Finding ways to become a better ally to all, Wen Stenger keeps questioning herself about where she can do better for herself and others. “I know one can’t force anyone to do something, but if we display our flaws, then it makes others bring their guards down as well,” she says.
Passionate for equality and inclusion at the workplace, Stenger most recently was the global lead, external workforce programs at Thomson Reuters, where she focused on measuring diversity results, training the curation team on reducing bias in the selection process, and working with her vendors to increase the diversity pipeline.
She created D&I reporting for the contingent labor program to go beyond diversity spend and identify gaps in inclusion. She partnered with direct sourcing suppliers and platforms to build a D&I strategy for establishing more purposeful and inclusive engagements to include diversity job board connections, D&I attraction reporting, and unconscious bias training for curation and program team members.
But despite some stellar achievements, Stenger feels she had turned a blind eye toward incidents happening around her, which made her question her role of being an ally to anyone at all; that’s when she decided to do more. “I realized I was blind, and the Black Lives Matter movement was a wake-up call for me where I understood I needed to do more. It felt like an alarm had finally gone off from being on snooze,” she explains.
So, Stenger has educated herself to become a better version of who she is, seeking and addressing uncomfortable truths about herself every day. Stenger regards her journey to be her greatest accomplishment. And that journey has led to a new chapter for her: With the purpose to help others make impactful change, Stenger has left Thomson Reuters for the next phase of her journey: becoming an independent DE&I consultant. “There’s little risk in being a good person, and even if there is one, then that is a risk I’m willing to take.”
2023 DE&I Influencers List