Observe. Listen. Implement How One Small Business Owner is Advancing Diversity

In this episode Rianka speaks with John McCarthy, founder of McCarthy Tax Preparation, about his experience increasing diversity in the workplace as a Midwest-based white male small business owner.

Rianka and John share how their long-standing friendship has influenced his responsibility to check in on his staff and provide a safe workplace for his employees, including one African American woman in particular.

John shares the struggles that many small business owners face including the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, and concern that his actions won’t amount to much.

The two discuss how those in a leadership position must proactively have uncomfortable conversations, and the untold benefits it extends to their employees.

During 2020, John took the opportunity to dedicate a staff meeting to talk about the current environment and give an opportunity to staff to share their feelings, which he said is still paying dividends. John also shared how he is changing his hiring practices to further eliminate unintentional bias, and the onus on his profession to cultivate and advance more diverse talent in their industry.

What You’ll Learn:

How one small business owner is focused on making small, incremental change to build a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practice
How to reject overwhelm in the age of social media sharing
The latest data on diversity in the accounting and financial planning professions
The importance removing bias from hiring practices, including blind resume reviewing
Considerations about making incremental impacts, without the publicity factors