Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Cabral.
Hi Amber, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am the Founder of Cabral Co, an inclusion and equity-focused strategy firm. The work I do is what most folks refer to as “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or DEI which means I am focused on how people experience work and communities. I started working in inclusion and equity way back in 2004 while working at Blue Care Network (a division of Blue Cross Blue Shield) in my home state of Michigan. Back then, folks only talked about diversity and most people hadn’t gotten clear that diversity needs inclusion and equity to work. I started out as a call center rep, just helping to build some diversity training for the company as a project. I didn’t really consider diversity, equity and inclusion a career path back then, but I do remember being frustrated by all the people of color at my job working in hourly roles – myself included – and all the salaried management being white.
Over the next few years, I realized how much being included and having equitable access to opportunity shaped how I and my colleagues experienced work, and I was hooked. I wanted to make workplaces more accessible and diversity and inclusion seemed to be a big part of that. Eventually, I left Michigan and started working for another health plan in Georgia called Peach State Health Plan, where I worked in Grievance and Appeals and it wasn’t long before I realized that though DEI wasn’t my day job, I was miserable without the DEI projects. I ultimately left Peach State and started working for Walmart Stores, Inc. where first, I ran mentoring globally, then the corporate intern program and ultimately played a role in an executive workstream focused on culture transformation called Ways of Working. The deliverables from that workstream ultimately landed me in the Culture, Diversity and Inclusion department as a Diversity Strategist responsible for bringing culture transformation with an inclusive lens to life across the organization. In 2017, I left Walmart and started working full time for my own company Cabral Co. where me and my team get to support several companies of varying sizes and types with their inclusion and equity needs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing good comes easy, so it hasn’t been a smooth road at all because the work I get to do is really good and really needed. One of the biggest and most consistent challenges is getting companies to realize that inclusion and equity are ongoing objectives that require consistent willingness to learn, grow and change. Sometimes companies think they can just automate it like payroll or want to do things that are check the box like a once-a-year training instead of long-term impactful things like changing hiring practices or evaluating leaders based on how they lead with equity. These challenges are also fun to address when the companies are willing and when they understand that without their people, there is no company.
Being a small business and surviving COVID has been an incredible challenge and fortunately triumph for sure. COVID basically shook everything up and Cabral Co’s ability to pivot was critical and is surely one of the reasons we are thriving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Cabral Co is a boutique inclusion and equity strategy firm focused on helping organizations shift their behaviors and processes to create inclusive work environments and communities. We serve companies through learning experiences, content design, and business strategy to help create the most inclusive workplaces and communities in the world. Our approach is unique because we are focused on providing practical and actionable approaches people can employ immediately to make an impact as well as long-term practices that can sustain an organization on their inclusion journey. We help create company cultures that go beyond awareness to actually changing the way they operate to bring inclusion and equity to life.
I am most proud that most of our clients start out wanting to solve a problem or address a diversity need and ultimately become participants in shifting their culture as a whole to be more inclusive. We often start out with a few trainings but usually end up being a trusted partner on a company’s growth journey, and that’s how we know when folks are really doing the work.
Cabral Co is the right inclusion and equity partner when folks are ready to move past boring trainings, memorizing definitions and unimpactful resources. We turn all of that on its head and curate learning experiences that provide useful resources and techniques, address challenges head-on and arm folks with the language they need to navigate the world of inclusion. We don’t help folks do inclusion in the workplace, instead we help them be inclusive wholistically.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am also the author of Allies and Advocates, Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture released on Wiley Press in November of 2020. My second book, Say More About That… And Other Ways to Speak Up, Push Back and Advocate for Yourself And Others will release July 20, 2022 also on Wiley.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@cabralco.com
- Website: www.cabralco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bamcabral/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amber.bam.cabral
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bamcabral
- Other: www.ambercabral.com
Image Credits
D. Finney Photo Stephon Latham Photography
