This year the board of trustees at Rosetta Stone Inc., which offers language and literacy education, asked general counsel Sonia Galindo to head a new global initiative on diversity, equity and inclusion. The veteran GC jumped at the chance.

“I was so honored and excited when our board asked me to chair this program,” Galindo said in a recent interview with Corporate Counsel. “As a woman, I think it's super important. It's not a cookie-cutter general counsel kind of assignment.”

In October, Galindo will be speaking on diversity as part of a panel at the Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Corporate Counsel's parent company, ALM.

In her recent interview, she shared her thoughts on a number of related topics including #MeToo and how to meet diversity goals. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Corporate Counsel: What size is your legal department, and how diverse is it?

Sonia Galindo: There are six lawyers, with one opening for another, and three paralegals. It is very diverse, with two minorities and five women.

As chair of Rosetta Stone's global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program, what is your group's goal and how do you try to meet it?

We want to create more diversity in our organization at all levels. One half of our company is the language learning side, the other half is literacy. The company is unique. Unlike soda or floor mats, our products go directly to diversity and inclusion. They help people culturally navigate and achieve inclusion.

We want to have greater value for our learners by having products and services be culturally responsible.

For example, what a child is using to study, if it isn't reflective of their culture, their family structure, and their own makeup, it can be counterproductive to learning, and may even be damaging to them. We think about how do we design our products and services to make sure we are being culturally responsible for diversity.

On the language side, similarly someone is learning a language to change their life, to be culturally responsible. Ongoing sensitivities to diversity change over time. It's not easy, and we don't have it all figured out, but it's something we think is important.

There has been so much in the news lately about the #MeToo movement, what are your thoughts about it in general?

Every company wants their employees to do their best work. The only way to do your best work is if you feel safe and respected while working. #MeToo is an extension of that. Here we do not have a tolerance for behavior that is disrespectful or unsafe, including harassment or other #MeToo types of activities.

Some critics say #MeToo has gone too far; what do you think?

I don't know how you can go too far in creating an environment where people feel safe and respected. That is the baseline. That's not a high bar. How long would a company tolerate an employee slamming someone against a wall? #MeToo is just as bad. Society is just finally reacting to inappropriate behavior that has been going on in workplaces—that's not overreacting.

How does a general counsel deal with #MeToo in the workplace?

A number of ways. I help set the tone from the top of what is appropriate behavior. I also help with our compliance. We have global training, including diversity and anti-harassment annually for every single employee around the globe. I report annually to management and to the board on our training.

When the #MeToo movement was first breaking, I spoke at several meetings and with the board about what we were doing and what expected behavior was. We are transparent with our employees, being trustworthy and approachable. We have a hotline, but most employees come to us directly. Issues come to us early and we address them immediately.

How can a general counsel help transform a company's culture to make it more inclusive?

There's a quote: “Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance.” A big part of our D&I team is education. Inclusion doesn't mean ownership. It doesn't give you a vote. But it does mean you are engaged, your thoughts and input are solicited and valued. It doesn't mean it will be done exactly your way. But input will improve the ultimate outcome. The key is communicating.

We need to get comfortable being uncomfortable in this space. That's OK. Talking is what you have to do. Eventually it won't be uncomfortable any more. You have to have passion around this, but also patience. This type of change, social change, doesn't happen quickly.

Inclusion also includes white males. They often have the expertise and experience to help those who have not been culturally dominant to succeed. Our executives must report on “stretch” assignments they give as well as raises or promotions related to diversity. It makes for better managers and employees, products and services.

How do you create change; do you set quotas?

We set very specific goals and objective timelines and make it happen. It's not helpful to say next year we must have 50 percent of our vice presidents be women. They're all not ready. Too many might fail. We set realistic goals and start building diversity into professional development, and that assures that diverse applicants are considered for openings.

Also generationally the workforce has a different expectation than in the past. Millennials have a very different perspective about diversity. The expectations around how they work and whom they work with have changed. Companies have to change too to maintain the best talent.

Do you encourage diversity in your outside law firms, and if so, how?

I have a value alliance. We lock arms around an agreement on what we will do for each other beyond getting the work done. Part of that is diversity and inclusion. Don't just set me up with white male partners.

Also, we create a succession plan with relationship partners, and diversity is part of it. Each firm agrees to it, we meet twice a year to go over the value alliance. It includes other things, but diversity is key. Most firms already have diversity, and they get it, even welcome it—especially international firms.