3 Simple Things We Can All Do to Advance Inclusion
By Fateme Banishoeib
Inclusion is a passion for me and not just what I do for a living. The recent news around the software engineer’s 10-page screed against Google’s diversity initiatives going viral inside the company, sparked action and heated debate.
In the memo, “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” the author argues that women are underrepresented in tech not because they face bias and discrimination in the workplace, but because of inherent psychological differences between men and women. There has been a lot of talking on this memo, with many dissenting as cheering voices. What it shows us is that ultimately dialogue is needed more than ever.
We cannot neglect the impact of stereotypes, biases and century of social conditioning on the life of all of us. It is very tempting to point fingers against this memo and neglecting that we are constantly bombarded with the publicised use of negative stereotypes in mass media and social media.
It requires us to turn the mirror back and ask ourselves where the process has failed. This isn’t a failure of a single person or a lack of acknowledgment of all the good works that has been done. Yet, we have to admit that if we think of how to bring more diversity in the workplace and in society only by looking at the numbers of women on a team or on C level for example, we are neglecting an entire world that is under water and that has much bigger impact. I am talking about inclusion.
If for a moment we assume we have achieved in a team equal representation of diverse gender, ethnicity, age, etc., it does not mean that the “diverse” employee is not being marginalise. Moreover, what would happen in face of a challenge or a conflict? Can diversity alone bring true benefit?
Diversity becomes a burden when not paired with inclusion. Only when combined they become a competitive advantage.
My answer is that is going to be challenging and a recipe for disaster as diversity when not authentically included will result in people falling even far behind and anchoring in old stereotypes.
If you and your organisation truly want to work towards inclusiveness, part of your personal strategy and your organisational strategy needs to have a willingness and openness to discuss, to educate and understand the impact of actions and behaviours. At times it feels like there is a persistent cloud around us making difficult to move pass the gap of inclusion. The real work is in the clearing of the “cloud” through building awareness and recognising behaviours and practices that are set with good intentions in the mind and eye of the beholder, but do nothing to move toward equity.
We all have an individual responsibility to inclusion. An organisation can put into place procedures, policies all well intended to be inclusive. But we cannot neglect that this procedures and policies come alive and are lived by the individuals in the organisation. They, we are the ones who are either aligned with the goals and practices or not. How we act, speak and behave are the evidences of our beliefs and biases.
Here are three things we all can do in the workplace to move forward our (because they are ours they are not the company’s) inclusion programs:
- Ask yourself if your beliefs are aligned with the companies value around diversity and inclusion. If they are not talk with others to gather different perspectives and educate yourself. Everyone has a choice. The choice to be part of the problem (of the lack of inclusion) or you can be part of the solution that supports creating an inclusive environment where everyone is treated fairly and can have the opportunity to succeed regardless of age, gender, background, etc.
- Practise inclusion not only integration. What that means? Let’s go back to the definitions. Integration is: incorporation as equals into society or an organisation of individuals of different groups. Which is the case when organisations create a dedicated group to address minorities, e.g. women dedicated groups, etc. Inclusion means that a person with a disability, women, whoever, has the same rights, access and choices as everyone else in a community. In this short video I provide with a visualisation of this concept and ask you some provoking questions: Inclusion is a universal human right. Do your policies advance inclusion or integration? If you answer is integration, it is time to look at those policies and revise them.
- Measure whether the “diverse” employee (I should probably say all employee) is heard and valued rather than simply measuring their presence in the organisation. This is not as simple as reflecting their presence. Here some tips to start measuring the right indicators; include compensation, promotion trending and hierarchy.
These three steps support us to remain open and attentive of diversity and our capacity to include. Investing on the three is crucial to have a bigger impact on the entire society not only in the workplace.
Swimming In An Experience Tank: Why We Must Lean Into Hope To Overcome Anxiety
“A character is the willingness to accept responsibility for one’sRead more…
I just want to tell you that I am newbie to blogs and seriously enjoyed your website. Almost certainly I’m going to bookmark your site . You really come with terrific articles and reviews. Regards for sharing your web-site.
21:22
I think other website proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and excellent user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!
14:10
Thank you so much for providing individuals with remarkably special possiblity to read in detail from this web site. It’s usually very cool and as well , jam-packed with fun for me and my office friends to visit your web site at least three times every week to read the new issues you have got. Of course, I am also usually impressed with your unique ideas you give. Selected 4 ideas in this post are undoubtedly the very best I’ve ever had.
17:59
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours nowadays, yet I never discovered any fascinating article like yours. It is beautiful worth sufficient for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made good content material as you did, the net shall be a lot more useful than ever before.
05:33
I enjoy you because of every one of your effort on this website. Debby take interest in conducting internet research and it’s really simple to grasp why. Many of us know all regarding the powerful method you give efficient information on your web blog and as well as foster participation from other people on that subject so our own girl has been understanding a great deal. Take advantage of the remaining portion of the year. Your conducting a very good job.
07:26
Hello there. I found your website by the use of Google whilst looking for a comparable matter, your web site got here up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
09:10
Hey there. I found your site by way of Google at the same time as looking for a similar matter, your website came up. It seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
10:50
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good blog with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
11:27
Awesome write-up. I’m a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
13:47
Hiya very nice website!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally¡KI’m glad to search out a lot of useful info here within the publish, we’d like work out more strategies on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
15:29
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!
15:33
Keep functioning ,terrific job!
15:43
Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
15:58
Hello there. I found your web site by way of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable topic, your website got here up. It appears great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
16:48
Hello there. I found your site by means of Google whilst looking for a related topic, your website got here up. It seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
18:16
Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the internet the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people think about worries that they just do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
20:08
You made some nice points there. I did a search on the theme and found most folks will consent with your blog.
20:08
Hey there. I found your site by the use of Google while searching for a comparable matter, your web site came up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
20:12
Hey there. I found your blog by the use of Google even as looking for a similar matter, your web site came up. It seems great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
20:47
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good blog with exciting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
23:12
Hey there. I discovered your website by the use of Google even as searching for a comparable subject, your web site came up. It looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
01:29
Hi there. I discovered your website by way of Google while searching for a related topic, your web site got here up. It looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
02:17
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is really irritating. A good blog with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
03:00