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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Influencers

The DE&I Influencers list honors individuals who are advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizations and across the workforce solutions ecosystem at large. 

2024 DE&I Influencers

Ann Bookout

SVP, ED&I and Change Effectiveness | Impellam Group

Honoree profile

For Ann Bookout, Impellam Group’s SVP, ED&I and change effectiveness, an important element of DE&I requires recognizing and accepting our advantages. “Most people have some degree of privilege,” she says. “How do we use that to advance others who don’t have access to it?” While there is news in the marketplace about waning commitments toward DE&I, there is still significant opportunity to make progress internally and with customers. As she points out, “The pendulum may be swinging.” However, Bookout implores companies to avoid becoming complacent. “Don’t take your foot off the gas just because there are headwinds,” she urges.

While equality has long been important to Bookout, her formal introduction to the world of corporate DE&I came in 2017 when she was hired as one of Accenture’s first dedicated DE&I leads. She cites becoming a parent and witnessing the global inequality of the pandemic in 2020 — as well as the murder of George Floyd — as further inspiration for her work in this area.

Most people have some degree of privilege. How do we use that to advance others who don’t have access to it?

Bookout counts the successful planning and execution of Impellam’s inaugural Diverse Supplier Summit among her recent DE&I achievements. The event brought a wide range of diverse customers, suppliers and community partners together. It also featured a keynote speaker from a local historically Black college who talked about the talent landscape and the importance of building a pipeline of diverse talent. “The event really focused on bringing diverse suppliers into the conversation but also [on] the diversity of talent communities,” Bookout says. “It led to really great cross-collaboration with our customers.”

Summarizing her DE&I philosophy, Bookout believes that the work is about “using our own advocacy to make the pie bigger so that there’s access for more.” As for the future, she plans to make sustainability a particular area of focus. “Those that don’t have the same means and privilege will suffer more from the negative effects of climate change,” she points out. “So [sustainability and DE&I] are interrelated.”