On February 7, 2022, Mecca Mitchell, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Burlington Stores, Inc., visited Dr. Steve Safier’s and Jane Gios’ Integrated Talent Strategies class for an informative guest lecture on Global HR and DEI.
Mecca underscored the importance of DEI and the transformational landscape of the field over the past 20 years. She stated that in the past, practitioners were very well intended but had a focus on compliance, ensuring that employees were not discriminated against. Today, on the other hand, Mecca said, “We have moved into a place where the work has evolved beyond EEO. DEI must be integrated across the entire business enterprise to create impactful change and sustainability. It must be fully integrated into an organization’s policies and practices, including performance, compensation, recruitment, and training.”
Mecca added that employee work attitudes have changed, quoting, “My generation was focused on pensions and paychecks. However, the workforce of the future is rapidly evolving, and employees nowadays are questioning whether an organization aligns with their values because that is what is important to today’s workforce. As an employer, you have to take these factors into consideration when crafting your recruitment and professional development strategies.” Mecca discussed how inclusive leaders need to display professional courage and raise their own cultural intelligence in order to effectively manage the workforce of the future. She further indicated that the word leader “is both a noun and a verb, and that many have settled into the noun part of the role, the leaders of the future who will drive the innovation and ensure long term success for their organizations will need to actively engage the workforce and external stakeholders around issues that truly matter to them. A leader needs to be both inspirational and aspirational, galvanizing others to action and setting a clear vision for others to follow. Effectively leveraging diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices are critical to help leaders accomplish this.”
Before Mecca ended her highly engaging guest lecture, we asked her for career advice. Among her valuable thoughts is a quote she once heard over the radio and that was, “A job is what you're paid for, a calling is what you're made for.” On an even more personal level, Mecca counseled our students, “Our actions, in our professional and personal lives, affect others and it is about leading a purposeful life, creating opportunities and transformational change for others.”
Thank you, Mecca for visiting our class and for sharing your wisdom and perspectives!
