Clarkson’s Brandon Miller Speaks on Allyship at DEI Panel with SLAS
November 18, 2024 | Clarkston Consulting’s Brandon Miller, Clarkston’s DE+I Services Lead, recently discussed workplace allyship at a DEI panel. Hosted by SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening), Brandon and a few other DEI experts for the life sciences industry shared insights about ally support in the workplace. View a few quotes from Brandon below or the full article here.
From Allies and Activists to Proactive Panelists: Speaking out About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
“In 45 minutes, we not only share information on the topic — health equity, diversity and inclusion in life sciences — but we also create a starting point for individuals to begin doing the work while we’re in the room. We can capitalize on collective knowledge, experiences and share with one another.”
“Diversity, equity and inclusion create cultures of innovation and belonging, and the ability to advance life sciences and create better outcomes for our patients, customers and consumers.”
“Companies should consider their DEI vision and goals and understand the commitment. Until they get a solid core and have that alignment in their leadership team to what DEI means within the company, they’re not going to effectively launch any other DEI initiatives. allyship is incredibly important in any organization, no matter how big or small, or what industry you’re in.”
“Active allyship involves pushing agendas forward, securing a budget needed to achieve goals, and mentoring or sponsoring individuals of marginalized communities to help them elevate their career and catalyze their career trajectory.”
“There’s still a lot of work that we can do around clinical trials,” Miller comments. “Some of the companies that I see recently are more reactive in the space. They see FDA draft guidance come out about diversity in clinical trials, and then they react by fulfilling that guidance to be compliant instead of considering how it might benefit their organization to truly build bridges and equity into how they operate.”