The award-winning executive and founder of Catalais Consulting on why DEI is a systems redesign.
When inclusion breaks down, it often starts small: a glance, a rule, a shrug. In this week’s episode of The MindSpa Podcast, co-hosts Tina Wilston and Michelle Massunken sit down with Jenny Chen, award-winning executive, strategist, and founder of Catalais Consulting, to explore how belonging is built (or blocked) by the everyday structures around us.
Jenny opens with a story close to home. Her 11-year-old daughter, Savannah, arrived excited for a tennis camp, only to be singled out as the only girl, the only visible minority, and a novice. Mistakes drew ridicule and even punitive push-ups. The “kids will be kids” response missed the point: the environment failed to see and support a child who showed up eager to learn. The family walked away, and a new player was lost before she began.
That single moment is a microcosm of the workplace. We often over-engineer “DEI solutions” while ignoring the simple, human roots: Do people feel seen, heard, respected, and valued?
Jenny’s career spans frontline finance and global leadership. A former finance executive and global DEI leader, she’s now the founder of Catalais Consulting, a firm dedicated to redesigning systems, workplace culture, and leadership through an equity-informed lens. Her thesis is deceptively simple: many “diversity problems” are actually infrastructure problems, outdated talent systems, narrow pipelines, and incentive structures that unintentionally exclude.
“It’s not a diversity problem, it’s a talent management infrastructure problem.”
She offers an unforgettable analogy: the Taylor Swift effect. When Taylor Swift began appearing at NFL games, millions of new fans tuned in. The NFL adapted its storytelling and outreach to welcome them, and billions in new revenue followed. Inclusion, in other words, isn’t charity. It’s strategy.
So what does systems redesign look like?
• Modernize the pipeline. Hiring from the same schools, networks, and clubs yields the same outcomes. Broadening sourcing (e.g., HBCUs, immigrant talent programs, community colleges, mid-career pathways) expands excellence.
• Fix talent scaffolding. When women cluster in junior roles but drop off in sales/leadership, it’s a succession, sponsorship, and development issue, not a deficit in talent.
• Embed, don’t bolt on. If “inclusion” lives only in ERGs or side projects, your core business isn’t changing. Make equity part of how strategy, compensation, and operations run daily.
• Measure impact, not optics. Track promotion velocity, pay equity, exit reasons, manager quality, and psychological safety, not just headcount.
Jenny also pushes against the idea that inclusion is a zero-sum game. We don’t need labels like “inclusive leadership” to do what great leaders have always done: understand individuals, match them with opportunity, and remove friction so they can thrive.
And yes, this is a mental-health conversation, too. The absence of belonging erodes confidence, fuels anxiety, and pushes people out of communities, sports, and careers they might have loved. Safety and respect aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They’re performance drivers for people and organizations.
About Jenny Chen
Jenny Chen is an award-winning executive, strategist, and founder of Catalais Consulting, a firm dedicated to redesigning systems, workplace culture, and leadership through an equity-informed lens. Her work has been featured on stages and airwaves across North America and internationally; she’s a regular speaker at leadership forums, cross-industry conferences, and academic institutions. She contributes to The Globe and Mail’s Nine to Five column and is a sought-after guest on global podcasts focused on equity, leadership, and emotional resilience. She has earned multiple awards and nominations for impact across entrepreneurship, equity, and transformational systems change.
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