Cablefax The Magazine - October 2021 - 33

D&I INITIATIVE (PROGRAMMER)
Path to Equity
WarnerMedia
WarnerMedia recognized that DEI needs to be part of L&D for the company to really fire
on all cylinders. The three-week " Path to Equity " program was born in the summer of
2020 from its Listen. Understand. Act. Initiative. Unlike general " open enrollment " learning
and development training, the program requires business unit leaders to prioritize
their commitment to equity and inclusion by enrolling their entire workforce and creating
the space needed for six hours of programming.
This isn't a cookie-cutter approach. WarnerMedia's Equity & Inclusion team created materials specific to each organization's
unique need and prepped business unit leaders on the information before the program's start so that they could lead their
team. Full-team buy-in results in true community learning and a shared language.
The experts in racial equity who lead the Path to Equity sessions are the key to the program's success. They include
luminaries such as Dr. Kira Banks, who served as a racial equity consultant on the Ferguson Commission. The goal is to provide
insights and perspectives on the importance of leaning into conversations on race and identity, while giving employees
the tools to have necessary conversations.
By the time the program is over, WarnerMedia hopes it has enabled individuals-no matter where they sit in an organization-to
understand the critical role they play in creating an inclusive culture.
D&I INITIATIVE (OPERATOR)
Lotus Employee Resource Group
Cox Communications
As the pandemic reached America, so did a rise in violence and xenophobia
directed at the Asian community. Cox Communications used
this backdrop to launch its first Asian American & Pacific Islander
employee resource group in May 2020. It was an immediate success,
with membership growing to more than 1,000 employees across all
three Cox divisions within a year of launch.
The Lotus ERG already has two signature events under its umbrella. " In My Kitchen " has Cox employees teach others how
to make Asian dishes, while " TEAchable Moments " features Cox and community leaders sharing lessons they've experienced
throughout their lives. Speakers have included Mike Magpayo, head men's basketball coach at UC Riverside and
the first NCAA Division I head coach of Filipino descent, and former Olympian Nei-Kuan Chia, senior director of strategy &
corporate development at Cox Enterprises.
When the country was rocked by the Atlanta spa shootings, in which six of the eight victims were of Asian descent, Lotus
hosted an open forum for employees to share what was on their hearts. It also created the " Hate is a Virus " toolkit to share
different resources on how to report incidents of AAPI racism and tips to combat stereotypes against the AAPI community.
Lotus continues to bloom, continuously highlighting the 48 Asian countries that make up the AAPI community through employee
spotlights, " Fun Fact Fridays " and celebrations of popular Asian holidays like Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.
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October 2021
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Cablefax The Magazine - October 2021

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