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Archives for November 2021

A World Without Barriers

November 24, 2021 by Cornerstone International Group Leave a Comment

For those unfamiliar with the terms, DEI is shorthand for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the workplace.

Inclusion refers to the practice of ensuring that people feel a sense of belonging, that they are supported by the organization.

Equity ensures that processes and programs are impartial and provide equal possible outcomes for every individual.

Diversity refers to the presence of differences in the workplace, usually meaning differences in race, gender, age and ethnicity.  For Robin Weis it stands for another special and often overlooked difference.

“Disability in some form affects 15% of the world’s population,” says Weis. “That is 1.5 billion people, not million, billion. It is by no means a niche topic.”

Weis was addressing an audience of Cornerstone professionals specialized in the Non-Profit sector.  He is the Public Sector Manager of the Zero Project, a global foundation based in Vienna which works to remove barriers – and empower the aspirations of persons with disabilities.

It does not disburse funds.  It engages directly with organizations, innovators and communities who can bring about impactful and innovative change for all – persons with and without disabilities.

“The disability is not the problem,” he says. “It is just a characteristic of the person. The problem is the barriers, both physical and mental, that they face every day.  We try to remove those barriers by creating and distributing innovative solutions that will democratize access to Innovative Practices and Innovative Policies.

We show what an actual world and environment with zero barriers looks like.”

Zero Project was formed in 2007, the year the UN drafted the UN CRPD – its benchmark convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.  Guided by the spirit of the UN CRPD, the Zero Project shares global good practices and curates, identifies, and awards 70-80 Innovative Practices and Innovative Policies on an annual basis

In the process, the foundation has become a global repository that captures Innovative Practices and Innovative Policies that have been peer-reviewed by a board of international peer-review experts. 

The Zero Project has curated 700 innovations from over 180 countries and has a network of 9,000 members.  Disability is universal and the project’s target area is an equally vast cross-section of opinion leaders and decision makers.  In a four-year-cycle, the research process focuses sequentially on Education, Employment, Accessibility, Independent Living and Political Participation.

The annual shift of thematic focus has allowed the Zero Project to amass a virtual library of good practices, especially, in the business and ICT sector.  

“The business case is made that it is actually to the benefit of a company and its bottom line to employ persons with disabilities,” says Weis. “If you are an SME and you want to find out how to employ persons with disabilities, then you can go on our website – zeroproject.org – and find proven examples of what works.”

The work of the Zero Project has special significance to the challenges facing professionals in the executive search business

“We at Cornerstone can help our clients understand from an employment perspective, how they might be able to incorporate this work into their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives and in their employment practices,” adds Linda Gray, host of the call and leader of the Non-Profit practice at Cornerstone.

“Removing those barriers would allow them to open up a talent pool that we as recruiters haven’t necessarily tapped into as much as we need to.”

A transcript of the presentation by Robin Weis and the Zero Project  [link]is available here.

Filed Under: Cornerstone Blog

Remembering Alejandra Aranda

November 2, 2021 by Cornerstone International Group Leave a Comment

Alejandra Aranda, a core member of Cornerstone International Group, died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday October 26, 2021

Alejandra Aranda

Cornerstone International Group is a global executive search organization, a tightly knit network of member professionals in 40 countries. Last week, we lost one of those core members unexpectedly.

Alejandra Aranda founded Humanitas Executive Search (Cornerstone Santiago) 16 years ago. For the last 10 years she was a member of the Cornerstone leadership team as Chair for the Latin America Region.  She was a director of AmCham, cited three times as one of the 100 Women Leaders of Chile, founder of the international organization Women Corporate Directors and a member for six years of the Americas Council of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC).

The AESC is the body defining executive search and leadership consulting worldwide. On Friday President & CEO Karen Greenbaum, announced a unanimous decision to confer on Alejandra posthumously its most prestigious award honoring career-long achievement. (Read more)

“Alejandra and I met many times both in Chile and in New York,” said Greenbaum. “She made a lasting impact on AESC and on our profession. We at AESC will remember her—her enthusiasm and passion were infectious”

Alejandra was equally noted for her involvement in community and civic affairs, particularly the need to enhance human capital in employment and to further gender equality. Four years ago she was approached by the Gender Parity Initiative of the World Economic Forum to participate in a Code of Good Practice.

She went a big step further. She persuaded all eight of her top competitors in Chile to participate in signing a 10-point Code of Good Practice on Gender Diversity Management for executive search firms.

“Alejandra was not only a very accomplished search professional,” says Simon Wan, Chairman and CEO of Cornerstone International Group. “She understood how important a role our industry can play in improving the value and benefit of talented workers, especially minorities.”

Perhaps one of the persons outside of Santiago who knew her best is Cornerstone President Larry Shoemaker of Atlanta.

“We worked together over many years, during which I developed a great respect for what she did and who she was,” he says. “Alejandra’s dedication and professionalism taught us all how to be the best possible.  

“I know she will be always present in our hearts.”

Read previous articles by and about Alejandra Aranda

Filed Under: Cornerstone Blog

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