Inclusion & Belonging
How can business leaders achieve meaningful progress in creating a welcoming workplace that allows all employees to experience dignity and respect? It requires both strategic vision and thoughtful policy and procedure implementation. Learn more about how your peers are navigating evolving expectations and building truly inclusive cultures that are reflective of the communities where we live, work, and serve customers.
LEARN: Grow Your Knowledge of Inclusion, Belonging & Workforce Engagement
BCCCC aims to help corporate citizenship professionals know more, do more, and achieve more. Learning is a key piece of what we offer. And because we are housed in Boston College's prestigious Carroll School of Management, you can trust we are well-positioned to help you grow your knowledge—whether you choose to take a course, earn your certificate, or simply read our latest articles on environmental sustainability.
Take a Course
BCCCC offers nearly two dozen self-paced, online courses, including Opportunity, Inclusion, & Workforce Engagement. Browse all our online course options.
Earn Your Certificate
BCCCC offers globally recognized credentials in Corporate Citizenship Practice, Management, or Leadership . Ask us how inclusion and belonging, as well as workforce engagement, are woven into these learning programs.
Join the Center
Some of our best learning opportunities (research, conversations with other sustainability professionals, webinars, etc.) is reserved for our members. Ask us about membership for your company!
Bundle and Save
Did you know you can combine your membership with add-ons like online courses, in-person learning, or team training?
FEATURED ARTICLE
The Widespread Benefits of Disability Inclusion
Companies with well-run disability community outreach programs benefit both the employees and consumers. U.S. Bank has committed to helping colleagues, customers, and the community through their disability inclusion practices.
DISCUSS: Opportunities to Engage with Inclusion & Belonging Peers
Our roots in one of world's leading business schools is one advantage we can offer the corporate citizenship community. Our membership—comprised of 10,000+ professionals from companies around the world—is another. Executives come to BCCCC for opportunities to discuss, share, ideate, collaborate... We offer a variety of formats and forums for this purpose. Please note that all of the following discussion venues, not including our annual Conference, are exclusively available to BCCCC members. We welcome you to learn more about each one, and ask about membership for your company.
Inclusion and belonging professionals are talking. Don't miss out on their conversations. Ask about joining the Center so you can gain access to all the discussions noted above.
WATCH: The Latest Videos on Inclusion & Belonging
BCCCC maintains a robust video library on CSR and ESG topics like environmental sustainability. Many of these videos—including main stage sessions from our annual Conference and monthly webinar recordings—are available to BCCCC members only. If you would like to request one-time access to a video as a non-member, please inquire below.
WEBINAR CLIP: Boosting Employee Engagement with ERGs
Hear from leaders at The Pokemon Company and USAA about how they structure, optimize, and convey the business case for employee resource groups.
This is just one of many inclusion/belonging video assets our Center maintains. Would you like access to ALL the Center's webinar content—both live and on-demand?
Catch Up on the Latest Research on Inclusion & Belonging
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Takeaway: Adopting and encouraging active measures to address race discrimination (seeking supervisor intervention, filing a formal HR complaint, etc.) may improve employee satisfaction with, trust in, and commitment to their employers.
Researchers conducted an online survey of more than 450 full-time U.S. employees who self-identified as racial/ethnic minorities...
Executives love stories and they need facts. Delivered twice monthly, this series of research studies can help you create the best business case for your programs. If your company is a member, you have access to hundreds of these program-defining studies. Simply log in to browse them. If your company is not yet a member, ask us about joining!
Recommended Reading on Inclusion & Belonging in Business
IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Access: Open to All
Reading Time: 15 minutes
Helpful When: Strategizing on how to continue advancing inclusion and opportunity in the workforce
EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUP TOOLKIT
Access: BCCCC Members Only; Non-Members Request Access via ccc@bc.edu
Reading Time: 60 minutes
Helpful When: Planning or launching employee resource groups (ERGs) at your company
IOWE ADVISORY BOARD BULLETIN
Access: BCCCC Members Only; Non-Members Request Access via ccc@bc.edu
Reading Time: 30 minutes
Helpful When: Rethinking inclusion and belonging program goals and strategies
Would you like to access one or more of the members-only benefits on this page? Ask us about membership! Once you join, BCCCC benefits extend to everyone at your company.
Member Voices | Inclusion & Belonging
Hedieh Fakhriyazdi
“Our rapidly evolving global economy demands that we take thoughtful, forward-looking action. Technological advancement, changing industry needs, and global competition are transforming what skills, experiences, and knowledge will be valued in the com- ing years. By working together—business leaders, educators, employers, community organizations, and policymakers—we can create pathways that enable all individuals to develop the capabilities we need to thrive, to access opportunity, and to co-create inclusive workplaces for our diverse population.”
FAQs: Inclusion & Belonging
Inclusion is about creating a work environment where all individuals feel respected, valued, and able to fully contribute. Belonging goes a step further—it's the sense employees have that they are accepted and valued for who they truly are. Together, they foster a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and connected.
Inclusive workplaces drive innovation, increase employee engagement, and improve retention. Studies show that diverse teams outperform others in problem-solving and decision-making. Plus, inclusive cultures enhance brand reputation and appeal to socially conscious consumers and job seekers.
Common strategies include:
- Recruiting/Hiring: Using blind resume reviews, expanding talent pipelines to include underrepresented groups, and partnering with diverse organizations or schools.
- Everyday Work Life: Offering Inclusion and Belonging training, supporting employee resource groups (ERGs), using inclusive language, ensuring equal access to growth opportunities, and regularly reviewing pay equity and promotion practices
Leaders play a key role by modeling inclusive behavior, holding teams accountable, and integrating inclusion into company values and goals. Transparent communication and equitable decision-making are essential.
ERGs provide a space for employees with shared identities or interests to connect, support one another, and advise on company policies and practices from diverse perspectives.
Through employee engagement surveys, pulse checks, retention and promotion data, and focus groups. Metrics like psychological safety, satisfaction, and sense of belonging help track progress.
Common challenges include resistance to change, unconscious bias, lack of leadership buy-in, and inconsistent implementation of Inclusion and Belonging initiatives. Addressing these requires commitment, education, and continuous improvement.