DOI Diversity Change Agents (DCAs)

Purpose

The Department of the Interior established the Diversity Change Agent Program to affect and mobilize a critical mass of stakeholders to embrace and enact its Inclusive Workplace Strategy. Many participants in the program are influential leaders who have enormous credibility from a mission standpoint, including senior executives, managers, supervisors, and non-supervisory permanent employees. In other words, diversity change agents can be found at every level of the organization and how they champion diversity and inclusion may vary considerably.

Objective

The agents are trained to assist in efforts to educate the workforce and position diversity and inclusion is a mission critical imperatives. The primary objectives of the program are to diplomatically draw Interior’s workforce into the inclusivity debate; have agents serving as catalysts for change; and to get managers, supervisors, and non-supervisory employees to a point where embrace diversity and inclusion as strategic opportunities.  Essentially, the program fosters a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Department of the Interior.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Facilitating change by modeling appropriate diversity and inclusion behaviors;
• Positively impacting employee empathy towards others who are different;
• Creating diversity and inclusion mind-set shifts and achieving buy-in;
• Increasing awareness of the benefits of a culturally diverse workforce;
• Promoting attendance at cross-cultural and cross-generational learning events and activities;
• Tactfully challenging stereotypic comments and assumptions;
• Initiating conversations about diversity and inclusion;
• Encouraging colleagues to get involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives;
• Working in partnership with leadership to actualize diversity and inclusion strategies;
• Encouraging open conversations about what working in a diverse and multicultural environment entails;
• Facilitating discussions about the conflicts consequent to generational differences, cultural differences; gender differences; and sexual orientation; and
• Sharing diversity and inclusion successes with the Office of Secretary.