The 2021 national Faith@Work ERG Conference is less than two weeks away! You are in store for inspiring insights and authentic connections with the world’s foremost thinkers and leaders on the interconnections between business and our hearts, minds and spirits.
We’ll hear directly from those who have built and are building faith-and-belief employee resource groups (ERGs) in some of America’s most successful companies, including: Google, American Airlines, Intel, American Express and PayPal.
We’ll also hear from people from companies that have launched new interfaith ERGs during the pandemic, such as Equinix, and others that are just beginning the process, as is SAP.
But — as we’ll learn from Accenture — religious inclusion in the workplace is more than just setting up an ERG: it requires a shift towards an accommodation mindset. In companies like Tyson Foods and American Airlines, that includes having workplace chaplains.
Former US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook, brings her Global Black Women’s Chamber of Commerce network to discuss how faith is integral, authentic and energized within the African American business community. Spoiler alert: Get ready to dance!
From Sue Warnke of Salesforce, Dean Bridgette Madrian of the BYU Marriott School of Business and Dean Andrew Abela of the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, we’ll hear how the business leaders of tomorrow expect to enter workplaces that welcome their faiths and beliefs.
Drilling down on the conference’s theme of Authenticity and Connection, Kent Johnson will moderate several panels ranging from “Today’s Need for Greater Empathy and Thicker Skin” to how “Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists are an Important Focus for Diversity & Inclusion.”
The keynotes are must-hear:
– Tomas Flier, Google’s global diversity and inclusion lead, will release the premier of a fantastic video introducing Google’s Inter Belief Network to the world.
– Sharon Fast Gustafson, EEOC’s General Counsel, “will deliver a keynote presentation on why religious nondiscrimination is good for business” and “will explain legal obligations relating to religious nondiscrimination and accommodation in the workplace.”
– Juliet Funt, CEO of WhiteSpace at Work (brought to us thanks to the Global Leadership Network), will inspire with practical advice on banishing the thieves of productivity and recovering time to be creative.
– Margaret Grun Kibben, chaplain of the US House of Representatives and retired chief of chaplains for the US Navy and Marine Corp, discusses with Chaplain Karen Diefendorf (Tyson Foods) and Fr. Greg McBrayer (American Airlines) how workplaces can build civility despite the challenges of a pandemic and social and political unrest.
There is also a fascinating series of panels on faith, ethics and technology, including remarks by Frank Torres, Director of Public Policy in Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, part of the company’s Technology and Corporate Responsibility group.
There will be plenty of live interaction as well as a special religious freedom & business short Film Festival, PLUS some humorous spots along the way … but that part is a secret. 🙂
Invite others to join you – registration is open!
