Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground

Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground


Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground – Episode 138: On Becoming a Change Maker for Supplier Inclusion with Joset Wright

June 13, 2023

“Being open is the sign of a curious mind, and a curious mind is not going to stop until it gets the information it needs to make a difference.” – Joset Wright


Joset Wright Lacy is an attorney, executive coach, diversity consultant, and founder and President of Waypoint Strategies LLC. Through Waypoint Strategies, Joset provides coaching and consulting services with a focus on building leadership skills. She has over 30 years of experience leading public, private, and non-profit organizations. Prior to founding Waypoint Strategies, she served as the President of the National Minority Supplier Development Council from 2010 to 2017. Joset received her Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Denison University.


Joset joins us today to share her thoughts on driving change for supplier inclusion. She describes her professional journey from practicing as a lawyer to working in the supplier diversity industry and explains the interplay between diverse suppliers, businesses, and the ability to drive change and impact in a community. She discusses generational shifts in the workforce and how they drive demand for diversity and inclusion in companies. Joset also highlights the roles of commitment, empowerment, and accountability in driving inclusive procurement and outlines how professionals can bridge the gap between younger employees’ demand for DE&I and consensus.


This week on Breaking Barriers:


  • Joset’s background and career path in supplier diversity
  • Supplier diversity as a strategy to increase the economic prosperity of a city
  • Changing culture and misconceptions about small businesses
  • The generational shift in the workforce
  • How Joset became the president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council
  • How younger employees are pushing for inclusion, impact, purpose, and changemaking in ESG
  • A sense of belonging in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Strategies for bringing accountability for inclusive procurement

Connect with Joset Wright:


This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground


Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations.


For more information on getting started please visit us @ hireground.io today!


If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.


Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify


Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn