In spring 2020, the murder of George Floyd by police sparked weeks of protests worldwide against police brutality and racism. The resulting civil unrest, a scale unseen since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, ignited a profound racial reckoning which continues to reverberate today.
Many companies have experienced this same call to justice in the business world, responding with a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). For some, including global consulting firm Deloitte, this means reimagining what an equitable workplace looks like—and equipping others to follow.
“I think we’re yet to understand the full impact of the George Floyd movement on society,” says Aimal Ahmadzai, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion manager at Deloitte. “For DEI in the business space, it’s been the impetus for so much introspection and progress.”
At Deloitte, Ahmadzai, MBA ’14, is focused on helping ensure an equitable, inclusive, and diverse workforce for the company and a slew of cross-sector clients. He works closely with public, private, and nonprofit organizations on DEI state assessments, a tool used to evaluate organizations’ DEI maturity—a priority that’s skyrocketed since 2020.
Deloitte’s assessments help companies pinpoint gaps in diversity by analyzing the demographics of current and prospective employees. If assessments identify demographic disparities, Ahmadzai then conducts a barrier analysis to investigate why. Potential barriers might include biased hiring policies, practices, procedures, or antiquated performance reviews.
Current trends only further validate the need for change: Of the 125 million employed in the US private sector, Black workers account for just 12 percent, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company. BIPOC also suffer notably higher rates of unemployment than white people.