Walter E. Johnson (walter.johnson@inova.org) is Assistant Privacy Officer at Inova in Falls Church, Virginia, USA.

The author’s expressed views are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Inova.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford^[1]

As we approach Celebrate Diversity Month, some may ponder the role and responsibility of the compliance and ethics professional. If there is a role, what is it? Size, structure, and culture will determine the level of our engagement in our organizations’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. For example, some compliance and ethics professionals are responsible for DEI initiatives because they serve in dual roles, such as director of human resources and compliance, or have a dual reporting structure that includes human resources. Although these structures are in the minority and are often not ideal, they do exist.