Which diversity titles work best for you and your team?

My team and I looked at the best practices at leading companies as well as the most popular diversity titles requested on Google (via ahrefs and Google’s Keyword Tool).

This diversity title article is the latest chapter in Ongig’s Job Titles: The Definitive Guide.

Enjoy!

Diversity vs Inclusion vs. Equity

First, let’s start with vocabulary.

In the world of diversity job titles, the words used are, well, quite diverse.

The phrase “Diversity and Inclusion” (D&I) is not always used in the same order even in the same industry. For example, in the social media ad space, Facebook uses “Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)” while Twitter uses “Inclusion and Diversity (I&D)”.

What is the difference between “diversity” versus “inclusion”? Diversity is the what (the characteristics of the people you work with such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability and education). Inclusion is the how (the behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome).

Some companies also use the words “equity” (Slack) and “equality” (Salesforce) in their diversity titles. Equity and equality are usually alternatives to “inclusion”.

Note: Other great resources on this are Diversity vs. Inclusion: What’s the difference? (AIHR) and Diversity vs Inclusion  in the Workplace;  Diversity vs Inclusion by BuiltIn. Equality and Diversity — what’s the difference?

New trend? “Belonging” in diversity titles

A new trend found in many tech companies (including Paypal, Twilio and Atlassian) is to use the word “Belonging” in their diversity titles. Here’s one definition from UPENN’s Beyond Diversity: How Firms Are Cultivating a Sense of Belonging (UPENN):

…”belonging means that people can bring their full selves to work, and not feel like they’re a different person there than at home.”

We sifted through a lot of these words and variations to provide you with the analysis/summary below.

Diversity Titles Hierarchy

Here’s a typical org chart for a diversity team. Below that are longer lists of examples of job titles for the 6 major levels of organizations.

diversity title hierarchy org chart

Job Titles for Diversity Leaders

The head of diversity is most often called the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). About half of the S&P 500 companies employe a chief diversity officer, according to Shah Paikeday, leader of the diversity and inclusion advisory practice at Russell Reynolds Associates (source: WSJ July 13, 2020)

The CDO usually reports to the CEO, COO, head of HR or General Counsel. Because diversity at large companies goes beyond employees (e.g diversity of suppliers and customers), the head of diversity often has dotted line reporting into multiple departments.

Examples of job titles used for the top diversity position are:

  1. Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) (NBC Universal) or Global Chief Diversity Officer (Facebook)
  2. Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (Uber)
  3. Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer (Twilio)
  4. Chief Equality Officer (Salesforce
  5. Head of Global Diversity and Belonging (Airbnb)
  6. Chief Diversity and Social Responsibility Officer (Sodexo)
  7. Chief Culture Officer (Procore Technologies, WeWork)

CEO as Head of Diversity

Nielsen has taken the unusual role of naming their CEO David Kenny as both CEO and Chief Diversity Officer. Nielsen then has both a CHRO (Laurie Lovett) and Senior Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion (Sandra Sims-Williams) reporting to CEO Kenny. source: Nielsen Leadership page.

VP of Diversity Titles

Examples of VP diversity titles include:

  1. Vice President of Diversity
  2. Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
  3. Vice President of Diversity and Belonging
  4. Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity & Engagement
  5. Vice President of Culture
  6. Vice President of Global Culture, Belonging, and People Growth (Doordash)
  7. Vice President People Experience and Head of Inclusion and Diversity (Twitter)

Director of Diversity Titles

Examples of the most commonly used Director-level diversity titles are:

  1. Director of Diversity
  2. Director Of Diversity And Inclusion
  3. Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
  4. Director of Culture
  5. Director of Supplier Diversity
  6. D&I Leader
  7. D&I Lead

Managers of Diversity Job Titles

Examples of manager-level diversity titles include:

  1. Diversity Manager
  2. Diversity and Inclusion Manager
  3. Culture Manager
  4. Employment Equity Manager
  5. Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager
  6. Supplier Diversity Manager
  7. Program Operations Manager, Inclusion & Diversity (Lyft)
  8. Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager, University
  9. Diversity Recruiting Partnerships Manager
  10. Equality Manager

Individual Contributor Diversity Titles

The largest group of job titles in diversity is at the individual contributor level. Here are some examples of titles we found in large enterprises:

    1. Diversity Business Partner (Google)
    2. Diversity Recruiter (Facebook)
    3. Supplier Diversity Coordinator
    4. Diversity Event Producer
    5. Talent Advisor – Diversity & Inclusion Advocate (Salesforce)
    6. Diversity Specialist
    7. Diversity Consultant
    8. Diversity Trainer
    9. Diversity Events Specialist (Lyft)
    10. Strategist and Inclusion/Diversity Practitioner (Lyft)
    11. Executive Business Partner, Talent and Inclusion & Diversity (Lyft)
    12. DEI – Diversity & Inclusion Business Partner (Uber)
    13. Sr. Technical Recruiter, Diversity Equity Inclusion Lead (Slack)
    14. Inclusion Specialist
    15. Equality and Diversity Consultant
    16. Equality and Diversity Advisor
    17. Inclusion Analyst
    18. Inclusion and Diversity Program Associate
    19. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Steward
    20. Analyst Community Engagement & Inclusion
    21. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Steward
    22. Diversity & Inclusion Advocate
    23. National Inclusion & Diversity Coordinator

Entry-Level Diversity Titles

We found these Entry-level diversity titles used at companies large and small. We included 2 positions at the bottom of the list that are executive assistant roles.

  1. Diversity Assistant (Chevron)
  2. Diversity Intern
  3. Inclusion & Diversity Intern
  4. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Intern
  5. Diversity Initiatives Intern
  6. Diversity Program Assistant
  7. Diversity Leaders Intern
  8. Assistant to Head of Global Diversity & Belonging (Airbnb)
  9. Executive Assistant Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (LinkedIn)

Top 20 Diversity Titles (Candidates)

What diversity titles do candidates care about? Here are the top 20 diversity titles job seekers searched Google for last month:

top diversity titles pie chart

10 Common Diversity Titles with Job Description Summaries

A diversity team at a large company could be anywhere from 2 to dozens of people.

At Salesforce.com, for example, the Chief Equality Officer Tony Prophet (who reports to CEO Marc Benioff)  has a staff of 13 working on D&I efforts across the company, including 12 employee groups and monthly data updates to business leaders.

Below is a mix of 10 diversity titles and a brief job description for each. Here they are:

Chief Diversity Officer

A Chief Diversity Officer oversees the diversity and inclusion efforts of an organization.  A Chief Diversity Officer develops the strategy for the recruitment of diverse candidates for their organization. Other responsibilities of a Chief Diversity Officer include:

  • Overseeing employee discrimination and harassment complaints
  • Identifying and implementing new diversity programs
  • Managing and supporting diversity and inclusion strategies based on data
  • Supporting collaboration between leadership teams and departments
  • Developing culture management initiatives
  • Addressing issues faced by specific demographic populations within the organization

Director of Culture

A Director of Culture leads the creation of strategies and programs that improve employee engagement in an organization. A Director of Culture creates innovative diversity and inclusion programs to help attract top talent for their organization. A Director of Culture also leads the development of a company culture strategy and fosters internal partnerships across departments.

Supplier Diversity Manager

A Supplier Diversity Manager creates a diver supply chain of an organization. A Supplier Diversity Manager develops business strategies to ensure a diverse supplier base for the procurement of goods and services. A Supplier Diversity Manager also researches and records potential businesses owned by diverse groups or individuals for future purchases and contracts.

Human Rights Officer

A Human Rights Officer, HRO, is a government position responsible for monitoring reports on violations to employees’ civil, social, cultural, and political rights. A Human Rights Officer investigates civil rights violations and works to resolve them with the appropriate parties in an organization and in the courts. A Civil Rights Officer commonly receives complaints to investigate related to the following:

  • Discrimination of minorities or women
  • Unjust imprisonment
  • Violence against children
  • Religious intolerance

Diversity Consultant

A Diversity Consultant is contracted by a business to review its existing data and processes to assist with the development and implementation of new diversity goals, strategies, and statements. A Diversity Consultant conducts diversity training for senior management and other employees, if needed, and identifies flaws in a business’s current strategic plans. A Diversity Consultant also monitors new diversity and inclusion developments and recommends adjustments to programs for an organization if necessary.

Diversity Trainer

A DIversity Trainer is contracted by an organization to conduct diversity training and development programs for senior-level managers, middle-level managers, and upcoming leaders. A Diversity Trainer leads diversity and inclusion programming based on data-driven research and sets objectives for an organization based on these training sessions. A Diversity Trainer empowers managers and shares current best practices to foster diversity and inclusion within and organization.

Diversity Recruiter

A Diversity Recruiter creates company policies that promote equality and diversity. A Diversity Recruiter may also lead training sessions for human resources managers to promote diverse hiring decisions. A Diversity Recruiter establishes fair HR policies, creates job descriptions with inclusive language, and networks with potential candidates from underrepresented groups. The main goal of a Diversity Recruiter is to attract and retain a diverse workforce.

Diversity Business Partner

A Diversity Business Partner collaborates with business leaders and teams within an organization to identify best practices for diversity and inclusion. A Diversity Business Partner distributes diversity resources across organizations and inspires teamwork and collaboration across various organizational groups. A Diversity Partner assists senior-level management with the development of innovative and measurable solutions to create a more diverse workplace.

Diversity Event Producer

A Diversity Event Producer is responsible for hosting diversity and inclusion events for underrepresented groups. A Diversity Event Producer manages the logistics and promotions of diversity events for an organization and attracts diverse candidates for open positions.

Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager, University

A Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager at a University develops, implements, and monitors diversity goals and programs in various departments. A University Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager creates and leads training sessions to foster an open and inclusive environment for students, staff, and faculty. A Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager also supports the university diversity plan and builds relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

7 Top DEI Roles and Responsibilities [2023 Update]

Which diversity roles should you use in your biz? To help you choose, we’ve listed these top 7 DEI roles from 2022. These DEI positions are often found in HRs departments of leading brands:

  1. Culture Manager
  2. Chief People Officer
  3. Diversity Coordinator
  4. Diversity Business Partner
  5. Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  6. Director of Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging
  7. Chief Diversity Officer

These DEI positions are often found in HRs departments of leading brands. Read more about each of these diversity roles and responsibilities here.

Thank you, Experts on Diversity Titles!

In addition to the sources cited above, special thanks to these experts on diversity titles:

1. Tiffany Jana for her article on What is a Chief Diversity Officer and Why Does Your Company Need One?

2. CVM Solutions for their article on What Is Supplier Diversity and Why Is It Important?

3. Susana Rinderle for her article on 8 Things to Expect From a Highly Competent Diversity Consultant

4.Workable’s Diversity Recruiter Job Description

5. Tesla’s Diversity & Inclusion Business Partner Role

Why I wrote this?

My Ongig team and I share this research on diversity titles to help you optimize your own job titles. This supports our mission to transform job descriptions. Check out Ongig.com to learn more.

by in Job Titles