Before I departed for Madison from my home in New York City, I had the chance this summer to gather with many of the other ROMBA fellows for a retreat in Philadelphia. Since being founded in 1998, Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) has pursued its objective of connecting and elevating the visibility of a diverse LGBTQ+ MBA population. While I know from experience this is not always the case, for this particular weekend in Philadelphia, it actually was always sunny! This pre-MBA school retreat was a wonderful way to become acquainted with the ROMBA organization and meet so many diverse, talented, and dedicated individuals from MBA programs around the world in a more casual environment. Since that sunny weekend, I had been looking forward to the official 2024 ROMBA Conference in the fall.
This year’s conference took place in Los Angeles, and it attracted over 1,500 ROMBA fellows, MBA students, conference organizers, corporate partners, and speakers. Over three days in late September, it offered a full agenda of activities, from keynote addresses to presentations and survey results, from the Career Expo to dinners and networking receptions. Among the corporate partners and presenters in Los Angeles were representatives from consulting firms, financial institutions, law firms, graduate admissions offices, and several different industries. We had a contingent of five MBA students from the Wisconsin School of Business MBA program, and we connected with another former Badger on site representing JP Morgan during the Career Expo. Of course, the six of us took advantage of the potential photo op to flash the Wisconsin “W” sign for the camera! It also turned out that we were not the only Badgers in the region, as the Wisconsin football team was only a few miles up the road playing USC on Saturday afternoon. (Unfortunately, an early lead over the Trojans melted away in the second half for the Badgers.)
The conference explored various trending topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A keynote address emphasized the relevance and benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion, while cautioning the audience about the strong headwinds that have been faced by these initiatives during the past year. Legislative and legal challenges have surfaced and gained momentum in some locations, with a number of states scaling back diversity programs and closing related offices. She reminded us that recent progress must be defended vigorously and never be taken for granted.
Another session featured interesting data analysis of inclusion in the workplace among certain employee populations, looking at gender, race, and LGBTQ+. The study then analyzed related data and characteristics such as employers, recruiting, workplace experience, workplace inclusion, healthcare, and income levels. The presentation was led by two McKinsey consultants, and one of their colleagues were present at each table in the audience to foster further discussion later in the session. The study did identify rates of lower inclusion among certain populations, but further root cause analysis will be needed to determine systemic causes. Some general concerns and takeaways were a need for LGBTQ+ inclusion to foster real diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplaces, as well as a need to provide inclusive healthcare.
An informative table discussion involved the neurodiverse population in the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. I had previously the opportunity in college to work at a center for neurodiverse people, and after college I worked at a non-profit organization focused on supporting neurodiverse individuals as they transitioned to adulthood. Not surprisingly, it seems that progress in recruiting and in workplace environment inclusion for this population has not yet been substantial.
Another engaging session featured four panelists discussing the challenges faced in job searches by MBA candidates who are not from Top 20 schools. They described this as “Queer Excellence Beyond Rankings: Leveraging Diversity in Job Hunting.” The four panelists, all now employed at consulting firms and financial institutions, attended Boston University, University of Colorado, Rice University, and The Ohio State University. They advised the audience to build a relationship with the recruiter, to lean into their identity, and to be authentic. They also reminded attendees that employers are looking for what a candidate brings to the table, not necessarily school rankings.
On Friday the Career Expo attracted over 60 corporate partners to the conference. This included representatives from consulting firms, banks and financial institutions, and from leading firms in the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, insurance, travel and hospitality, supply chain, energy, and technology sectors. This afforded attendees valuable opportunities to network and make many new contacts with potential new employers. Despite the constant commotion in the room, the corporate partners were incredibly engaged with the conference crowd, and they were very earnest and forthcoming about their corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and community engagement efforts.
Several corporate partners at the conference discussed strategies to enhance the effectiveness and impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The company commitment to DE&I is often accompanied by the encouragement and support of related affinity or resource groups for employees. These resource groups are organized around identities such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, and veteran status. There were many examples of such organizational resource groups and their creative acronyms: NOW (Network of Women), BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership and Development), CLIMB (Cultivating Leadership and Innovation & Multigenerational Belonging), DAWN (Disability Advancement Workplace Network), OLA (Organization for Latino Achievement), PAN (Pan Asian Network), and VCN (Veterans Community Network). The companies believe that the resource groups play an important supporting role in promoting the objectives and success of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The 2024 ROMBA Conference was everything I anticipated and more, offering an opportunity to forge valuable new business contacts, as well as reconnect with old friends and meet many new ones. It reminded us of the aspirations that have driven us to make an MBA the next major step in our business careers, and it examined, analyzed, and highlighted the core concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion that we share. It also challenged all in attendance to be vigilant in defending these values, to protect the progress that has been achieved to date, and to unite in championing these ideals for an even better future.