When the realization dawned in the aftermath of the tumultuous events of 2020 that “people didn’t feel that safe to share, to go to certain places or to be themselves,” Splunk Contingent Workforce Program Director Keisha Stephens become even more committed to fostering DE&I, both at work and outside.
At Splunk, Stephens works to engage with suppliers to build diversity in the contingent workforce. “We look at everything through a diversity lens,” Stephens says. As a result, she found that focusing DE&I efforts on suppliers with diversity-ownership certifications did not always lead to a diverse candidate pool. So, Stephens asked her suppliers what they are doing in terms of sourcing diverse candidates. Ten came forward with clear diversity proposals describing what they were doing to attract diverse candidates to find ways to get more of this talent on board.
“Splunk is the first company that I’ve worked for where diversity, equity and inclusion are a part of the culture; we are run by data as well as a heart,” she says. Stephens is working on being a better ally. She is using conversations with co-workers and friends, learning from the challenges they recount, and then applying the insights she gains to improve the lives of those around her — at work as well as outside.
Stephens sits on the advisory board of Women Back to Work, an organization focused on enabling women with technical backgrounds to return to work after career breaks. And she recently participated in a three-month mentor-mentee program with The Mom Project, through which she mentored a candidate from an underrepresented group. Her superstar mentee ultimately became a contract coordinator at Splunk.
Stephens will continue working on her DE&I template with the aim of moving toward total talent management and looking at everything holistically.
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