21 Apr Men at Work: Advocating for All

For as long as he can remember, Ryan Parker, VP of DEI at information technology company CGI, has been fighting for greater representation

By Carlett Spike

As a Black man and native of Huntsville, Alabama, Ryan Parker has been an advocate for diversity his entire life—he didn’t have a choice. Change was required. He attended, for example, a high school whose mascot was General Robert E. Lee. When he was a senior, he joined with other students in a movement to change that, and their petition was a success.

Fighting for diversity, equity, and inclusion has become Parker’s lifework. For the past 20 years, he has worked in the DEI space in a variety of industries, including health care, higher education, and entertainment. Currently, Parker is the VP of DEI at the information technology company CGI in its US Commercial and State Government division. In that role, he leads the organization’s strategic vision to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, to inspire a purpose-driven pipeline of talent, and to energize community investments—while further enabling CGI’s commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen. Since joining the company, Parker has made it his mission to include DEI as an integral part of overall strategy and success. “My mantra is it has to be baked in, not bolted on,” he says.

Parker sat down with Diversity Woman to talk about his passion for diversity, the rewards and challenges of DEI work, and his advice for prioritizing DEI in the workplace.

Diversity Woman: Was there a moment you can pinpoint that kick-started your passion for this work?

Ryan Parker: In retrospect, it was just the constant messages from teachers who did not look like me. I had one teacher tell me politely, “You’re not going to be anything when you grow up.” Of course, in middle school you don’t fully understand, but you are acutely aware in Huntsville, Alabama, that race and racism are a thing to deal with. There was always a sense that as a Black child I had to be more aware of how I’m showing up, of my behavior, of the messages that I’m receiving and the messages that I’m giving. I am the great-grandson of a woman who picked cotton. My sisters remember drinking out of Black-only water fountains. I am from that generation. I understood that I had to fight for myself. I didn’t know what advocacy or activism was then, but I was doing it.

DW: What are some common challenges you’ve seen and faced when it comes to diversity in various industries?

RP: I have two answers. Before George Floyd, the challenge was just getting people to understand that there are real systemic barriers for people who have been historically underrepresented. Getting people to understand that the lack of representation is not because the talent is not available—because it is. Our workplaces have systemic barriers baked into them—that’s not made up. George Floyd’s death shocked the world into having to realize that the system is not working for everybody. Today, this is still a challenge, but the curve has shifted. From my perspective, the new challenge is how we drive accountability in an authentic way so that it’s not just the flavor of the month and we’re not just checking boxes. The other part of that is creating spaces that are truly inclusive, where belonging, psychological safety, and thriving are the experience of everybody. That remains a challenge.

DW: What attracted you to CGI, and what have your priorities been?

RP: I drew inspiration from people like my sister to do the work that I do. She is an engineer, so as early as elementary school I was exposed to computer science and engineering. It’s a big role here, and I felt that I could make an impact. As a global organization, we have three bold aspirations: to be top quartile in our industry, to improve the overall diversity of our workforce, and to have a leadership team that is reflective of the overall employee population. When I got here, DEI was only being talked about as a people strategy, and so I shifted the culture so it was seen as both a people and a business strategy.

DW: How would you describe your leadership style?

RP: I consider myself a servant leader. So my job is to figure out what I need to do to ensure your success, to remove your barriers, to sponsor you and put a spotlight on your impact in the organization. My job is to inspire others to give their best self every single day while also mentoring and cultivating. I share the great lessons that I’ve learned from my mentors. I’m an inspirational leader. I will never forget—I did a training in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago, and some of our directors and vice presidents who had to drive a few hours to get there came up to me afterward and said they’d thought this training was going to be a waste of time and were surprised they found it to be so valuable. They said, “You inspire me.” That is my goal.

DW: What are the most rewarding and most challenging parts of your job?

RP: The most rewarding part is when, for example, I’m in a team meeting listening to my regional leaders sharing their business strategy, and they have built DEI into it. The most challenging part is the same answer—getting them to do it, and to say it without me in the room. While there are some people who are absolutely there, there are some we’re still trying to move along. You must do it so well that if the role were eliminated tomorrow, diversity wouldn’t be eliminated as well. So the challenge is getting DEI baked in.

DW: As a male leader in the field, what advice would you offer other male leaders who want to help women succeed in the workplace?

RP: Take time to really learn about women’s experiences. Check whatever biases you have. You can’t hear a person’s experience if you’re going into that conversation oblivious to what your implicit biases are. For any man in general, include more women in your professional and personal networks. When you hear or see something that is not modeling dignity and respect for women, speak out. Call people in—I say call in and not call out—and let them know. Understand that your voice as an ally on behalf of women has influence. Men need to show up more for women and stop leaving women to fight their battles alone. In the spaces that you occupy, if you don’t see women, call that in and create space for them to be part of the conversation. Lastly, mentor and reverse mentor across genders and ages.

DW: What advice would you offer women and people of color in the workplace?

RP: First, be intentional and present in every space that you occupy. You belong there. Your gifts are more than enough. Be intentional about creating space for others. Not just by inviting them to the table, but by how you’re showing up in those spaces as well. Be intentionally intersectional about how you view yourself. You’re not just Black, you’re not just a woman. You’re a Black woman who is of a certain generation, who lives in a certain space, who may or may not have children, who may be a veteran, who may have a disability, or who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community, etc. Own every aspect of your identity so that you can find common ground with others. Mentor cross-culturally. That experience could shape a person’s perspective in a different way. Lastly, I would say model inclusion to inspire others.

DW: What do you see as the key to creating change?

RP: There’s this concept of the thermometer versus the thermostat. Thermometers measure the temperature, while thermostats set the temperature. This conversation about diversity is really asking us all to tap into our inner thermostat because we all have the power to shift the culture of our communities, our workplaces, and our places of worship. It’s not one person’s responsibility. If we can all tap into the inner thermostat to shift the temperature, then we can experience that better version that we’ve all imagined. DW

Carlett Spike is a New Jersey–based writer and editor whose work has appeared in AARP, Prevention, and Columbia Journalism Review, among other outlets.