Progress, even at its smallest, is always welcome, especially in a world where racial inequity continues to exist. And while change doesn’t happen overnight, Teleperformance Executive Vice President Cesar Soliman believes that having conversations — those that discuss racism and how it can be addressed — can go a long way in changing the world. Soliman, a Dominican American born and raised in the Bronx, emphasizes that we all play a role in driving change.

Because systemic bias has been holding us all back, it has long resulted in barriers that hinder us from achieving progress. In a recent CSR Talks, Soliman elaborated on a few contributory factors to a non-even playing field that’s especially evident today: historical lack of investments in certain communities, leadership opportunities, and quality education. Voicing his thoughts on the importance of having diverse leadership, he observed that “It matters who’s sitting in the room when decisions are being made. We have to assess the lay of the land and where are we in our policies and alignment with our equity and inclusion and anti-discriminatory efforts. We have to really look under the hood. We have to look in the mirror. We have to be honest with ourselves.”

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are deeply embedded in Teleperformance’s core. It is our duty to stand up for equality and ensure that no one gets left behind.

We Live and Breathe DE&I

With 420,000 employees worldwide, Teleperformance is powered by a myriad of voices — all unique, powerful, and capable of promoting progress. We have created communities within our global spaces, giving our people a chance to share ideas to combat discrimination and intolerance while also providing them with a platform to express themselves.

Teleperformance is committed to promoting diverse leadership and providing equal opportunities in all aspects of the employee journey. From recruitment, appraisal, to promotion, we aim to create a fair and equal working environment for all.

As the fight against racism continues, it is always important to know that implementing DE&I should always be a real, personal, and compassionate experience. “I don’t want to have conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion, or anti-discrimination, or anti-racism, and it being a ‘check-the-box’ type of mentality, where it’s like, ‘oh do you have ERGs?’ Yes, check. ‘Do you have D&I campaigns? Yes, check,’” Soliman explains. “It needs to be real, and it needs to be a part of what we live and breathe every day. And we have to embed it into the core of our organization consistently, and, to your point, it starts at the top. But it has to be pervasive throughout the entire organization.”

Keeping the Conversations Going

The road is long towards a fairer world, but it’s great to see change happening little by little because of a learning society’s never-ending efforts. As someone who has a baby girl on the way, this topic hits close to home for Soliman. “I want to live in a world where my daughter, my nephews, and nieces can be comfortable in their own skin — that they don’t have to worry that they’re going to be judged by the color of their skin, or the texture of their hair,” shares Soliman. “So, I want to help drive an environment that fosters that, but also that helps them avoid some of the painful lessons that we’ve had to learn along the way and that plenty of generations before us have had to really go through, and so, privilege from that sense.”

Conversations, such as our latest CSR Talks on LinkedIn featuring Cesar Soliman and Twilio’s Chief Diversity Officer Lybra Clemons, are integral in spreading awareness and driving change to battle racism. Clemons, who has been in the diversity space for almost 20 years, has seen how DE&I has evolved in recent years. And like Teleperformance, Twilio focuses on shaping and reshaping DE&I practices. Together with Soliman, Clemons views the entire process as personal. “Anti-racism is personal. There are personal journeys and leadership transformations that we all have to go through to reckon with racism. And so, our teams at Twilio spent some time. It is self-reflection and self-awareness, a personal journey of approaching anti-racism.”

Be part of this insightful conversation on racism with our host, Cesar Soliman, and guest, Lybra Clemons! Learn what you can do to help create an equal world. Watch our latest CSR Talks in full by clicking here.