How have events of 2020 reshaped D&I, and what should businesses be doing in response? | Advertising

Events of 2020 have brought on societal and economic unrest, presenting unique challenges for business owners as they look to navigate a global recession while maintaining a firm focus on diversity and inclusion.

Covid-19 has in many ways accentuated existing inequalities, leading governments to overhaul welfare structures and address the widening class divide, and movements such as Black Lives Matter to rear their head once more.

But as business survival instincts take over, is diversity and inclusion getting pushed down the corporate agenda, or is it more important than ever? 

In Asia-Pacific, how can business leaders respond to events of 2020 and implement wide-ranging diversity and inclusion programmes and practices, while remaining sensitive to local laws and religious beliefs?

Moreover, how can business leaders ensure that movements of 2020 are not a flash in a pan, but lead to affirmative action and have a lasting positive impact on workplace practices?

To kick off our Leading Change video series, we are joined by two business leaders who are no strangers to the Campaign stage.

Rose Huskey, CEO of Southeast Asia for Wavemaker and Jacqui Barrett, founder and CEO at Salt, are both passionate about diversity and inclusion and its progress in Asia, with each acting as the driving force of D&I in their respective businesses.

In an online panel with Campaign Asia-Pacific deputy editor Jessica Goodfellow, Huskey and Barrett discuss what businesses can do on a practical level to tackle all forms of discrimination, the role of governments in instituting mandatory diversity measures, the impact of Covid-19 on D&I, and what affirmative action they have taken this year that can be a source of inspiration for other business leaders.