All In: The Why of Diversity and Inclusion

All In, Barnes & Thornburg's diversity and inclusion publication. 

Opening Letter - By Dawn Rosemond, Partner and Director of Diversity, Professional Development and Inclusion 

I am constantly challenging my children (indeed, anyone who will give me the privilege of their time) to find and hold onto their “why” (i.e., the core reason for doing what they are doing). Not knowing our “why” breeds discontent. Famed author and leadership expert John Maxwell says it like this, “Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.” Not knowing (or losing sight of) the “why” of diversity and inclusion leads to a similar dissatisfying end. In fact, there is this concept in diversity and inclusion work called “diversity fatigue.” Formal definitions abound but in its simplest form, diversity fatigue is when people get to the point where they are sick and tired of talking about diversity and inclusion and working toward change. I believe such manifests when the focus is more on numbers, lists…on box checking, than on building people (which incidentally, is my “why”).

So we are so excited about this installment of All In. First, we get to introduce you to our new logo plus a new look, feel and flow that we hope better tracks the substance and personality of our elevated platform. Second, and most exciting, in conjunction with sharing with you some of what we have been up to on the diversity and inclusion front as we continue our pursuit of better, we also get to hear from some of our talent (our people), about their “why” as it pertains to this important diversity and inclusion work.

From one of our 1L Diversity Scholars who organized a firm program to support his fellow students, to one of our partners who led an office-wide celebration in honor of Autism Speaks and her beautiful autistic daughter, we think you will be inspired by the stories that follow. Certainly, we hope that they serve to remind you (remind us all) “why” this work is important and fires us up just a bit, to keep us moving aggressively forward toward true change.