Research shows that faith-friendly workplaces improve employee well-being, enhance job satisfaction, and build a culture of respect among colleagues. This is one of the many reasons leaders at major companies like Accenture, Equinix, and Dell Technologies are prioritizing their faith inclusion efforts at work.

To celebrate these achievements, the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation brings together leaders across the private sector at the Dare to Overcome Faith@Work ERG Conference each year to build skills and exchange expertise on advancing religious inclusion in the workplace. Volunteer leaders of faith-based and interfaith employee resource groups (or ERGs), as well as HR, inclusion, and learning and development leaders who support these ERGs, spend three days sharing the countless ways that religious identity and diversity strengthen workplace cultures and business outcomes.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Dare to Overcome conference for the very first time and co-facilitated an Interfaith ERG Leaders Summit hosted by Interfaith America to kick off the conference’s first day. Leaders of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Christian ERGs also gathered that morning.

During the Interfaith ERG Leaders Summit, more than 40 participants shared their personal motivations for engaging in interfaith bridgebuilding at work, reflected on the values that ground their leadership, and shared the wins and growth areas they faced as interfaith ERG leaders in the past year.

Here are the top three success and challenges interfaith ERG leaders identified that day:

Successes:

Transformative Events

From holiday celebrations to “lunch & learns,” trivia games, and company-wide festivals, interfaith ERG leaders named dozens of high-impact events that provided colleagues with space to share their beloved traditions and learn from one another. One leader named a “Coffee & Culture” event that created an “intimate space for people to speak their minds and feel like they belong.” Another leader held a fundraising event to support flood relief efforts in India. One participant planned a large company-wide event in line with the National Day of Prayer, bringing together interfaith and faith-based ERG leaders and members for shared learning and observance.

Growing Membership

A number of participants named that external factors — such as international conflicts and political polarization — motivated new members to join their interfaith ERGs to support their religiously diverse teams and join efforts to build understanding and cooperation across difference. One participant shared that growing support from their ERG’s executive sponsor substantially contributed to a growth in their active membership. Another participant noted that expanding their interfaith ERG’s leadership to include regional office leaders addressed their need for more in-person community building. Several attendees shared that tabling and advertising interfaith ERG events in high-traffic areas within their office also supported increased attendance and membership this past year.

Collaborative Engagement with Other Groups

Leaders frequently mentioned that collaborating with external organizations and other internal ERGs fostered bridgebuilding and cooperation among colleagues. Participants named their company’s women’s, LGBTQ+, and multicultural ERGs as impactful collaborators on intersectional initiatives about faith during Women’s History Month, Pride Month, and Black History Month. Others shared that outreach to local nonprofits led to volunteering opportunities that inspired interfaith ERG members to uncover their shared values across different religious, worldview, and ethical traditions.

Challenges:

Stagnant or Declining Membership

While many participants named growing ERG membership as a major success, several others named member engagement as their biggest challenge in the past year. Some attributed a lack of understanding about interfaith engagement or low confidence in engaging across lines of religious difference as a barrier to growing their ERG’s membership. Others named that declining membership across ERGs more broadly at their organizations may be attributed to internal infrastructure changes.

Policy Threats to DEI

For the second year in a row, interfaith ERG leaders named that executive orders issued by the president seeking to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives among government agencies and federal contractors has contributed to a wide-spread chilling effect across the private sector. In light of their organizations reviewing internal DEI initiatives, participants shared that establishing new processes for internal approval has slowed their ability to hold meetings and events and respond to members’ needs in a timely manner. New language to describe the work and leaders’ roles and responsibilities has also bred confusion and slowed engagement.

Breakdowns in Communication

Leaders named consistent and clear communication with ERG members, as well as colleagues supporting ERGs, as a challenge to growing and sustaining efforts year over year. Busy schedules and workloads make finding the best mode of communication — whether emails, direct messages, announcements in the employee portal, or printed flyers — a process of ongoing trial and error. Fears of overstepping new company-wide policies or mistakenly sharing inaccurate information about a religious or spiritual tradition or community also hindered communication between ERG leaders and members, in some cases.

The Interfaith ERG Leaders Summit attracted a vibrant group of curious, compassionate, and resilient participants who remain steadfast in their commitment to advancing interfaith allyship at their organizations. Despite the significant systemic, institutional, and individual challenges these leaders face, they continue to celebrate the rich religious diversity represented among their colleagues and advance critical bridgebuilding efforts that extend across and even beyond their organizations.

Learn more about how to unlock the potential of religious diversity in the workplace.

Harmeet Kaur Kamboj

Harmeet Kaur Kamboj, Assistant Director of Workplace Strategy, supports Interfaith America’s initiatives advancing religious inclusion in the private sector. Harmeet holds a M.A. in Interreligious Engagement and S.T.M. in Religion & Society from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.