Creating justice-centered organizations is the next frontier in DEI—this book shows how to go beyond HR to address harm, share power, and create equity. 

Traditional DEI work has not succeeded at dismantling systems that perpetuate harm and exclude BIPOC groups. They have put too much focus on HR solutions, like increasing representation, and not enough emphasis on changing the deeper organizational systems that perpetuate inequities—in other words, on justice. 

This thought-provoking, solutions-oriented book offers strategic advice on how to adopt a justice mindset, anticipate and address resistance, shift power dynamics, and create psychologically safe organizational cultures. With chapters featuring the diverse perspectives of The Winters Group team, Racial Justice at Work provides a pragmatic “how-to” guide to implement justice-centered practices in leadership, procurement, learning and development, marketing, philanthropy, and more.  

DEIJ pioneer Mary-Frances Winters and her coauthors address some of the most compelling aspects of adding a justice focus to diversity work, showing how to create a workplace culture where equity is a reality and no longer just a checklist of performative actions.

Mary-Frances Winters is the founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc. She was named a top ten diversity trailblazer by Forbes and a diversity pioneer by Profiles in Diversity Journal, and she is the recipient of the prestigious ATHENA Award as well as the Winds of Change Award conferred by the Forum on Workplace Inclusion. Winters is also the author of We Can’t Talk about That at Work, Inclusive Conversations, and Black Fatigue.

The Winters Group Team contributors are Kevin A. Carter, Megan Ellinghausen, Scott Ferry, Gabrielle Gayagoy Gonzalez, Dr. Terrence Harewood, Tami Jackson, Dr. Megan Larson, Leigh Morrison, Katelyn Peterson, Mareisha N. Reese, Thamara Subramanian, and Rochelle Younan-Montgomery. 

“Leveraging years of experience and measurable effectiveness, Mary-Frances Winters and her team have given us an excellent and accessible guide for integrating racial justice in the workplace. From operationalizing definitions, to expecting and responding to resistance, to assessing outcomes, this step-by-step manual needs to be in every organization's hands.”  

—Robin DiAngelo, PhD, author of White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism 

  

“Once again, Mary-Frances Winters and The Winters Group lead the charge toward understanding and accountability to bring about immediate action and deep change for workplaces and societies. Reaching beyond DEI, Racial Justice at Work captures the next-level leadership required to transform organizations into stewards of justice, particularly for Black and brown people who have been harmed by exclusion. This book is a must-read for all who seek to disrupt inequitable systems and build those in which diverse communities can reach their full potential.” 

—Laura Morgan Roberts, PhD, University of Virginia Associate Professor and CEO of The Alignment Quest Enterprise 

  

“This highly illuminating book deserves to be read, and reread, by every executive who has even an inkling of curiosity regarding how they can foster a more just workplace. It unpacks the cartoonification of DEIJ narratives that tend to dominate our discourse and provides an extraordinary depth and breadth of insights, perspectives, and approaches. Kudos to Mary-Frances Winters and her colleagues for sharing so much of their wisdom in one place.” 

—Jeremy Boal, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Mount Sinai Health System, and President, Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Downtown 

  

“Clear, concise and compelling, Mary-Frances Winters and her team have written the book every company needs. In explicit and easy-to-follow language, they lay out a road map for companies and senior level executives for achieving racial justice in the workplace. No longer will companies have to guess or wonder about how to operationalize their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

—Areva Martin, Esq., award-winning civil rights attorney and USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author 

  

“Mary-Frances Winters and The Winters Group bring justice into corporate culture with an incisive guide that articulates the need for systems and practices that produce equity and shift power in the workplace, then outlines a compelling plan for transformation. This book offers organizations an equity lens that puts justice into action everywhere, from entry-level positions to the C-suite. Following its plan will lead to organizational cultures where more employees, particularly those most marginalized by structural discrimination, can succeed and thrive.” 

—Lurie Daniel Favors, Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College