Inclusion, Equity & Diversity

An inclusive workplace that ensures equal opportunity for all can boost resilience, foster innovation, improve hiring and retention, enhance public image, and help employers better respond to their consumers and the communities they serve.

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We spearhead legally compliant IE&D initiatives from design through execution and, if necessary, defense. As a result, our counseling, training and compliance advice is precise, practical and persuasive.

Your Strategic Partner

Uniquely positioned in employment law and cross-cultural capabilities, Littler possesses an exceptional ability to respond to the human resource challenges of an ever-evolving workforce. We are respected consultants in the field of establishing and maintaining an inclusive workplace. We have years of experience helping employers navigate through the legal, cultural and public exposure issues that can complicate IE&D efforts in the United States and across the globe. Littler helps companies attract, hire and retain employees across a breadth of cultures and backgrounds without resorting to unlawful strategies, quotas or otherwise adopting problematic practices.

Our team includes strategic advisors, data analysts, corporate trainers, litigators and investigators who have worked with employers of various sizes and industries to design legally compliant IE&D programs, review and revise existing ones, and defend them if challenged in court.

What We Do

Many employers recognize the benefits of creating and maintaining an inclusive workplace, but when they try to update their IE&D programs or readjust their objectives, they are faced with unexpected legal or practical roadblocks, or can experience unanticipated reactions from employees or other constituencies. We work with clients first to understand their brand and ethos, including where they are on their journey. We then craft defense strategies, counseling and training based on the organization’s specific needs.

We focus on the practical issues faced by executives, other management leaders and employees – improving communications, enhancing leadership skills, avoiding conflicts, expanding brand recognition, enhancing community engagement and limiting the potential for liability.

Identifying potential legal and policy implications of both on- and off-duty conduct, including political speech, social media, and hair and dress code issues.
Evaluating current or proposed policies and procedures, recommending legally compliant adjustments.
Supporting workplace inclusion programs that are open to all.
Conducting privileged analyses of employee metrics, pay equity practices and cultural assessments/climate surveys.
Assisting with state and federal agency reporting and compliance.
Advising on crisis prevention, mitigation and response.
Conducting independent investigations of workplace complaints involving IE&D issues.
Counseling multinational employers on how to navigate local employment practices and cultural differences to engender widespread acceptance of IE&D initiatives.
Developing and conducting in-person, virtual or hybrid training and facilitated discussions.
Defending against lawsuits and administrative agency charges arising out of IE&D commitments, publications and initiatives.

Our Experience

Executive ownership and support of any initiative is critical for its success and sustainability. Our team partners with client cross-functional teams to align strategies with company objectives and board directives, including those based on U.S. Supreme Court decisions and presidential executive orders related to diversity and discrimination. We take a holistic approach, considering the current and anticipated legal, social and political climate as well as company values, history and culture.

We offer extensive training systems for companies, including workshops for executives, managers, and rank-and-file employees; in-house presentations; and online briefings that address the cutting-edge issues required for hiring and retaining a workforce where everyone can feel a sense of belonging. Options include standard 101 training, one-on-one sessions and customized trainings to fit client needs and goals.

Key Capabilities

We help employers identify and achieve their inclusion-focused goals in a legally compliant manner.

Littler IE&D Compliance Playbook

This free resource provides employers with an interactive, comprehensive collection of resources that can help them answer fundamental compliance questions, assess their current efforts, uncover gaps and challenges, and identify inclusion-focused programming opportunities. Approximately 850 companies use the Inclusion Playbook, including 20% of Fortune 100 companies.

Program Development and Implementation

We regularly provide counseling and advice on employer inclusion programs and initiatives, as well as providing counsel and assisting with legally compliant and privileged audits and analyses of existing operations.

Crisis Management and Communication

As IE&D has become a frequent focus in court decisions, executive actions and public opinion, employers need quick and appropriate responses when their policies and programs are questioned. We help develop internal and external messaging, as well as advice on crisis prevention, mitigation and response.

Globalizing IE&D Initiatives

We counsel employers with international operations on how to navigate local employment practices and cultural differences to engender widespread acceptance of IE&D initiatives among workers outside the United States. We help ensure compliance with global data protection laws when conducting multinational surveys and analyzing survey results, and we develop strategies to integrate non-U.S. corporate group members into U.S.-led initiatives.

IE&D Training and Facilitated Discussions

Littler offers both stand-alone and package pricing for clients looking to supplement their in-house, facilitator-led training initiatives. Scenarios cover a wide range of workplace challenges and opportunities around which learners can discuss. We also have the resources to produce customized video vignettes, as well as in-person and online training. Our curriculum is developed by a team with backgrounds in IE&D compliance consulting, leadership and performance management, and instructional design.