Jennifer Vasquez Disrupting the Status Quo

Jennifer Vasquez, Global Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Amgen, has worked in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging space for more than 14 years. Her successful initiatives have focused on bringing fundamental and transformative changes to organizations to embed equity and inclusionary practices in corporate and political structures. Jennifer disrupts the status quo in areas such as hiring practices by strengthening engagement approaches and developing training focused on competencies that recruiters and hiring managers may not recognize or equipped with. Her goal is to increase EQ and CQ and hold people in position of power and influence accountable.

Jennifer’s strategy for making progress towards goals is to focus on the structural and behavioral aspects needing change. She starts with what she has coined as the “3Ds of DI&B”: Demystifying what Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging are individually and collectively and how equity is threaded throughout; Deconstructing the power structures and sub-systems that contradict and hinder this work and reengineering practices to remove barriers and biases; and, Disrupting the status quo and shifting the perspective so that everyone takes responsibility for co-creating an inclusive environment. Jennifer finds her leadership strengths in experiences and competencies developed in a global environment during her career and personal experiences.