HBR's 10 Must Reads 2022: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (with bonus article "Begin with Trust" by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss)

How to Promote Racial Equity in the Workplace

by Robert Livingston

INTRACTABLE AS IT SEEMS, the problem of racism in the workplace can be effectively addressed with the right information, incentives, and investment. Corporate leaders may not be able to change the world, but they can certainly change their world.

Organizations are relatively small, autonomous entities that afford leaders a high level of control over cultural norms and procedural rules, making them ideal places to develop policies and practices that promote racial equity. In this article, I’ll offer a practical road map for making profound and sustainable progress toward that goal.

I’ve devoted much of my academic career to the study of diversity, leadership, and social justice, ...