MERG Speaker Series PT 2

Last week, the Lawline Minority Employee Resource Group (MERG) hosted their 2nd speaker event in their ongoing series. We were honored to have Melaney Goosby, a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner, as our guest speaker. Her experience and invaluable insights contributed to a meaningful discussion that left a positive impact on our employees.

At Lawline, we are committed to our core value GROW and are always seeking opportunities to expand our knowledge and understanding of important topics, including diversity, equity, and inclusion. To ensure the session was truly impactful, we invited employees to submit anonymous questions ahead of time, allowing us to delve deeper into the topic and get the most out of our time with Mel.

We received an impressive 13 questions from our employees, which Mel was able to address in great detail during the session. Her candid responses and unique perspective allowed for an open and honest dialogue that left us feeling inspired and informed. Employees were also encouraged to ask follow-up questions, ensuring they received the maximum benefit from the session.

A few key takeaways to highlight from the event include:

• Some ways to promote DEI in the workplace is for organizations to source vendors owned by disadvantaged groups; acknowledge and support employees who promote DEI initiatives; and integrate DEI into performance evaluations and promotion criteria.
  

• Organizations should have leadership buy-in, allocate resources towards DEI initiatives, set realistic goals and metrics for improvement, and engage in ongoing learning and education around issues related to DEI. 

• To help people understand the value of DEI, organizations should place an emphasis on the benefits of DEI, fostering open communication, and continuously educating employees. 

• The most critical step for organizations to ensure DEI is part of the core values is to prioritize building a culture that embraces and values diversity at all levels.

• Strategies for bringing in diverse candidates include standardizing the interview process, having a diverse interview committee, and expanding recruitment sources by attending conferences and networking events. 

• Allies play a crucial role in promoting DEI by using their personal and professional experiences to advocate on behalf of someone else, especially those who are from underrepresented or marginalized groups.

We recognize that learning and growing when it comes to DEI is a continuous and ongoing process, both as a company and as individuals. We are excited to continue on our growth journey and see MERG has in store for the future. Thank you, Melaney Goosby, for an exceptional event that helped us move closer towards a more inclusive workplace.

Our employees rated the session with a gold star of 4.8 out of 5! Check out direct feedback we received from our employees below! 

“The nature of the conversation made for a very productive event. I think it being more relaxed and conversational versus a presentation set a tone that made people feel encouraged and part of the conversation as opposed to being spoken to as if it was a lecture. I think the statistics she shared and relied on to support her logic were particularly impactful. For example, the one she mentioned about diverse teams performing 10% higher than less diverse teams. I also loved what she said about continuous education meaning having a continuous open mind, that really resonated especially with regard to working in the CLE space. Overall, I feel like Mel set a standard that we should have for all MERG speakers we look to book moving forward. I really appreciated that she left us all with clear actionable steps” - Dan O’Rourke

“Mel was very informative and allowed everyone a space to be heard. The way she maneuvered through difficult questions with ease is a true testament to her belief in Equity for all.” - Anonymous

“I truly appreciated the comfortable, relaxed, and straightforward nature of the conversation. Oftentimes, presenters use a powerpoint or have a presentation and are in teacher mode, but the Q&A, accompanied by your eagerness to answer additional questions made for a thoughtful discussion. I appreciated the point made about not changing beliefs but impacting behaviors. It has been a struggle to appeal to people who won't even give MERG events a try, because they are under the impression it is a session about how bad they are. However, understanding that it is not one person's job to change someone else's mind, but provide them with factual numbers and proof of a positive business outcome, is essential.” - Joy Payne