Kim-Monique Johnson on Centering Equity in Human Resources

“For black graduates with a bachelor’s degree, four years after graduating their student loan debt is twice as much as their white counterparts. So, to be anti-racist is to recognize the inequities and to change policy and practice that could very well be in our compensation and benefits. Change those policies and practices so that white lives and white livelihoods are not valued more than BIPOC lives and BIPOC economic livelihoods.”—Kim-Monique Johnson

In this clip, Kim-Monique Johnson of CRE asks us to reconsider employee benefits using widely available data on the inequities Black employees face. We are challenged to move from an equality frame to an equity frame as we think about how to support employees.

Watch the full webinar recording

Using the books How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management by Caitlin Rosenthal as inspiration, this online event offers a host of provocative and practical ideas for shifting approaches to human resource management to further racial justice inside our organizations. Kim-Monique Johnson and Jean Lobell combine decades of experience in “HR”—which they advocate we should call “People & Culture”—with a sense of urgency to change the status quo.

About the author

Kim-Monique Johnson

Bringing over 25 years’ nonprofit experience, Kim-Monique Johnson, a senior consultant at CRE, provides support to organizations through organizational development, curriculum development, group facilitation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. She identifies as a Black, cisgender lesbian, who recognizes the importance of creating space for naming identities and lived experiences. Johnson has experience in healthcare, human resources, and leadership coaching. She is passionate about helping new managers as well as seasoned executives who face new challenges related to organizational management, diversity, racial equity, and inclusion. For leaders who wonder how to show up as their authentic selves, for people of color who may also be part of LGBTQ communities, she offers coaching to support their well-being and success. Before joining CRE, Johnson served as the chief human resources officer at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the VP of talent at the Food Bank for New York City. Her global experience includes a year as a volunteer sexuality education teacher in Gabon, Central Africa, and co-leading the first LGBTQ multiyear training for healthcare providers in Lima, Perú. Johnson is a certified Wiley Everything DiSC® workplace facilitator, a senior certified professional with the Society for Human Resource Management, and certified in the Clark Wilson 360 Feedback Survey. She is also certified in Energy Leadership Coaching with the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). She obtained a BA in psychology from Johns Hopkins University, and an MSW from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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