COURTESY
PHOTO

“Inclusive business

is inevitable”

By MELISSA LOWERY
N ichelle Grant sees inclusive not lead the way?” she said during our interview.

Gen Z is entering the workforce with a mandate
business as “inevitable”. The
that corporate America adopt inclusive, equitable
Head of Diversity, Equity
policies – or they will work somewhere else. In 2019,
and Inclusion at Siemens USA, Grant has Deloitte published “Welcome to Gen Z”, an analysis
a long-term view of her work and its pur- of the demographic that now comprises more than
pose – attracting the best talent who can be one-third of the world’s population. In summation,
their authentic selves – and achieving that the report advised potential employers that, “Diver-
sity matters to [Gen Z] through many dimensions,
requires taking action now to ensure an
and isn’t just isolated to race and gender, but also
inclusive workplace in the future. related to identity and orientation. Combining this
with their preferences on how they work, where they
“Right now, we’re having discussions about work and who they work with means that companies
updating our policies and the language in our guide- will need to fundamentally change how they orga-
books to be more inclusive. I think in maybe five but nize, hire, retain and develop talent.”
definitely 10 years, we won’t even be thinking about This burgeoning workforce is not shy about the
this, because it’s inevitable. It’s going to happen, the fact that they want to see a massive paradigm shift
next generations of the workforce demand it, so why in the employer-employee dynamic. Unlike the

22 FALL 2021 BUSINESSEQUALITYMAGAZINE .COM