February 2022 DEI Committee Blog

WGR’s DEI Committee kicked off it’s 2022 discussion topic series by focusing on the issue of returning to work as part of their first meeting of the year, held on Tuesday, February 8. 

Committee Members shared a number of insights and personal stories on how the issue continues to be a challenge in a world where the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be with us for the foreseeable future. Some members have returned to their offices on an almost full time basis, while many members are still working primarily remotely or are in a “hybrid” situation where they are working some days in the office, and the others from home or from another remote location. 

While each scenario offers both benefits and challenges for members, a number of them expressed their concerns about returning to an office on a full-time basis while the pandemic is still at play, preferring a full-time remote-work situation, or at the very least, a hybrid working option. Members also were very vocal about the pressures that some of them are facing with supervisors encouraging staff to return to the office, or to attend in-person conferences and events. While vaccines and mask mandates may help a bit in easing some members’ concerns, each member has their own level of comfort and risk, and a number of members believe that these concerns should be respected and taken into account by employers and businesses in general, as everyone is trying to figure out how to exist in this new “normal”.

This robust conversation led to a discussion regarding the DEI Committee’s upcoming July 2022 Summit, and the option for members to attend in-person versus participating virtually. A number of members expressed comfort with attending in-person with certain safety protocols being in place, while others would still be more comfortable participating virtually. DEI leadership mentioned to the group that it was considering a hybrid model for the Summit (primarily virtual, with the closing keynote address and closing reception in-person). A number of members expressed the desire for having the reception in an outdoor facility, and the DEI Summit Planning Committee will be taking all member concerns into consideration as the planning gets underway.

We welcome all WGR members to join us each month at our DEI Committee Meetings! The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 8 from 11:30 AM⁠–⁠1 PM (ET). For more information on WGR’s DEI Committee, please reach out to dei.wgr@gmail.com.

This month’s blog is authored by DEI Committee Chair Gamble Hayden.