DEI Business Solutions
University of Southern California is home to a dynamic research and organizational improvement center that helps professionals in corporations, educational institutions, and other contexts strategically develop and achieve equity goals, better understand and correct climate problems, avoid and recover from diversity-related crises, and foster sustainable cultures of inclusion and respect. Evidence, as well as scalable and adaptable models of success, inform our rigorous approach.
The USC Race and Equity Center and USC Marshall School of Business launched a portfolio focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2019. Extensive prior experience developing high-quality learning opportunities for professionals across a multitude of industries, as well as deep expertise on assessing climates of inclusion for women, employees of color, LGBTQIA employees, employees with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, uniquely poises us to offer an array of useful resources, services, and experiences focused on DEI in businesses, firms, government agencies, and an expansive array of other organizational contexts.
Team Bios
Wilmon A. Christian III, EdD
Director, Workplace Equity
wilmonac@rossier.usc.edu
- Organizational Equity
- Workplace Environments and Climates
- Employee Experience Research
LaNita Gregory Campbell, PhD
Director, DEI Organizational Strategy
lanitagr@usc.edu
- Racial Justice and Gender Advocacy
- Leadership and Development
- Health Equity
Brandi Junious, MEd, LBBP
Director of Corporate Partnerships
junious@rossier.usc.edu
- DEI Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention
- HR and Executive Coaching
- Employee Wellness and Organizational Culture
A.J. Mada, MBA
Equity Coaching Academy Director
amada@usc.edu
- Racial Equity Coaching
- Training and Development
- Public Transportation Advocate
Richard Nassar, MBA
Chief Strategy Officer
RNassar@rossier.usc.edu
- Pay Equity Expert
- Equity Advising and Consulting
- Organizational Strategy and Development
Recent Clients & Partners
DEI eLearning Series
Over 100,000 employees educated on DEI topics globally
APPROACH
We offer companies, firms, and agencies live, high-quality virtual professional learning experiences on a range of topics pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. These virtual sessions are evidence-based and taught by leading DEI experts from the USC Race and Equity Center and throughout the field. Each session is highly engaging and includes practical strategies for employees at all levels in the organization.
LIST OF TOPICS
Addressing Homophobia and Heterosexism
Advancing Women to Senior Leadership Roles
Communicating Commitment to DEI
Eliminating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Evolving with Client/Customer Demographics
Facilitating Difficult Conversations about DEI
Hiring and Strategically Diversifying the Workplace
Making Workplace Environments Trans Inclusive
Managing Intergenerational Tensions
Meeting the Needs of Employees with Disabilities
Navigating Partisanship Diversity and Political Polarization
Recognizing and Reducing Implicit Bias
Recovering from Diversity-Related Crises
Resolving Racial Tensions at Work
Retaining and Advancing Employees of Color
Supporting Employee Networks/Resource Groups
Strategic DEI Advising
20 highly trained coaches from diverse industries with over 200 years of combined experience in DEI working as Equity Coaches for senior leaders
APPROACH
We provide executives and managers with effective, responsive, respectful, collaborative, creative, and evidence-based strategies to improve and advance equity, diversity, and inclusion within their organizations. Our confidential advising focuses on:
- Helping leaders address current realities and stressful challenges around DEI
- Developing comprehensive and sustainable DEI strategies as well as measuring their progress
- Avoiding, strategically addressing, and recovering from DEI-related crises and events
- Reducing risk and harm while maximizing opportunities for learning and organizational integrity
Workplace Climate Assessments
Over 1 million participants included in our Center’s climate research to improve belonging and inclusion for diverse groups.
APPROACH
We offer both qualitative and quantitative workplace climate assessments to help organizations assess, understand, and address employees’ encounters with sexism and sexual harassment, racism, ageism, sizeism, religious and disability discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and other experiences that undermine equity and inclusion in the workplace.
QUALITATIVE CLIMATE ASSESSMENT
Teams from our center will conduct virtual, confidential focus group interviews with diverse groups of employees across all levels of the organization. Depending on the size of the organization, we will either interview all employees willing to participate or we will interview a sample of the population. We will subsequently furnish a report that includes our findings and numerous practical recommendations.
QUANTITATIVE CLIMATE ASSESSMENT
We also offer a quantitative climate assessment developed by our Center’s survey research team. Through this survey, employees will answer pre-developed questions designed to assess their experience in the workplace given the unique contexts in which they work. We will present the final data using interactive dashboards and provide numerous practical recommendations.
Pay Equity Solutions
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Assessing and improving employee compensation through pay equity audits with clients across a range of industries, including local and state governments
APPROACH
In partnership with PayScale, we help employers conduct proactive and self-driven pay equity audits to determine whether any pay disparities exist within their organizations. Where pay gaps are identified among employees with comparable responsibilities and skills, we examine whether those differences can be explained by legitimate business justifications and not attributed to protected class characteristics such as gender and/or race, among others. Finally, we provide practical recommendations and strategies to remediate any pay disparities identified.
AUDITS
Based on your organization’s needs, the following audits may be conducted in tandem or a la carte:
Foundational
Focus on data collection and statistical analysis using trusted PayScale compensation technology and market data to detect disparities
Remedial
Focus on short- and long-term remediation planning to eliminate or reduce detected pay disparities
Causal
Focus on identifying root causes of detected disparities by assessing internal systems and processes that may be contributing factors
