ASU+GSV Summit 2021: Odessa Jenkins on creating a healthy workplace culture

Leaders in work, education, and tech gather to share innovative ideas about what's to come
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Creating diversity has to be done with intention, says Odessa Jenkins, president of Emtrain, which uses data analytics and other insights to help organizations create a healthy workplace culture. “I’m really excited to be speaking about this topic because when you look at what we focused on in the last year and a half, as it relates to diversity, it’s all about what things look like. It’s kind of turned into this financial metric. ‘What are your numbers? How many of this do you have? How many of that do you have? How are you demographically?’”

“And I think diversity with intention means truly getting to equity and inclusion. And you can’t get to those things unless you train a skill base or a workplace on certain skills.”

She adds, “I like to call any employee base of the company the real board. They are the board of directors. They are the board of advisors. Without you this business doesn’t go,” says Jenkins.

“So, I think collaboration amongst employees and a shared expectation of the business is how you make the business more intentional. Employee resource groups are huge. They’re important. They’re a force to be reckoned with if they are employee-led. I think that’s where employees need to know their power.”

Click here to learn more about Emtrain.

WorkingNation—a collaborating partner of the ASU+GSV Summit—spoke with Jenkins in San Diego as part of our #WorkingNationOverheard social media series.

Hear from more innovators in education and tech in the public, private, and nonprofit spheres attending the ASU+GSV Summit 2021 here.

Follow the conversation on social media: #asugsvsummit #workingnationoverheard