Jâlie Cohen joined Adecco Group in 2020 as head of HR for the Americas — now global head of talent — and in the same year launched its revamped North America DE&I program. “I started the day George Floyd was murdered,” she says, recalling the state of the US at the time. “Covid was shutting things down, there was a push for the Black Lives Matter movement, attacks on Asian Americans. Working moms were struggling with kids home from school.”

Cohen jumped in to tackle the racism pillar first, putting the executive committee team through training to understand systemic racism and the constructs of race in the US. “DE&I is not an HR initiative. It’s not a CEO initiative. It requires senior leaders across all business units, all actively engaged and accountable,” she says.

The North America DE&I program focuses on six pillars of DE&I — LGBTQ+, veterans/military spouses, gender, race, disability and age — built on a foundation of inclusion.

“DE&I is a subset of our overall talent experience, but inclusion initiatives are part of our fabric,” she says. “You can do all the recruiting, but you need an environment where people feel welcome. It’s not just initiatives — it’s how we operate. It’s supporting a culture where all are welcome.”

"DE&I is not an HR initiative. It’s not a CEO initiative. It requires senior leaders across all business units, all actively engaged and accountable."

Currently, Cohen is focusing on intergenerational engagement and the new office landscape. “One of the ways to build your inclusive culture is acknowledging that you have Gen Z, millennials, Gen X and baby boomers in your workforce,” she says. “When you take out race and other factors, the generations have different styles and ways of working.”

Cohen is working to develop a culture that enables all generations to thrive. “I love the concept of mentoring and reverse mentoring,” Cohen said. “Younger people can bring innovation and new ways of thinking. Older generations can bring valuable lived experiences. Taking the opportunity to learn from one another, you get a culture of collaboration. People can bring their perspectives into the workforce, which fosters that inclusive culture.”

Outside Adecco Group, Cohen is a member of the CNBC Workforce Executive Council and a founding member of the Miami chapter of Chief, a private network focused on driving more women into positions of power and keeping them there.

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