Chief diversity officer

The Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) is the highest corporate officer charged with the management of diversity and inclusion in an organization.

The CDO role may involve: addressing discrimination in the workplace, launching initiatives to change organizational culture, and increasing the range of backgrounds and the representation of staff. Roughly 52% of Fortune 500 companies employ diversity officers. ^[1]

Historical background

The chief diversity officer serves in an executive level leadership role. According to Billy E. Vaughn, a history of cultural diversity pioneer work conducted by university professors, cultural diversity consultants, and human resource officers precedes the chief diversity officer. ^[2] Less than 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies employed diversity officers in 2005, but that number had grown to 53 percent in 2022. ^[3] Only recently has there been a discussion about the appropriate background education and credentials the diversity officer needs. In the business sector, the role remains tied to human resource management functions. Higher education chief diversity officers tend to have doctoral degrees.

Credentialing

Diversity Certification refers to credential training that provides professionals with knowledge and skills for maintaining non-discriminatory and inclusive business practices. ^{[4] [5]}

Diversity Training University International (DTUI) is believed to have offered the first cultural diversity professional (CDP) and cultural diversity trainer (CDT) credentialing program in 1998. ^[4] Cornell University launched a diversity certificate specialization that same year. The National Training Laboratory (NTL) also offered a certificate program. Cornell University has since offered both certificate programs and the CCDP credentials. ^[6]

See also

• Diversity (business)

References

Citations

1. Tina Shah Paikeday (June 1, 2021). "Positioning Your Chief Diversity Officer For Top Performance". Russell Reynold. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
2. The History of Diversity Training & Its Pioneers
3. "How to set your chief diversity officer up for success | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
4. "Blog Archives". Diversity Job Board. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
5. "What is Cultural Diversity Certification? – CDP CDT CDE -". 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
6. "THE HISTORY OF DIVERSITY TRAINING & ITS PIONEERS". Diversity Officer Magazine. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

Sources

• Williams, D. & Wade-Golden, K. (2006). What is a Chief Diversity Officer? Inside Higher Education (original publication). http://www.insidehighered.com/workplace/2006/04/18/williams
• Vaughn, B. (2008). Letters from the Editor. Diversity Officer Magazine. http://diversityofficermagazine.com/
• Martin, M. & Vaughn, B. E. (2007). Cultural Competence: The Nuts & Bolts of Diversity & Inclusion. In Billy E. Vaughn (Ed.), Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management (Now Diversity Officer magazine), pp. 31–38, Vol. 1, No. 1. Diversity Training University: San Francisco.
• Vaughn, B. E. (2007). The history of diversity training and its pioneers. In Billy E. Vaughn (Ed.), Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management (Now Diversity Officer magazine), pp. 11–16, Vol. 1, No. 1. Diversity Training University: San Francisco.