Category: Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is an important and ongoing strategy of any HR plan. Ensuring that your company supports hiring, engaging, and retaining diverse workers with varied backgrounds will set your company up for long-term success and an increased bottom line. This topic offers the latest strategies for talent management, key insights from diversity leaders, case studies on D&I in the workplace, and more.

Empowering Diversity Through Gender-Inclusive Recruiting Strategies

In today’s business world, inclusivity is more than a value—it’s an essential part of a sound business strategy. A recent McKinsey and Company report shows that companies that build diverse executive teams by focusing on gender inclusivity are 25% more likely to outperform those that don’t financially. For those that build ethnically diverse teams, the […]

Case Study: 4th Circuit Delivers Road Map for Accommodation Process

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to engage in an interactive, good-faith process to determine if reasonable accommodations can be made for disabled employees that would allow them to perform the essential functions of the job. A recent case decided by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over North Carolina) […]

HR Works Podcast: Get Your Workforce PWFA-Ready! (Part 2) – Reasonable Accommodation

Guest: Paige Hoster Good, Attorney and Shareholder with McAfee & Taft What constitute as “reasonable accommodations” under the newly proposed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations? What steps are employers required to take when a qualified employee requests accommodation for a “known limitation” due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition? Our coverage around the […]

Case Study: Employee Can’t Show Firing Was Because of Her Gender

Discrimination claims are determined by a three-step analysis. Usually, the third step in this analysis—pretext—is key. Despite the ways in which courts have outlined how pretext for discrimination can be proven, there are times when an employee’s evidence of pretext falls short. A recent case from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is a […]

Women Can Be the Architects of the Future of Work

We often refer to the “future of work” as if we’re waiting for the next episode of a television series. Yet before we see a season of equality, women will need to be in the writers’ room. Without the energy, ideas, and mobilizing capacities of women, business will continue to be business as usual. By […]

Going Beyond Mandates to Prevent LGBTQIA+-Related Discrimination and Harassment

According to the Center for American Progress’s 2022 Survey, half of LGBTQIA+ adults reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination or harassment in the past year because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status, including being fired or denied a promotion; having their hours cut; or experiencing verbal, physical, or sexual harassment. This […]

How Organizations Can Support the Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

There’s a serious stigma associated with formerly incarcerated individuals in the workforce, although it has recently become clear that this stigma is unfair and based on falsehoods. By ignoring the largely untapped workforce the formerly incarcerated population represents, employers are missing out on a group of hardworking individuals who could solve many of their problems. […]

Embracing Authenticity, Awareness, and Acceptance: How SCOTUS’s Affirmative Action Ruling Will Impact Corporations

For over 25 years now, I have been consulting with companies about diversity and inclusion. This was long before the word “equity” was included. I’ve watched the concepts go from apathy to mild interest to the hottest internal HR and community initiatives that brought the word “equity” into the mix to now diversity, equity, and […]

Beyond Inclusion: Cultivating a Culture of Belonging in the Workplace

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are imperative to business success, but organizations must go a step further to create a truly inclusive workplace. That’s why we at Model N added an important letter to our initiative: B for belonging. Merely having a DEI strategy doesn’t suffice if it fails to create an environment and culture […]

What To Expect (From the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act) When You’re Expecting

Since 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)—which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—has prohibited discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. For 45 years, however, the landmark law fell short of specifically addressing a pregnant or postpartum employee’s need for special accommodations while working. Until now. A New Law […]