Be the change agent your agency/facility needs. Develop your knowledge and skills in the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to help foster a thriving and cohesive team.

By completing this program, you will:

• Discover the significance of a diverse and inclusive workplace and the role you play. 
• Identify barriers to communicating effectively across cultures and ways to overcome them. 
• Recognize the differences in approaches to work and communication for each generation. 
• Apply strategies to embed inclusion into your everyday work. 

You can expect to enhance your job-based skills in the Interpersonal and Customer Relations workforce development competency. 

Print and share our DEI Online Learning Certificate Program Flyer.

Explore all of the courses you'll take in this program. You'll find the course name, a description, and the length of time it will take to complete each course below. We recommend you complete the courses in the order they appear below.

Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action (0.5 Hours) 

A diverse and inclusive workforce is a business and human imperative. Regardless of your role or the size of your organization, everyone can play an active role in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI). Future business growth and success depend upon embracing inclusion and eliminating bias and discrimination in the workplace. However, for many organizations, building cultural and business practices that embrace workplace diversity can still feel elusive. This course is your guide to defining DEI and advancing meaningful and impactful diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in your workplace. In this course, you'll learn to recognize key characteristics of DEI and practices for building and sustaining a healthy DEI culture. You'll also learn to identify behaviors that signal a breakdown in achieving an inclusive culture, key elements that enable DEI to take root, and the steps for demonstrating agility and resilience in your DEI journey.

Your Role in Workplace Diversity (0.5 Hours) 

To understand and appreciate diversity in the workplace, you must develop a deep understanding of yourself, as well as any unconscious bias you may have. Your ability to use a variety of strategies to effectively deal with diverse situations is very important. Equally important is the ability to share these effective strategies openly and leverage the diversity that exists within an inclusive organization. In this course, you'll explore how to become aware of your attitudes toward diversity, understand the source of any cultural bias you may have, and increase your acceptance of diverse cultures, people, and ideas. You’ll also discover how to become an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the workplace.

Bridging the Diversity Gap (0.3 Hours) 

Without a diverse workforce, organizations run the risk of viewing things from a very limited perspective. The organization provides the structure for operation, but it's the individuals within that organization who carry out the mission of the organization. This course focuses on what diversity is and how to leverage that diversity within your organization. To get the most innovative solutions from the individuals in your organization, you will need to create a workplace that embraces inclusion and avoids bias and stereotyping. You’ll also explore the barriers, such as unconscious bias, that must be overcome to create a diversified and inclusive working environment.

Embedding Inclusion into Everyday Experiences (0.6 Hours) 

DEI concepts are easy to train, but harder to put into practice. In our ever-changing world of work, leaders are tasked with delivering optimal results while still creating a space where people want to contribute their time, talent, energy, and creativity. This course covers proven ways for leaders to create micro-experiences that have a macro impact on the culture of their teams and their organization. In this course, you'll learn strategies to weave storytelling into everyday work, competencies for leading and enabling inclusive conversations, usage of inclusive language and chosen names and pronouns, and leadership practices that embody allyship through personal accountability. You'll also learn techniques to use organizational resources equitably to support DEI, and how to gain confidence in building inclusive cultures.

Adopting an Inclusion Mindset at Work (0.5 Hours) 

It's not just individuals who face unconscious biases in the workplace; teams and organizations can also operate with shared institutionalized biases. Ensuring a diverse workplace requires actively participating in and advocating for DEI supports. In this course, you'll learn about the power of inclusion and how to support DEI at work. You’ll also learn the basics of inclusive recruitment and hiring, and what it looks like when a company supports inclusion from onboarding through retirement.

How Culture Impacts Communication (0.6 Hours) 

With most business now happening on a global scale, cross-cultural communication is more important than ever. Communication is always a challenge, and when diverse cultures interact, good communication can be even more challenging. To become a more efficient and effective communicator, you must acknowledge and respect cultural differences. In this course, you'll learn about the importance of taking culture and diversity into account in the workplace. You'll explore aspects of cultures that affect how people communicate across cultural boundaries. You'll also learn different considerations for speaking and writing across cultures.

Bridging Differences in Cross-cultural Communication (0.5 Hours) 

In today’s world, business is global. No matter the industry or sector, the chances that you are working with people from another country or culture are high. Given that business is communication, the ability to communicate successfully across cultures is a mission-critical skill. Communicating successfully with people from our own culture, in our own language, is challenging enough. When we interact with people from other cultures, the barriers to effective communication are even more pronounced. In this course, you will learn about two principal dimensions of culture that underlie culturally different ways of communicating and learn vocabulary that will allow you to explain differences in communication styles. You will also explore barriers to communicating effectively across cultures and identify ways to overcome them.

Activating DEI Culture Shifts (0.5 Hours) 

With the right mindset, leaders can transform team and organizational culture. This course is designed to help leaders apply systems-thinking methodology to transform team and workplace dynamics. Leaders who develop a systems-thinking approach are better equipped to honor and navigate the complexity of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. In this course, you will learn how to push in the direction that produces an inclusive work environment by using inclusive language to lead towards transforming the total enterprise, not just its component parts. You’ll also learn how a new way of leadership can support DEI, and what techniques can keep employee engagement and motivation in the work of DEI consistently high.

Building Shared Understanding Across Cultural Divides (0.5 Hours) 

Building good working relationships with any colleague takes time and effort, but when colleagues are from different cultures, creating productive relationships may be more challenging. Cultural differences can impact communication and even steer it away from the intended purpose. When you compound cultural differences with the need to communicate virtually, achieving effective communication becomes even more formidable. In this course, you will learn communication strategies that will help you to effectively build and maintain relationships with culturally diverse colleagues around the globe. From building initial rapport to sharing information, brainstorming, and preventing conflicts, you'll be able to recognize behaviors that will enable you to communicate effectively and achieve your business goals.

Reimagining the Employee Experience: DEI from Hire to Retire (0.6 Hours) 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just initiatives and programs – they are cultural DNA that can completely transform an organization, drive business, and generate positive results for people, organization, and community. This course is designed to provide organizational leaders and HR leaders with a toolkit for designing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive employee and leadership experience from first interactions onward. It provides practical examples for infusing inclusion into every aspect of the employee experience. In this course, you will learn the key elements of developing a DEI scorecard as a first step in ensuring systemic DEI, strategies to create an inclusive talent acquisition experience including using inclusive language and gender-neutral honorifics, and techniques to enable talent to develop and advance equitably. You'll also learn ways to democratize DEI leadership in association with employee groups and techniques to ensure inclusion in policies, processes, and systems.

Adopting New Leadership Mindsets to Drive DEI (0.6 hours) 

Are you in a mindset that will help you drive DEI throughout the systems of your organization? As a leader and role model, you hold the keys to activating DEI on your team and in your organization by demonstrating inclusive behaviors to the people who work for you. DEI as an initiative is multifaceted – it’s individual and programmatic, organizational, and systemic, and you need a mindset that allows you to shift cultures and embedded norms to enhance every operational area. The discipline of systems-thinking is an underlying philosophy that is particularly applicable to complex change efforts such as DEI. Systems-thinking is more than just a collection of tools and methods – it’s a way of thinking on an ecosystem level. In this course, you'll learn to recognize how systems thinking applies to DEI and practices for examining DEI goals. You'll also learn strategies to build organizational culture awareness for DEI, identify how organizational culture is represented in your team and processes, and recognize how to make DEI part of how you do business, including using more gender-neutral language.

Recognizing and Addressing Micro-behaviors in the Workplace (0.5 Hours) 

Micro-behaviors are a macro problem. Dr. Alvin Poussaint described the cumulative impact of microaggressions as “death by a thousand nicks.” Subtle acts of exclusion – often unconscious – left unchecked will take a toll on your employees. These subtle forms of bias and discrimination often leave people frustrated and lead to decreased productivity. In this course, you'll learn to recognize the characteristics of the different types of micro-behaviors and how to decode the messages they send. You'll also learn to identify when and how to take action to address micro-aggressions, and how to use micro-inclusions as an antidote to micro-aggressions.

Engaging the Power of a Multigenerational Workforce (0.5 Hours) 

Today’s workforce comprises a diverse combination of individuals from various generations, cultures, personalities, and backgrounds. Embracing these differences allows you to leverage them for a successful and harmonious workplace, and to achieve competitive business results. In this course, you’ll learn to recognize the value inherent in a multigenerational workforce and identify best practices for effective communication across generations. You’ll also learn strategies to promote team cohesion and address conflicts in a multi-generational workforce.

Becoming a DEI Ally and Agent for Change (0.6 Hours) 

To understand and appreciate diversity in the workplace, we must develop an understanding of ourselves and the diverse ways in which we view the world. Working in a diverse and inclusive workforce has many personal and professional benefits ranging from improved wellness and personal health to engagement and community and innovation and creativity. Equally important is the ability to leverage each of our unique talents, skills, and contributions. In this course, you'll explore strategies to help you become an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace. You’ll learn to build awareness of your values and social perspective and recognize specific actions that can improve social and cultural aspects of DEI. You’ll also learn about key concepts of allyship, methods to be a more inclusive communicator, and how to use the RISE model to become a DEI ally.

Want to learn more? Once you've completed all of the required courses, consider continuing your learning with the following optional activities. Unlike the required courses, you do not need to complete these to earn your certificate. 

Digital Books and Videos

Discover a world of resources with the Empire KnowledgeBank (EKB) and Skillsoft eBook and Video Portal. Search EKBSS_TMPL20150123135209420 in SLMS. You'll gain access to the following free digital books and online videos, as well as thousands more! Get directions on using the EKB and Skillsoft eBook and Video Portal. 

Recommended Reading

• Hiring for Diversity: The Guide to Building an Inclusive and Equitable Organization, by Jennifer Brown, Arthur Woods, Susanna Tharakan
• The Power of Difference – Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions, by Simon Fanshawe
• Demanding More: Why Diversity and Inclusion Don’t Happen and What You Can Do About It, by Sheree Atcheson 

Training

These courses are offered by the Partnership and are open to all CSEA-represented NYS employees. Webinars can be taken from any computer with a connection to the internet. You can also view recordings of webinars.  

YouTube Videos

• How to Get Serious About Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (11:04)
• Creating Inclusive Workplaces for All (11:18)
• How Inclusive Leadership Drives Cultural Change (9:54)

All CSEA-represented NYS employees are eligible to participate.

Management/Confidential NYS employees with an Empire KnowledgeBank (EKB) license are also eligible to participate. Contact your agency training officer for information on obtaining an EKB license.  

Supervisory approval is not required for courses taken outside the normal workday. It may be possible for employees to take courses during working hours with supervisory approval.

Register for the program anytime between now and January 21, 2025.  

Take all of the required courses online in SLMS anytime from July 22, 2024 to January 21, 2025.  

To earn a certificate, you must complete all 14 courses and achieve a passing grade of 70% or higher in each course by the program's end date of January 21, 2025.

To print your certificate, login to SLMS, go to the My Learning page, locate the appropriate certificate program, and select the Print Certificate button. The Print Certificate button will only be available if the status is Completed.

To participate, you must follow our two-step registration process. The first step varies for CSEA-represented NYS employees and Management/Confidential NYS employees. 

CSEA-represented NYS employees: Apply for a Partnership Online Learning License in the Statewide Learning Management System. Search P_OL_Program in SLMS. Please allow up to five business days for license approval.  

NYS Management/Confidential Employees: Contact your agency training director to obtain an Empire KnowledgeBank license if you don't have one already.  

Once you have an active license, you can register for the program in SLMS. Search P_DEI24 in SLMS.  

register

Please be sure you're using Google Chrome to access SLMS. If you don't have the internet browser on your computer now, submit a ticket to ITS to have it installed. 

You will not be able to access any of the courses in the certificate program until you have followed the two-step registration process noted above. Please allow up to five business days for license approval. New state employees typically won’t get access to SLMS until after their first paycheck. 

Still need help or have questions? Contact us at (800) 253-4332 or email [email protected].