Actions Speak Louder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming an Inclusive Workplace
Deanna Singh
Are you tired of hollow promises about diversity, equity, and inclusion in your organization? Do you want to take steps towards real change – beyond issuing mission statements, signing checks, and holding listening sessions – but don’t know where to start? This book is your answer. Designed for teams to read together, Actions Speak Louder offers a comprehensive blueprint for leaders and teams who are ready to get out of their own way, look at their surroundings with new eyes, and turn their energy into a concrete plan.
Renowned DEI consultant Deanna Singh has led diversity trainings for a wide range of organizations, from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies. Using narratives, case studies, and the latest DEI research, as well as interactive exercises, Singh will teach you how to:
• Write inclusive job advertisements because “minorities just don’t apply here” isn’t an excuse – you’re just not reaching them
• Design an interview process that reduces status quo bias and challenges hiring decisions that are simply “no brainers”
• Create a retention plan that considers and prioritizes the needs of underrepresented employees – if you haven’t intentionally designed one to be inclusive, you’ve unintentionally reinforced one that is exclusive.
• Lead inclusive meetings – the bedrock of company culture – by practicing constructive dissent and elevating underrepresented perspectives
As Singh has seen time and time again, any organization can meaningfully change – you just need the right tools.
Deanna Singh wants to live in a world where marginalized communities have power. As an expert social entrepreneur, she is obsessed with making the world a better place, and she will build or break systems to create positive change. While tackling complex social challenges, Deanna gives audiences the tools and courage to imagine, activate, and impact the world as agents of change. She is described as a trailblazer and dynamic speaker who is at the forefront of social change. She is an accomplished author, educator, business leader, and social justice champion who speaks to over 50,000 people annually!
Deanna is the Founder and Chief Change Agent of Flying Elephant, an umbrella organization for four social ventures. Through their work in the spheres of DEI, healthcare, children’s literature, and leadership, these four varied companies are united in their mission to shift power to marginalized communities.
Deanna’s current projects include serving as lead instructor for the Professional Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offered through University of Wisconsin’s Center for Professional and Executive Development and publishing two new books: Actions Speak Louder (Penguin Random House; release Spring 2022) and a new book for American Girl (release June 2021).
Singh earned her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Fordham University, a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has been recognized by the Milwaukee Business Journal as one of the community’s most influential 40 Under 40 Leaders, the State of Wisconsin as a Women Who Inspires, and by Forbes as an African American Woman Everyone Should Know.
