Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for HRCornell

Certificate Program

People may assume that it's employee satisfaction or commitment to their job that promotes higher performance, but it's engagement. In this course, you will examine the foundational drivers of engagement and explore the components of successful engagement initiatives. When completed, this course will help you identify strategies for bringing about engagement in organizations.

In companies where 60-70% of employees are engaged, shareholder returns are approximately 24%. Compare that to companies where only 50-60% of employees are engaged: shareholder returns are as low as approximately 5%. Similarly, teams with high engagement experience 4.1% turnover, as opposed to approximately 14.5% turnover for teams with low engagement.  These figures clearly illustrate the significant impact that managers and HR professionals can have if they better understand what impacts the engagement of employees.

The management of diversity, equity, and inclusion has evolved from "counting the numbers" to "making the numbers count." Organizations that no longer look at inclusion as having a good mix of diverse people, but as a way to fully engage employees, partners and customers have an opportunity to compete globally. Diversity, equity, and inclusion must be embedded in an organizational culture to make a positive impact on performance.

This course, based on the expertise of Cornell University Professor Lisa Nishii, differentiates diversity from inclusion and how organizations often miss the real opportunity. Students assess three levels of inclusion and identify evidence that can be used for each level to assess presence and effectiveness. HR executives and leaders share their perspective on diversity and inclusion and how they made the shift to inclusion at organizational, managerial and work group levels.

Inclusion is a relational construct. It's ultimately about how your team functions and performs based on the quality of social connections, openness to learning, agility, and depth of decision making. How can you foster greater inclusion within your workgroup? Throughout these modules, you will be asked to reflect upon your own experiences and apply the lessons in the modules in your own role.

You will examine the concept of climate, specifically inclusive climates, as well as learn about the specific behaviors and skills you need to demonstrate in order to be successful in shaping an inclusive climate.

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions to explore today’s most pressing topics. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium! From the workplace to our homes, discussions about diversity and inclusion are necessary to become aware of our biases and promote action and change. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine and dissect key diversity and inclusion topics like psychological safety, belonging, and equity. By participating in dynamic and relevant dialogues, you will discover a variety of perspectives and create genuine connections with participants from diverse industries and backgrounds.

Upcoming Symposium: January 2025 

All sessions are held on Zoom.

You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete the certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.