Is it just me, or is this year flying? I haven’t had time to commit to my New Year’s Resolutions and it’s already March. But nothing motivates me like a New Year and, after a year like 2020, I think we can all use a fresh start.

Back in December, it was estimated that 74% of all Americans intended to begin this year with a resolution, many of those directly related to personal improvement – learning something new, making a lifestyle change, becoming healthier or just wealthier! Many CEO’s kicked off 2021 with a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Leaders dedicated their entire town hall meetings to a topic that previously might have been just one slide of their presentation deck on a very full agenda. Companies released public statements, donated to causes that address systemic racism, and in celebration of Black History Month, they encouraged their employees to support Black owned businesses. All good things.

And, even though these same CEO’s have a very inconsistent, if not poor, track record of producing meaningful diversity results, it seems like employees are expecting CEO’s to take on increasingly more responsibility. According to Edelman’s most recent Trust Barometer, released in January, 68% of people believe that CEO’s should step in when the government does not fix societal problems. The good news is that it does not appear that the focus on DEIB is going to wane any time soon. But the reality is companies are still struggling to figure out just what to do internally, while employees seem to have expectations of an expanded scope. So we are ignoring the message “please put on your oxygen mask before assisting others” but defaulting back to the rather familiar “the cobbler’s kids have no shoes”.

Adding to the complexity is the brutal fact that, while we have all been in this same COVID19 storm for the last year, we are definitely not all in the same boat. For the socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, the pandemic continues to exacerbate inequalities in education as students lack computer or internet access and a safe and quiet place to study at home. Most low-cost options for access to computers and the internet, such as libraries and cafes, were closed for much of last year.  A McKinsey analysis found that 40% of African-American students and 30% of Hispanic students in the U.S. K-12 schools received no online instruction during COVID-induced school shutdowns, compared to only 10% of whites. These gaps in access to online education and digital services widened the already substantial educational inequalities that existed and pushed them to new heights.

Gender equity has also taken a big step back. According to the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), 100% of the net job loss in December belonged to women. Overall, women lost a total of 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000 jobs. This trend emphasizes the disparate impact the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to have on women in the workforce. In addition to the overall jobs loss in December, the NWLC’s analysis showed that nearly 40% of women aged 20 and over had been out of work for six months. For Asian women aged 16 and over, this number stood at 44% and for Black women and Latinas this number stood at 40.8% and 38.3%, respectively.

As we continue to reflect on the powerful conversations we had during Black History Month and kick off the start of Women’s History Month, I made time to jot down my personal DEIB resolutions for 2021. Keeping with the theme of 2021 International Women’s Day #ChoseToChallenge, I’m going to make sure that my resolutions for the remainder of 2021 are challenging the status quo and highlighting that progress for some, has not resulted in progress for all.

Here is my list of resolutions and I look forward to hearing yours!

1. Keep challenging all of the common practices from the last 20 years that haven’t produced results; clearly, what we have been doing isn’t working and we need to stop believing that simple prevalence of a practice means progress.
2. Start relentlessly prioritizing; I will focus my efforts on the systemic barriers to equality and saying no to “activities” that are demonstrative at best.
3. Remember, you train dogs, you develop people; one-and-done unconscious bias training does not work. The focus should be on continual learning experiences.
4. Focus on moving the “muddle in the middle” of our organization to the “mighty in the middle;” engaging the entire organization in DEIB efforts will be the key to progress.
5. Listen and learn; our employees and workforce data are trying to tell us something, but are we really listening?

Our collective behaviors will have an impact. Challenge, prioritize, focus, develop, listen, and learn to make 2021 the year that we make powerful change!