What does a Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer do? An interview.
Please find my interview with Glassdoor pasted below! You can also find the original posting here and german translation here.
A recent Glassdoor analysis showed that more and more companies offer jobs to foster their diversity and inclusion efforts. But what does the daily job life look like in those roles. To get an idea of this, we talked to Sarah Cordivano, Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Zalando.
What do you do as a Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer?
Sarah Cordivano: I work on programs and projects that support our journey towards a more diverse and inclusive Zalando. This is quite open-ended as it evolves regularly with different projects coming up. At the moment this includes developing an Employee Resource Program to support our community groups to be visible and have the impact they wish to have. I am also working on developing a training portfolio to upskill our Zalando community on topics of diversity and inclusion (D&I) by using hands-on and immersive learning experiences.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
SC: A normal workday typically includes the following:
- Meeting with stakeholders and community members to discuss current and future projects in order to get their perspective and buy-in.
- Developing programs and projects to support our journey.
- Working on future strategy or roadmaps to continue our ambitious plans ahead.
- Communicating updates of what we’re working on via presentations or in written format.
What skills are essential to thrive in a position like this?
SC: Stakeholder management and communication skills are very important! Additionally, strong project management skills to execute on strategy. Of course a comprehensive understanding of diversity and inclusion concepts and best practices. And lastly, a desire to continuously learn and grow throughout your career, best practices evolve over time so it’s imperative to keep learning.
What would you advise companies to do that are just starting with diversity & inclusion initiatives?
SC: Make D&I a priority and responsibility across the company, not just in human resources or corporate responsibility. Embed the awareness, accountability, and ownership of initiatives throughout the organization. Make sure your senior leaders can show authentic top-down support of your D&I strategy. And most importantly, involve your community members (Employee Resource Groups) in setting your strategy.
Where do you see your professional field heading? Will a Diversity & Inclusion Officer be a standard role at every company soon?
SC: In Germany, I am seeing more roles like this pop up, but there are still fewer than in the US or UK. I don’t think there will be an Officer role at every company in the future, but it really depends on where each company is starting from and what their ambitions are.
An officer role is helpful in developing and making progress on D&I initiatives. But a lot can still be done with a strong leadership team that sets D&I as a priority across the company and sets up mechanisms for accountability. Additionally, I also really like to see roles that empower and support community groups and help them be visible while also acknowledging and recognizing the work they do.
In short, simply hiring an officer is not the silver bullet. There is so much more work to do to prioritize and support D&I work within a company.
Looking into the future… how would you advise young professionals to prepare for this career path?
SC: To the extent you have time, get involved in community work and leadership. Take opportunities to read books and learn about privilege, discrimination, equity, belonging and inclusion. Challenge your current company to prioritize and be transparent on its initiatives to create a diverse workplace with a strong sense of belonging and inclusion.
