Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) can play an important role in an organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy. The first employee resource groups were known as “Workplace Affinity Groups,” which were created in response to racial strife of the 1960s. Joseph Wilson, the celebrated former Xerox CEO, developed the concept following race riots in Rochester, NY, in 1964, according to the Diversity Best Practices website, Wilson and his black employees designed and launched the National Black Employees Caucus in 1970 to address racial tension and the issue of workplace discrimination.

Every ERG is different. In a small company, an ERG could include ...