Crescendo's 2020 Events Guide
It’s true. There is a difference between what one company’s idea of diversity is to another’s. We in the D&I space know that there is a major gap between our initiatives and our actual results. According to this D&I trends report, 58% of recruiting teams had ongoing D&I initiatives at their companies, and beyond that, 50% believed that they needed to do more to provide candidates an unbiased and fair hiring process.
While there is that existing divide between how we all see and engage with D&I, there are opportunities to connect and learn from one another - that’s what makes this space and our roles in it so special. By connecting and learning from each other, we in the D&I space can share ideas and gain insights into a myriad of things, including running programs, best practices, managing burnout and getting buy-in from both employees and executives.
But, as we all know, this connection just doesn’t “happen”; beyond offering our D&I Advocates Community, we believe that bringing D&I officials together is paramount to progressing our workplaces, and we believe that conferences may be the best place to start!
We’ve compiled the conferences that we’re the most excited about for 2020 in this fun list. Find the one that fits best for you, and see you there!
1. For All 2020 Summit: Leveling Up On Diversity & Inclusion
Date: March 4th, 2020
Location: San Francisco, CA
A must-attend for all D&I and HR leaders, this Summit and Forum brings in thought leaders and executives as well as the D&I community at large to share their expertise and advance their D&I strategies and best practices. Tap into the great talent that is attending and up your D&I game. Learn more and register here.
Cost: $1,795 USD (includes two admissions: the Summit and the Forum)
2. The 2020 Forum on Workplace Inclusion
Date: March 10th - 12th, 2020
Location: Minneapolis, MN
The Forum on Workplace Inclusion is a mainstay in the D&I world. For nearly 31 years, this event has brought together advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion in hopes of advancing our collective understanding of DEI and D&I in the workplace. If you’re in HR, Talent, People or D&I, this is a must-attend! Shape your strategies and bring back something tangible to your team. Register today.
Cost: $1695
3. The 2020 Forum on Workplace Inclusion
Date: March 10th - 12th, 2020
Location: Minneapolis, MN
The Forum on Workplace Inclusion is a mainstay in the D&I world. For nearly 31 years, this event has brought together advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion in hopes of advancing our collective understanding of DEI and D&I in the workplace. If you’re in HR, Talent, People or D&I, this is a must-attend! Shape your strategies and bring back something tangible to your team. Register today.
Cost: $1695
4. National Diversity & Leadership Conference 2020
Date: April 23rd-25th, 2020
Location: San Francisco, CA
This annual conference brings together over 5000 Talent Management and HR leaders from across the US and sets them on tailored tracks that help and grow their knowledge around workplace diversity. The National Diversity & Leadership Conference proudly features workshops, coaches corner, a myriad of sessions, and speakers and thought leaders that will educate and inspire. Learn more and register here.
Cost: $649+
5. Lesbians Who Tech & Allies San Francisco Summit
Date: April 18th -23rd, 2020
Location: Houston, TX
The annual summit brings together thousands of lesbians, queer women and allies across the technology industry to help connect, educate and inspire. The summit aims to help lesbians in tech connect, and be more visible to one another, and others within the industry. While Lesbians Who Tech doesn’t specifically consider themselves a D&I conference, they do have a core D&I track. Past speakers include Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook to the former U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Megan Smith.
The conference boasts diverse numbers, including a host of speakers that are: 80% queer women, 50% women of color, 25% Black & Latinx, and 10% transgender and/or non-binary. Learn more about what to expect, or check out the free letter/info they have to help you explain the value of the event to your boss.
6. HCI Inclusive Diversity 2020
Date: April 27th - 28th, 2020
Location: San Francisco, CA
HR leader, the Human Capital Institute Inclusive Diversity 2-day conference gives you the chance to connect and network with your peers and gain knowledge from leading industry experts that will help you grow your own D&I and HR strategies.
The Inclusive Diversity Conference was built to help existing D&I teams, leaders and company execs learn how to “neuroscience, data and simple behavioral design to make diversity and inclusion part of their everyday organizational culture.” Sounds pretty cool, huh? Check out the 2019 highlight reel or head over and register here.
Cost: $1795
Date: Friday, May 1st, 2020
Location: Philadelphia, PA
This Summit is designed specifically for women of color, with the aim of promoting diversity in tech. Looking to "educate, elevate and empower women of color technologists and techpreneurs,” the Hue Tech Summit wants to help identify women and POC and their work and contributions to the tech world. Gain insights into trends and gain industry knowledge while connecting with your peers. Learn more and register here.
Cost: $225
8. The Conference Board's 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Conference
Date: June 2nd - 3rd 2020
Location: New York City, NY
Take time to attend the Conference Board’s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion conference and walk away with an arsenal of new insights and learnings. This conference will help you tackle tough conversations around race, equity, intersectionality, and privilege, as well as newer areas of mental health, neurodiversity, ex-offenders, faith at work, allyship, age discrimination, and workplace culture. This conference will help you connect with likemidned individuals and help you address the culture of your organization, and help you to identify and explore how to implement better, more effective D&I practices.
Check it out here.
Cost: $2495 and up
9. /Dev/color IN MOTION Conference
Date: July 10-11, 2020
Location: TBD
Founded by a former Pinterest Engineer, /Dev/Color has a mission to create a supportive network of Black software engineers. Their mission is to “empower Black software engineers to help one another grow into industry leaders.”
Beyond hosting the IN MOTION conference each year, they also host a variety of events throughout the year for Black software engineers across North America, as well as non-Black members of diversity teams, senior managers, and engineering managers.
Save the date! Learn more here.
Stay tuned for more! We’ll update this list as we learn of new, interesting conferences.