DEI Expert’s Book Focuses On ‘Diversity Done Right’

Tyronne Stoudemire has been working in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for 30 years. He is the author of “Diversity Done Right: Navigating Cultural Difference to Create Positive Change in the Workplace." Photo provided by Brown Farmer Media Group.
Tyronne Stoudemire has been working in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for 30 years. He is the author of “Diversity Done Right: Navigating Cultural Difference to Create Positive Change in the Workplace." Photo provided by Brown Farmer Media Group.

DEI Expert’s Book Focuses On ‘Diversity Done Right’

By Tia Carol Jones

Tyronne Stoudemire’s book "Diversity Done Right: Navigating Cultural Difference in the Workplace and Beyond,” was written from his stories, journal writings, speeches and experiences working in diversity, equity and inclusion for 30 years. Stoudemire is the Senior Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Hyatt.

“The word diversity itself is polarizing … people don’t want to say the wrong thing, they don’t want to offend, they don’t want to appear to be dumb or ignorant, so they tend to avoid the word,” Stoudemire said.

Stoudemire defines diversity as the mix of difference and inclusion as making the mix work and equity as the goal. He believes that people should listen to understand, share and seek out information about people from other cultures, and have courageous conversations.

“We’ve got to write the narrative, we’ve got to right the wrongs, we’ve got to tell our stories. If we don’t write the narratives, others will write it for us and it will be wrong,” he said. “It is the power of our world views that shapes our beliefs and our behaviors and how we make decisions and how we resolve conflicts. The more I know about you, the better off I am and the better off we both are.”

Stoudemire said first, it starts with people knowing who they are and where they come from. He acknowledges that it can be hard to remember the things people’s ancestors went through, but it shouldn’t be something people should be ashamed of. While there are conversations about race, there still hasn’t been any solution for racism. He said the more people understand and the less people polarize each other, the more people can move toward closing the gap.

Stoudemire said the game is changing as the demographics of the country changes, but there are people who are fighting against that because of power and control. He said the murder of George Floyd showed people globally how marginalized Black people are in this country.

He said companies either reacted or responded to that moment. Companies that reacted over-indexed and didn’t do anything. Hyatt, however, made a commitment to double the representation of women around the globe, with a focus on people of color, and opportunities like Rise HY, and increase Black suppliers. In each case, Hyatt exceeded its goals before 2025. More than 400 women have been promoted to senior level roles, and 38% percent of Hyatt’s hires are Black and African American.

“It isn’t that you can’t find them, they were right in front of you in most cases, you overlooked them for various reasons, which is the biases and systems. We have to understand that systems were created for white men by white men. But, as the world continues to diversify, systems have to be broken down to meet the needs,” he said.

Stoudemire said that empathy plus action equals care and for people to understand each other, people have to lean into other cultures, immersing themselves into that culture and seeking to understand. He said it is a critical moment where people need to go back to the basics, treat everybody the way they would want to be treated.

“Diversity Done Right: Navigating Cultural Difference in the Workplace and Beyond” is available at bookstores, as well as on Amazon.


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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Expert Tyronne Studemire