By Lisa Durham, Director, Argonne Leadership Institute
A key component of our Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) journey is laboratory leadership’s commitment to be transparent on where we are and where we are going.
In keeping with this commitment, Argonne’s Annual Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory Diversity and Inclusion Plan: Fiscal Year 2017 has been posted on the Leadership Institute’s website. The plan establishes a framework for development of an inclusive workplace that values and respects the contributions of all employees by establishing a D&I mission, vision and guiding principles, as well as outlining strategic goals.
Please note that this version of the Diversity and Inclusion Plan does not include employee demographic information. Demographic information for our employee population can be found on Argonne’s public website.
The document was prepared based on contributions from many at the laboratory — a diverse group of coauthors — making it clear D&I is a labwide initiative, and that all employees are responsible for achieving the following D&I goals:
- Engage: Establish D&I as a core value
- Enlist: Build an inclusive, collaborative and transparent work environment
- Educate: Help employees develop inclusive workplace behaviors
- Empower: Establish shared D&I responsibility among all employees
I believe this is a strong plan because it is data based. The results from the climate survey, conducted in September 2015, were used in its development and provide a baseline against which to measure progress.
The plan was well received as indicated by feedback provided by DOE: “Argonne is to be commended on a Diversity and Inclusion strategy that is comprehensive and focused — including leadership training workshops; engagement of employees through a cultural survey; the Leadership Institute; and the tracking of outcomes.”
I am proud to provide this plan both to DOE and to the Argonne community. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you on our D&I journey. I encourage you to read the plan and please contact me at leadershipinstitute@anl.gov if you have any questions.