ERGs Have More to Give. They’re Ready for Their Second Act.
September 17, 2026
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategist, Researcher, and Leadership Educator
Believe it or not, there was life in corporate America before Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
I remember it clearly. Employees who shared identities, experiences, or interests often gathered informally around water coolers, coffee trucks, copy rooms, and cafeteria tables. They talked about family, sports, and hobbies, while also discussing workplace experiences that did not always have a place in formal meetings: noticing patterns in who received promotions and high-visibility assignments, being overlooked for important projects, navigating difficult relationships with managers, and trying to understand decisions that affected their careers.
These informal gatherings offered more than a break in the workday. They gave employees opportunities to build relationships, exchange advice, provide encouragement, and remind one another that they were not alone. Long before organizations formally established ERGs, employees were already creating their own spaces for connection, support, and belonging.
Over time, many organizations began to recognize the value of these relationships and created formal structures where employees could build community, strengthen their collective voice, and support one another’s development.
I remember when my former organization introduced ERGs. I did not fully understand what they were, what their purpose would be, or why the organization had decided to establish them. Still, I was excited by what their formal recognition seemed to represent. Perhaps the organization was finally ready to listen to and support employees from historically underrepresented groups. Perhaps our voices would now be heard. Perhaps we had arrived.
Employees joined ERGs based on shared identities, experiences, and interests. As an African American woman, I became a leader of the Black/African American ERG and joined the Women’s ERG and the Hispanic/Latino ERG. I believed we were finally on our way to elevating the experiences and concerns of our communities. We had executive sponsors who, we hoped, would help us navigate the organization, advocate for our priorities, and ensure our perspectives reached senior leadership. Within these groups, we found community, encouragement, and spaces that felt psychologically safe enough for us to speak candidly about our workplace experiences.
My ERG leadership experience also changed the direction of my career. It gave me opportunities to lead without formal authority, build relationships across organizational boundaries, create programs, influence senior leaders, and advocate for employees whose perspectives were not always heard. Through that experience, I began to understand that ERGs were more than affinity groups. When properly supported, they could develop leaders, identify barriers within the employee experience, and influence organizational culture.
Eventually, I transitioned from Operations into Human Resources, where my work focused on diversity and inclusion, learning, and leadership development. Over time, I assumed responsibility for the organization’s entire ERG portfolio. My role expanded from leading one ERG and participating in others to partnering with ERG leaders across many communities. Together, we developed programming tailored to each community’s needs while also creating organization-wide initiatives designed to educate employees, strengthen inclusion, and build connections across differences.
That transition gave me a broader view of both the potential and the limitations of ERGs. Traditionally, many ERGs have functioned as community and affinity spaces where employees with shared identities, experiences, or interests can connect and support one another. They have organized cultural celebrations and educational events, created informal mentoring and networking opportunities, and provided valuable feedback to organizational leaders about employees’ workplace experiences. While these contributions are important, community-building and programming alone cannot address systemic workplace barriers. ERGs need organizational authority, resources, leadership development, and active executive sponsorship to extend their influence beyond individual events and member experiences.
My professional experience prompted me to explore ERGs more deeply through my Ph.D. research. My study included individual interviews with participants representing several organizations across multiple industries, as well as a focus group with ERG leaders. Listening to employees beyond my own personal experiences at organizations broadened my understanding of both the value of ERGs and the conditions required for them to succeed.
My research revealed that ERGs can create community, strengthen belonging, provide professional development, and amplify employee voices. It also exposed a persistent gap between what organizations expect ERGs to accomplish and the support they provide. ERGs are often expected to influence culture and produce meaningful organizational change without sufficient authority, resources, or leadership development. ERG leaders may be asked to improve the employee experience without adequate preparation, while business leaders may attend events without becoming active sponsors or advocates. Organizations also frequently measure success through membership and event attendance rather than changes in employee experience, leadership capability, organizational practices, or business outcomes. When an ERG’s purpose and expectations are unclear, employees may perceive it as a social club, a symbolic gesture, or a space intended only for those who share a particular identity.
We do not need to abandon ERGs; we need a different model for them. My professional experience and research have led me to a clear conclusion: You cannot teach leadership development without teaching people how to lead inclusively. ERGs can become powerful platforms for developing and practicing inclusive leadership, but organizations must intentionally prepare, support, and empower the people who lead and sponsor them.
The workplace—and the world surrounding it—has changed. Employees are navigating heightened polarization, social division, and identity-related tensions, even as some organizations reconsider or reduce their visible commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These shifts can lead employees to question whether their organizations’ commitments are authentic and whether ERGs are truly empowered to make a difference. At the same time, organizational leaders are expected to navigate complex conversations across differences without always being prepared to do so, while ERG leaders are increasingly asked to address difficult workplace issues in addition to performing their regular jobs. The traditional ERG model cannot meet these demands without greater clarity, organizational support, and shared accountability for inclusive leadership.
A more effective model allows ERGs to remain important sources of community while expanding their role as platforms for leadership development and organizational learning. In this model, every ERG has a clear purpose connected to belonging and organizational priorities, while participation remains voluntary and welcoming. ERG leaders receive formal leadership development; executive sponsors provide advocacy, access, resources, and accountability; and managers recognize ERG leadership as meaningful professional experience. ERGs also provide valuable insights into employee experiences, talent practices, customers, communities, and workplace culture. Most importantly, their success is measured by the impact they create—not simply by the number of events held, members enrolled, or employees in attendance.
Creating this more effective model requires organizations to move beyond viewing ERGs primarily as employee-led affinity groups and begin investing in them as platforms for inclusive leadership and organizational learning. The following four actions offer a practical place to begin.
Clarify each ERG’s purpose, priorities, and boundaries
Every ERG should understand whom it serves, how allies can participate, what outcomes it is expected to influence, and what responsibilities belong to organizational leadership—not unpaid employee volunteers.
Immediate action: Create a one-page charter defining the ERG’s purpose, membership, leadership roles, annual priorities, available resources, and measures of success.
Recruit ERG leaders from across the organization
ERG leaders from different functions, levels, locations, identities, and experiences can extend the ERG’s reach while helping embed the organization’s DEI strategy and inclusive leadership practices across the workplace.
Immediate action: Create a transparent selection process, identify gaps across business units and geographic locations, and recruit employees who can advance the ERG’s purpose and model inclusive leadership within their areas of the organization.
Treat ERG leadership as a leadership-development assignment
ERG leaders build skills in strategy, communication, collaboration, influence, budgeting, and change management. Organizations should recognize and develop those capabilities.
Immediate action: Give each ERG leader a development plan, access to leadership training, and an opportunity to discuss ERG accomplishments during performance and career conversations.
Hold executive sponsors accountable for active sponsorship
Executive sponsors should receive inclusive leadership training that prepares them to listen across differences, remove barriers, advocate for resources, and connect ERG insights to organizational decisions.
Immediate action: Provide inclusive leadership training and establish quarterly sponsor meetings with clear expectations, action items, and progress updates.
I have seen what ERGs can accomplish when employees have clarity, preparation, resources, and authentic leadership support. They create belonging, but they can also do more. They can help organizations develop leaders who listen across differences, build trust, recognize inequities, and turn employee insight into meaningful action. In today’s workplace, inclusive leadership is not a specialized form of leadership. It is what effective leadership requires.
Organizations cannot prepare people to lead today’s workforce without preparing them to lead inclusively—and ERGs can be one of the most powerful places to begin.