Best DEI Leadership Training Programs in 2024
A famous writer, Audre Lorde, once said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
A leader within an organization must not just lead but also create a meaningful difference. Are you a leader who is wondering how to do that? Well, you have arrived at the right place!
As a leader, you can make a meaningful difference by inculcating an inclusive culture that focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). To promote DEI at an organizational level, you can introduce and implement DEI training programs to encourage your team members to practice these values to create a safe and supportive workplace. However, implementing diversity and training programs is not enough.
Do you know only 5% of global leaders are inclusive? What are these leaders doing differently? They are not only instilling DEI values in their employees, but they are also instilling at an individual level to ensure they lead by example.
How do you go about that? It’s simple – you can opt for a DEI leadership training program! As a leader, you can empower your team members to embrace inclusivity rather than shunning it.
This blog will list the best DEI training programs, their cost, duration, and eligibility to help you choose the most suitable one.
20 Best DEI Leadership Training Programs in 2024
While many DEI certificate programs are available, you must narrow them down to choose one that aligns with your personal and professional goals. Here are the best DEI leadership training programs in 2024:
Kahilla
Kahilla is a digital training platform that aims to make leadership roles accessible to the best talent. Its membership program amplifies diverse voices and enables underrepresented groups to hold leadership positions, creating an inclusive work culture.
Kahilla’s membership program allows leaders to learn active listening, verbal and written communication, and team-building skills. The program also helps leaders become self-aware and socially responsible in addressing their implicit biases, empathize with diverse talent, and build a respectful professional relationship with their team members.
Kahilla’s uniqueness lies in its team of experts, which comprises diverse voices from the intersections of ethnicity, race, gender, and sexuality. This makes DEI leadership training an authentic experience!
Cost: $95 per month
Duration: No specific duration Membership Program
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online Membership Program
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity and Inclusion in HR Management
The HR Certification Institute offers online diversity training for employees titled Certificate in D&I in HR Management—Assessment, Inclusion, and Retention. The course creates a foundation for developing an inclusive workplace where all employees are treated fairly and justly.
The course has four modules: Fostering an Inclusive Culture, Assessing Diversity and Inclusion, and Hiring and Retaining Diverse Talent. You can access this certification course from anywhere worldwide; all you need is a laptop or tablet.
The course is available 180 days after purchase, and you must complete the modules within this period. This program has no eligibility criteria, and leaders or employees interested in diversity training are encouraged to take it.
Cost: $239
Duration: Up to 180 days
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online Certification
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
The ESSEC Business School is popularly known for its specially curated management courses. Its Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace course is a one-of-a-kind DEI training course that introduces DEI issues and concepts, trains leaders to interact within socially diverse environments, and teaches them to understand the nuances of inclusivity, the challenges of implementing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and global scenarios of workplace diversity.
While the course is primarily taught in English, the language of instruction is also in 22 other languages, including Dutch, Portuguese, Hindi, Spanish, French, and Italian. This diversity training program is available online, and you can take it according to your availability and flexibility. While there is no examination at the end of the course, you must take quizzes and participate in discussions and peer reviews to assess your ability to be just and fair within diverse spaces.
Cost: Free
Duration: 10 hours
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online Certification
Mode of Assessment: Quizzes and Peer Reviews
Optimizing Diversity on Teams
The University of Pennsylvania offers DEI training for employees through its course – Optimizing Diversity on Teams. This course is designed to help employees and leaders understand diversity and how to utilize it to maximize team effectiveness. The modules offered in this course are – Promoting Diversity in the Workplace, Team Diversity Basics, Managing Conflicts, and a Diversity Case Study. You don’t require any prior experience to enroll in the course, and you can schedule it based on your availability. The course is 10 hours long; you can complete it at your own pace.
Please note: This course is part of a Culture-Driven Team-Building specialization, so when you enroll, you will also be enrolled in the rest of the specialization's courses.
Cost: $79
Duration: 12 hours
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online Certification
Mode of Assessment: Quizzes and Peer Reviews
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Leadership Graduate Certificate
The Harvard Extension School offers a unique DEI graduate certificate program – the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Leadership Graduate Certificate. This program provides DEI training for leaders and equips them with critical knowledge to address workplace bias, discrimination, power, and privilege, identify opportunities for developing diversity and inclusion initiatives, and stimulate conversations around DEI to become an effective leader. The course is offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer.
While there are no prerequisites, you must take one course from their specified categories– History and Context, Core, Leadership Principles, Applied Learning – to earn the graduate certificate. The course is available in Fall, Summer, and Spring, and you can choose based on your preference. You can either take the course online or opt for their on-campus model. You must complete the course online or on-campus within three years of enrolling.
Cost: $12,880; $3,220 per course.
Duration: Upto 3 years
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online and On-Campus
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Practitioners
The Sarah Jane Academy, known for its DEI professional development courses, has developed a course titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Practitioners. This course aims to provide affordable DEI training for managers and employees with real-life DEI tactics and practices.
It is a four-week course covering these modules – DEI Evolution & Top Challenges, Your Role as DEI Practitioner, Getting to Work, and DEI in Practice.
This certificate course offers reading material, quizzes, and assignments to help you facilitate DEI training in the workplace. To complete the certification, you must draft and submit a final DEI action plan, which the course coordinators will evaluate.
Cost: $350
Duration: 4 weeks
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: DEI Action Plan
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program
The American Management Association offers a DEI leadership program, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program. This DEI certificate program aims to train leaders at all levels. The course encourages leaders to communicate emotionally intelligently, claim ownership and responsibility, overcome biases, and develop inclusivity in the workplace.
The most unique aspect of this program is its capstone presentation, an interactive workplace stimulation for you to apply your DEI concepts, initiatives, and practices. It is an online or in-person 3-day intensive course available throughout the year; you can choose the mode and dates you prefer based on your availability.
Cost: $3295 | $2995 for AMA Members
Duration: 3 days
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online or In-Person
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Public Managers
Rutgers University of Continuing Studies offers a special DEI training for managers titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Public Managers. This certificate program consists of four courses and aims to help managers identify personal areas of growth while unpacking prejudices and internal biases. The four courses of the program are — Building Awareness, Exploring Race & Racism, The Connection Between Race, Power, and Privilege, and Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Organization.
The program hosts live, interactive sessions through Zoom and provides resources they expect you to read up on before these sessions. To complete the program, you must attend all the live sessions and complete a final assignment. If you are looking for DEI training for executives, Rutgers also offers a two-day program for teams of ten or more members.
Cost: $300 per course
Duration: N/A
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Reflection Assignment
Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The New York University’s School of Professional Studies offers a Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This DEI professional development program helps leaders understand how inclusivity can help enhance business value and equip them with skills to build an effective and diverse team. This DEI certificate program differs from most as it offers a separate module on how leaders can use metrics to communicate the organization’s lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and how to encourage them.
It also educates leaders on how to use technology efficiently to promote diversity hiring. As part of the program, you must take four courses – Drive Business with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Inclusive Team Leadership, Data-Driven Metrics to Inform Your Organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Improve Hiring with Technology. You must take all four courses to be eligible for the certification.
Cost: $600 per course
Duration: 9-12 days | Upto 3 years
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate
The University of Florida, MUMA College of Business offers Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate, an online diversity training for employees. MUMA College of Business initially provided this program free of charge to over 135,000 people and hosted by famous speakers from the Tampa Bay business community. It educates leaders on increasing their revenue, performance, and productivity with a diverse and inclusive workplace.
The course follows a unique model wherein pre-recorded content from the initial course is available to learners free of cost but charges $99 if you are keen on earning the certification. You earn the certificate once you have cleared all seven quizzes to evaluate your DEI knowledge.
Cost: $99 for the certificate | Free Content
Duration: 14 hours
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Quizzes
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Certificate Program
The Academy to Innovate HR provides a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Certificate Program. This globally recognized and accredited DEI training course will help you master DEI concepts, resolve intercultural conflicts, and implement diverse organizational cultural changes.
The course is quite intensive, consisting of five courses that span 32 hours. A distinctive feature of this course is that it aids you in analyzing if your organization actively practices DEI and teaches you to draft a company-wide DEI strategy. The program also has a capstone presentation to pass to acquire the certification.
Cost: $975
Duration: 32 hours
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Capstone Presentation
Executive Certificate in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Georgetown University provides an Executive Certificate in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, a DEI training for executives and managers. This certificate course helps you become an agent of change by strategically leading your organization with DEI principles.
The DEI professional development program consists of six courses spread across six months. You will have to complete one course per month. There are two available cohorts – Fall and Summer. You can choose either based on your preference.
Cost: $8,490; $1,415 per course
Duration: 6 months; 117 hours
Eligibility Criteria: 5 years of Professional Experience | Bachelor’s Degree
Mode: Online and On-Campus
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate Program
Cornell University’s professional development model, eCornell, offers a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate Program led by experienced Cornell faculty. This DEI leadership training program helps participants assess stereotypes and prejudices and understand various dimensions of diversity to improve employee engagement rates and organizational effectiveness.
The program consists of five courses; you must take them all to complete. The most unique aspect of the program is that it provides access to live and interactive sessions with Cornell’s faculty who have expertise in DEI, called symposiums. Attending these live sessions is not mandatory. However, they may enrich your DEI journey as a leader.
Cost: $3699
Duration: 2 months; 3-5 hours per week
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Certified Diversity Professional
With over 15 years of DEI experience across 30 countries, the Institute of Diversity Certification provides two DEI training courses – Certified Diversity Professional and Certified Diversity Executive.
The Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) course is for professionals and employees at all levels just beginning their DEI journey. The course trains them with basic DEI concepts and strategic diversity planning, recruiting, and training in the workplace. To complete this certificate course, you must attend a 2.5-hour online examination and acquire at least 73% or more to pass. You must also submit a final Candidate Project for a peer review to qualify for the certification.
Cost: $3,404 for Non-Members; $2,723 for Members
Duration: 1 year
Eligibility Criteria: 2.5 years of Professional Experience
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Online Examination | Minimum 73%
Certified Diversity Executive
The Certified Diversity Executive is DEI training for executives and leaders. The prestigious Institute of Diversity Certification offers this course. This advanced certification course is catered to leaders looking to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. You must have at least 5+ years of professional experience and hold a leadership role to qualify for this program. Like the CDP program (refer to the above course), the Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) requires you to complete a 2.5-hour online examination, score at least 74%, and submit a final Candidate project.
Cost: $4,263 for Non-Members; $3,410 for Members
Duration: 1 year
Eligibility Criteria: 5 years of Professional Experience | Leadership Role
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Online Examination | Minimum 74%
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Teams and Organizations
The Michigan Ross University offers Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Teams and Organizations. Leaders such as managers, directors, and employees can take this DEI training course. The program allows leaders to explore hidden DEI challenges while gaining skills to become anti-bias and lead inclusive teams. What makes this program different from the others is its global and universal approach, ensuring leaders can apply DEI principles across varied regions and contexts. The program consists of eight modules, and the final module is an interactive capstone stimulation session with your peers.
Cost: $2500
Duration: 5 weeks
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
The University of Pittsburg offers the Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace program on Coursera. It is a DEI training for leaders where they learn about concepts such as sexuality, gender, and LGBTQIA+ and their relevance within workplaces. The program uses interdisciplinary concepts and borrows from women’s studies to help leaders understand the burden of gender expectations in the workplace. The course consists of four modules – Changing Landscapes, Identities, and Discourse, the History and Theory of Gender, the History and Theory of Sexuality, and Trans Topics and Theory.
Cost: Free
Duration: 16 hours | 3 weeks
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: Quizzes
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace - Essential Concepts
The Compliance Training Group is one of the leading DEI training companies. They offer a short one–hour course titled Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace—Essential Concepts. This DEI training course helps employees and leaders learn about their unconscious or implicit biases, the negative impact of exclusivity, the ‘horn’ and ‘halo’ effects, and many other DEI foundational concepts.
The course has only one module, which can be completed within 30 days of purchase. Upon completing the course, you will earn a certificate and a digital badge.
Cost: $24.99
Duration: 60 mins | Valid for 30 days
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Communicating with Diverse Audiences
The University of Surrey has developed the Communicating with Diverse Audiences course for the FutureLearn platform. This diversity training for leaders specializes in communicating and presenting themselves within a diverse setting. The course enables leaders and employees to assess their communication styles and critically analyze them to identify any implicit bias.
A distinctive feature of this course is how leaders are made aware of their power and privilege as English speakers and how they must adopt variations of the English language to connect with their diverse team members. Once you complete the course, you will be eligible to receive a digital certificate.
Cost: $19.99
Duration: 4 weeks
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
Unintentional Still Hurts: Overcoming Unconscious Bias
Media Partners, an award-winning employee trainer, offers an insightful diversity training program titled Unintentional Still Hurts: Overcoming Unconscious Bias. This DEI training program helps employees and leaders address internal bias, identify microaggressions, train themselves to overcome these biases, and handle professional scenarios respectfully.
The course consists of three modules that can be completed within fifteen minutes – Understanding Bias, Recognizing Hidden Bias and Microaggressions, and Speaking Up.
Cost: $1,150
Duration: 45 minutes
Eligibility Criteria: None
Mode: Online
Mode of Assessment: N/A
We have curated an extensive list of the best DEI certificate programs for leaders, executives, and employees. While the list may not be exhaustive, it certainly gives you a variety of DEI courses. These DEI training programs encourage your organization to motivate employees to practice and implement DEI actively. Are you ready to create a difference by embarking on your DEI journey? Get started today and embrace the differences!
Kahilla is dedicated to uplifting leaders and helping them achieve their potential through leadership skill development programs. Research shows that a lack of diversity in leadership positions puts organizations at financial risk. Here is where we step in!
We believe in equal and fair opportunity, so we offer leadership training opportunities to early and mid-level professionals from various backgrounds and ethnicities. We aim to help your organization recognize, reskill, and retain talent by enhancing their portfolios.
Are you ready to enhance your professional journey? Explore our leadership programs for individuals and businesses with Kahila!
Begin Your DEI Journey Today!
FAQs
How important is diversity training in the workplace?
Diversity training is crucial in promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace. It enables employees to respect cultural differences, encourage empathy, and reduce internal biases. An inclusive work culture significantly increases employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention rates, improving organizational efficiency.
What are diversity training programs?
Diversity training programs are learning initiatives designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. These programs typically include workshops, seminars, and interactive sessions that help employees and leaders focus on unconscious bias, cultural competence, and inclusive leadership.
What are the best DEI certificate programs?
Several reputable organizations offer the best DEI certificate programs, including Cornell University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Surrell, the American Management Association, the University of Michigan, and Georgetown University. These programs provide comprehensive DEI leadership training on foundational DEI concepts, equipping participants with the knowledge and skills to create a fair, just, safe, and supportive work environment. However, if you are looking for the best DEI leadership training program, Kahilla is the best choice. With Kahilla’s team of DEI experts, leaders, managers, and employees learn about DEI concepts and how to implement them actively within their organizations.
Why should employees attend diversity training programs?
Most leaders have a common question—how important is training in the workplace? The answer is - extremely important! Attending diversity training programs benefits employees in several ways. It enhances their ability to overcome internal biases, learn how to implement DEI practices, and acknowledge, respect, and celebrate diversity in the workplace. Moreover, participation in such programs demonstrates a commitment to personal growth and professional development, which can lead to career advancement opportunities.
What are DEI training companies?
A DEI training company is an organization that prides itself on the implementation of DEI values, principles, and practices. It develops and prioritizes DEI training programs that help employees and leaders in a bias-free, safe, and supportive environment where equal opportunities are provided to all employees. These companies offer DEI workshops, online courses, seminars, and mentorship sessions to empower employees to nurture diverse voices, celebrate differences, and instill an equitable and inclusive workplace.
