Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Virtual Workshop

Hosted by the Montana High Tech Business Alliance in partnership with University of Montana Corporate Training. Sponsored by ATG, a Cognizant Company.

2 Day Workshop Series

July 29, 11am to 1pm MST and July 30, 11am to 2pm MST

This three-part, highly interactive training will introduce participants to key concepts to promote and develop more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Participants will finish the workshop with a shared vocabulary and clear understanding of terms like gender, race, intersectionality, and privilege and how they impact individuals and teams.

Learn proven methods to incorporate DEI goals into strategic planning and effect substantive change in your company and community. Specific resources include field-tested analysis, real-world applications, and research-based principles and guidelines. Proprietary frameworks shared will include:

  • The Seven Step Anti-Racism Audit Process for Businesses and Non-Profits

  • Seven Principles to Transform Backlash into Buy-In

  • 4-step Model for Making Change

  • Recruiting for Diverse Candidate Pools

  • Tools for Creating a Diversity Task Force

  • Applying a Growth Mindset to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Grab your lunch and come learn with your peers. A discount is available for groups of five or more.

Individuals who successfully complete all sessions and assignments will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Montana.

Who should attend?

Taught by an interdisciplinary team of UM faculty with deep experience in higher education, private industry and nonprofits, the DEI workshop is designed to be relevant at all levels — emerging leaders, managers, or senior executives. Case studies and examples will highlight issues specific to Montana and to the high-tech industry, but enrollment is open to anyone. (See facilitator bios below.)

Location

Conducted via Zoom, the workshop is broken into multiple sessions and will connect participants with each other, as a cohort and in small groups, through virtual chat rooms. Because the training is designed to facilitate discovery through group interaction, we ask participants to commit to attending the full live workshop experience. This training will NOT be recorded.

Link and password to the virtual classroom will be sent to all registered attendees, along with course materials.

Register now – space is limited to 50 participants.

Cost

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of ATG, a Cognizant Company, all proceeds from workshop registration fees will be donated to nonprofits advancing diversity and equity in Montana’s tech sector and our communities —MT Native Americans in Math and Science (MT-AIMS), Montana Racial Equity Project, and Soft Landings.

Regular Registration: $200 per person

Montana High Tech Business Alliance Member Registration (20% discount): $160 per person

Group Discount: $150 per person (for five or more attendees from the same organization)

Full refunds may be issued up to two days prior to the start of the workshop. 50 percent refund for cancellations within two days of the workshop.

Workshop Outline

Session 1: (2 hours total)

July 29, 2020 11am to 1pm MST

Part 1 – Definitions and Frameworks (2 hours)

  • Pre-workshop Participant Introductions

  • Faculty Introductions and Review

  • Definitions: gender, race, intersection, privilege 

  • Framework: iceberg metaphor 

  • Wrap-up and review

Session 2: (3 hours total)

July 30, 2020 11am to 2pm MST 

Part 2 – Business Environment and Solutions (90 minutes)

  • Faculty Introductions and Recap

  • Current state of inclusion in business

  • Causes of the current state

  • Solutions

  • Personal responsibility

  • Wrap-up and assignment

Part 3 – Organizational Solutions (90 minutes)

  • Debrief of personal responsibility assignment

  • Organizational policy solutions 

  • Organizational culture solutions

  • Final discussion with all faculty

Previous Webinar

The MHTBA hosted this webinar in partnership with the University of Montana Corporate Training Programs on June 23, 2020.

Instructors

Michael Cassens is an Assistant Professor in the School of Media Arts at the University of Montana and the Director of UM Esports. Prior, he was an instructor in the Department of Computer Science and has owned and operated a consulting business for over 20 years. His current focus is on creating an inclusive and diverse culture in the classroom as well as within the Esports team.

Theresa Floyd is a management professor in the College of Business at the University of Montana. She earned her Ph.D. from Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky in 2014. Prior to her doctoral studies, Theresa worked for 14 years in retail merchandising for industry giants such as Gap and PetSmart.

Elizabeth Hubble, Ph.D., directs the University of Montana’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. Her most recent research focuses on integrating gender-based violence prevention in the humanities classroom and using the lessons of online feminist activism as a means to highlight marginalized voices, today and in the past. She regularly teaches classes and gives lectures on intersectionality, systems of privilege and oppression, the history of feminism, the history of the LGBTIQ+ rights movement, and media representations of gender and sexuality.

Tobin Miller Shearer is a history professor and the director of African-American studies at the University of Montana. He is a white man who has worked for 30 years as an anti-racism educator and consultant.