Inclusion Works: Recent Episodes
Hive Learning
The Inclusion Works podcast explores the secrets of building inclusive culture at work and in the community. We’ll be joined by leaders, experts and activists all working to bring fresh thinking to the inclusion debate. We’ll be asking those all-important questions to find out more about them, their work and how they make inclusion work.
If you’re interested in driving change, accelerating diversity or simply finding ways to be more inclusive every day, then join us for Inclusion Works. Because diversity is just half of the battle.
In this episode, we explore equity with Dr. Aarti Shyamsunder Global Head of DEI at YSC Consulting. Dr. Shyamsunder explains how the ‘E’ in DEI has led to a more systemic, macro-focus on how to balance access and opportunity, as well as a reassessment of the purpose of organizations today. She shares how to use the three ‘R’s to Recognize barriers, Rebalance pro-actively, and Reduce harm, and the impact of asking ourselves ‘what we can give up?’
In this week’s episode, we explore inclusive design with Pinar Guvenc, Partner at SOUR, an international hybrid design studio, with the mission of solving social and urban issues through sustainable and inclusive methodologies. Pinar shares how inclusive design practices can benefit any project, at any organization, and bring us one step closer to true inclusion, while saving time and money over the course of an initiative. She also explains how we can start using inclusive design principles on our teams immediately, and why creating ‘with’ is better than creating ‘for.’
In this week’s episode, we dig into diversifying that highest level of leadership - the Board of Directors. Lisa Edwards, President & COO at Diligent, shares her experience with Board membership - the challenges inherent in getting appointed, global progress of diversification, and how boards can take a more active role in driving change within their organizations. Lisa also explains why today’s Boards of Directors require new skillsets to effectively lead, and how that opens the door to more diverse membership.
In this week’s episode, we speak with Dr. Poornima Luthra, author of ‘Diversifying Diversity: Your guide to Being an Active Ally of Inclusion in the Workplace.’ Dr. Luthra shares how a holistic approach to diversity increases engagement and moves the needle on DEI. She also tells us about the Active Ally of Inclusion model, how to develop as active allies, and how to bring people with us on the journey.
In this week’s episode, we discuss inclusive development with Dr. Lisa Toppin, Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Illumina. Lisa shares her approach to creating development programs that benefit the employee and the business, allowing folks to succeed in the corporate world, without losing authenticity. From ERGs, to Sponsorship, to leadership development, Lisa tells us how to design programs that are less illusive and more impactful.
Join us for our third and final episode in our Glocalization in DEI mini series. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Poornima Luthra, founder of TalentED Consultancy, Associate Professor, author, and TedX speaker. Dr. Luthra shares how companies must broaden the American narrative around DEI if they want to truly make a global impact, and the important role cultural context plays in designing and implementing a successful DEI initiative.
Join us for our third and final episode in our Glocalization in DEI mini series. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Poornima Luthra, founder of TalentED Consultancy, Associate Professor, author, and TedX speaker. Dr. Luthra shares how companies must broaden the American narrative around DEI if they want to truly make a global impact, and the important role cultural context plays in designing and implementing a successful DEI initiative.
Join us for the second episode of our Glocalization in DEI mini-series. In this episode, we talk with Emily Schur, Senior Vice President of Global Talent from Sunlife Financial. Emily shares how to ‘think global’ to find commonalities, and how to ‘think local’ to meet the needs of specific communities within your organization. She also shares Sunlife’s approach to ensuring glocalization shows up in five key areas - products, learning, operations, philanthropy and community, and engagement.
Join us for the second episode of our Glocalization in DEI mini-series. In this episode, we talk with Emily Schur, Senior Vice President of Global Talent from Sunlife Financial. Emily shares how to ‘think global’ to find commonalities, and how to ‘think local’ to meet the needs of specific communities within your organization. She also shares Sunlife’s approach to ensuring glocalization shows up in five key areas - products, learning, operations, philanthropy and community, and engagement.
Join us for the first episode of our Glocalization in DEI mini-series. In this episode, we talk with Lauren von Stackelberg, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Lego Group. Lauren shares her experience leading DEI initiatives across six continents, and why it’s vital to ask people what they need, listen deeply, and leverage what you’ve learned to truly make an impact at the local level.
Join us for the first episode of our Glocalization in DEI mini-series. In this episode, we talk with Lauren von Stackelberg, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Lego Group. Lauren shares her experience leading DEI initiatives across six continents, and why it’s vital to ask people what they need, listen deeply, and leverage what you’ve learned to truly make an impact at the local level.
In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Adrienne Trimble, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for the Sysco Corporation, and former president and CEO of The National Minority Supplier Development Council. Adrienne shares why supplier diversity is a driver of economic and social change, and how companies can partner with underrepresented or underutilized businesses to benefit both the communities they serve and their own bottom line.
In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Adrienne Trimble, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for the Sysco Corporation, and former president and CEO of The National Minority Supplier Development Council. Adrienne shares why supplier diversity is a driver of economic and social change, and how companies can partner with underrepresented or underutilized businesses to benefit both the communities they serve and their own bottom line.
In this week’s episode, we discuss how people-centered leadership can increase inclusion with Laura Dominguez, Head of People and Communities at Cisco Meraki. Laura shares how taking a people-centered approach to things like hybrid work, recognition, and wellbeing have led Cisco Meraki to multiple ‘Great Places to Work’ lists, and how even small steps can help us connect with eachother and build a culture of inclusion.
In this week’s episode, we discuss how people-centered leadership can increase inclusion with Laura Dominguez, Head of People and Communities at Cisco Meraki. Laura shares how taking a people-centered approach to things like hybrid work, recognition, and wellbeing have led Cisco Meraki to multiple ‘Great Places to Work’ lists, and how even small steps can help us connect with eachother and build a culture of inclusion.
In this week’s episode, we unpack imposter syndrome with Fiona Ibáñez-Major, Global Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Food+ by Compass Group. Fiona shares her own experience of Imposter Syndrome and explores how our workplaces can create and support feelings of inadequacy. She also examines the stigmatizing nature of imposter syndrome, how it intersects with race and class, and how viewing the world in questions rather than answers can help us challenge the systems that perpetuate imposter syndrome.
In this week’s episode, we unpack imposter syndrome with Fiona Ibáñez-Major, Global Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Food+ by Compass Group. Fiona shares her own experience of Imposter Syndrome and explores how our workplaces can create and support feelings of inadequacy. She also examines the stigmatizing nature of imposter syndrome, how it intersects with race and class, and how viewing the world in questions rather than answers can help us challenge the systems that perpetuate imposter syndrome.
This week is a bit different as Fiona Young hands over the hosting reigns to Zoe Allerding, Head of Programs at Hive Learning.
Learn about what led Zoe to work in DEI and what to look forward to in the coming episodes.
We were joined by Leigh Lafever-Ayer, VP of HR, and Ashley Hever, Director of Talent Acquisition from Enterprise this week. They shared practical tips on how to navigate learning in a hybrid world and embed long-lasting behaviors as well as keeping those ‘water-cooler’ conversations going.
Our guest this week is former MP and current VP of DEI at Snap Inc. Oona King. In this episode, Oona shares with us the ACT report, part of a new initiative to align the tech industry around collective action for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She shares the top recommendations for organizations, including operationalizing DEI and modeling and incentivizing inclusive leadership.
You can read the full report here and connect with Oona on LinkedIn.
Dr. Tracey Leghorn, Chief Human Resources and Health and Safety Officer at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, joins us this week. Dr.Leghorn discusses how SUEZ have successfully democratized their HR strategy at every level and shares insight into how they're progressing towards gender equality in a typically male-dominated industry. If you want to reach out to Dr. Tracey Leghorn connect with her on Linkedin or reach out through her Twitter
Author and Director at Catalyst Collective, Katy Murray, joins us to shares insights from book on how to be an effective change agent at work, the problem with toxic productivity and the burnout obsession culture.
Blandine Lacroix, Corporate Vice President, Strategy & Rare Disease at Novo Nordisk, shares the 3 things that she believes make an inclusive leader, the power of bringing your whole self to work and the power of a human-centric approach to leadership.
This week we talk with Watikqua Lange of T. Rowe Price to discuss the importance of DEI leaders looking after their own mental health with the weight of their roles. Watikqua offers some unique inputs on how companies can improve cultural competency through supplier diversity and what's worked for her in her mission to scale culture change.
In this week’s episode, we speak to Ripa Rashid, Managing Director and Head of Inclusion and Diversity at the investment bank Cowen. Ripa is a well-known figure in the DEI world and has been a part of it even before inclusion was a standard word in the vocabulary. Ripa shares how she uses the head, heart, and hand mechanism to understand how human behavior drives change. Why DEI can actually be harder than rocket science as the metrics designed to understand human behavior are so much harder to predict. As well as diving into the financial world and how she is creating a more inclusive culture at Cowen.
Follow Ripa on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/riparashid/
In this week’s episode, we speak to Sandy Cross, Chief People Officer at The PGA of America. Sandy speaks to us about the history of The PGA of America and how they’re taking ownership to create a more inclusive environment. She also tells us how they’re looking at the operations of the business through the inclusion lens as well as celebrating micro-moments of inclusion to create real sustainable meaningful change over time.
Follow Sandy on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandycross1/
Follow Sandy on Twitter
https://twitter.com/sandycross?lang=en
In this week's episode, we speak to Patrick Colvin, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Americas at Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking. Patrick shares his insights on the positives of ERGs and what to watch out for, including providing proper governance to stop ERGs from becoming Siloed. As well as touching on the importance of recognizing and embracing generational differences at work.
Follow Patrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-colvin-m-s-ed-phr-shrm-cp-06917867/
In this week's episode, we speak to Franklin Reed, Executive Director of Inclusion and Diversity at TEKsystems. Franklin talks to us about inclusion in the tech industry and the barriers to attracting and hiring talent. He shares his advice on how we need to reimagine the hiring process to match the innovation and drive of the tech industry. Franklin also talks to us about his thoughts on bringing in diverse cohorts to help people feel like they’re not ‘the only and lonely’ in organizations and using the cohorts to reinforce a sense of belonging.
Connect with Franklin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklinreed/
In this episode, we speak to René Carayol MBE, a leading executive coach, author, public speaker, and broadcaster. René shares the importance of storytelling in understanding the lived experiences of others, sharing some of the stories that helped shape his path. As well as sharing how DEI leaders should focus on emotive stories to influence and persuade executives and to grab their attention to get them on board with your DEI strategies.
Find out more about René’ and his work: https://carayol.com/
Follow René on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renecarayol/
Follow René on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renecarayol/?hl=en
In this episode, we speak to Jiquanda Nelson, Senior Director of Global Community and Culture at Concentrix. Jiquanda describes herself as a ‘corporate activist’ and shares the ways she is being intentional about the change she makes, including expanding the language of DEI to represent everyone and building a development program focused on underrepresented groups built around sponsorship, equity, and belonging.
Follow Jiquanda here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiquandanelson/
Follow Jiquanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/just_jiquanda?lang=en
John Mays, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at KFC US, shares with us KFC’s leadership values of smart, courage and his take on why the best inclusive leaders are coaches and truth-tellers. John explains that we need to move away from ‘what not to say’ in DEI to authentic, heart-led conversations, and how to create the safety that makes these conversations possible.
Follow John on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mays-a5082a42/
Check out more on Yum! Brand’s equity and inclusion work here - https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands/kfc-covid-19-response/#equity-inclusion
In this episode we speak to Minaa B., a therapist, wellbeing coach and mental health thought leader, as part of our Mental Health Awareness Week series. Minaa speaks about the relationship between inclusion and mental health, advice for leaders to support BIPOC mental health at work, and the trends she’s seeing in mental health as we tentatively emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Minaa also shares her view on covering and code-switching at work, and unpacks why wellbeing is a white-centred space and how the medical and mental health community has traditionally excluded BIPOC.
Follow Minaa B. on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/minaa_b/
Learn more about her work here - https://www.minaab.com/
In this episode of Inclusion Works we discuss topics that may be triggering or distressing for some listeners, specifically suicide and self-harm.
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK, and at Hive Learning we’ve been working on a really exciting new project in the mental health space. We’ve worked with our friends at Shout 85258, the UK’s free, 24/7, confidential textline for anyone who is struggling to cope, to build a new learning program for enterprises called Mental Health Works that’s all about how to lead a supportive conversation. And it’s all based on the framework they use to train 1000s of volunteers each year.
We chat to Christine Morrison, LMHC, BACP, Head of Product Management at Mental Health Innovations, where she shares with us how she got into this space as well, the impact of Covid on people's mental health as well as her three top tips for having more supportive conversations straight from Mental Health Works.
Check out Shout’s website
https://giveusashout.org/
Find out more about Mental Health Works and request a demo
https://www.hivelearning.com/site/solutions/mental-health/
In this episode, we do a deep dive into the benefits of sponsorship with sponsor/sponsee pair Jonathan Atwood, former Head of Communications, Global Supply Chain at Unilever and Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta (formerly Head of Diversity and Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Marketing at Unilever). They candidly share the story of their relationship, how sponsorship works, how it’s different than mentorship, and the power it has to nurture talent from underrepresented groups in particular. Mita also shares some tips for DEI leaders on how to design a sponsorship program.
You can learn more about sponsorship and Jonathan & Mita’s story in the Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s book The Sponsor Effect - http://www.sylviaannhewlett.com/books.html
Follow Mita on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mita-mallick-2b165822
Follow Jonathan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-atwood-%F0%9F%8F%A0%F0%9F%98%B7-08b6637/
In this episode we speak to UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Economist, Paul Donovan, about the real cost of prejudice, and why businesses acutely need to be both diverse and inclusive to survive The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Paul speaks about the cost of covering at work, and the subtler tendency for LGBTQ+ individuals to self-censor. And Paul shares that economics is a helpful lens because it’s objective, and gives us his own argument for diversity and inclusion drawn from five years worth of research for his book Profit & Prejudice.
Learn more about Paul and his work: https://ubs.com/pauldonovan
Follow Paul on Twitter or LinkedIn: https://twitter.com/PDonovan_econ / https://uk.linkedin.com/in/padonovan
Paul’s book Profit & Prejudice is available through Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Profit-and-Prejudice-The-Luddites-of-the-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution/Donovan/p/book/9780367566777
In this episode we speak to Iveliz Crespo, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisor at the international law firm Reed Smith, about social mobility at work and how to redesign hiring, performance measurement and talent development practices to be more equitable. Iveliz shares examples of how elitism comes into work practices and crops up in everyday interactions — a topic we agree isn’t discussed enough in corporate DEI. They also share ideas of systemic solutions to help folks overcome imposter syndrome, and a wealth of tips on how to reshape hiring and talent practices to minimise bias and maximise equity. We especially loved Iveliz’s points about culture fit and referrals in hiring, and protective hesitation in feedback & performance measurement.
Check out Iveliz’s podcast, Inclusivity Included from Reed Smith:
https://reedsmithdiversity.podbean.com/
In this episode, we hear from Rachel Cheeks-Givan, Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Pfizer, about equity and the culture you need to achieve it.
Back in November 2020 Rachel joined us for a panel session on changing and sustaining culture remotely. During that panel session, she shared with us how Pfizer brings the value of equity to life by framing it as being seen, being heard, and being cared for.
Check out the full recording of that panel session here.
https://vimeo.com/486007323
In this episode we hear from Sarah Kheir, AVP, Head of Enterprise DEI at Sun Life about their response to the events of 2020.
Sarah joined us for a panel session on scaling inclusion digitally and shared with us how Sun Life were able to react to the events of 2020 with the use of Hive Learning's Inclusion Works. As well as her 'lightbulb moment of connecting the life experience to the technology to engage everyone in your DEI strategy'.
Check out the full recording of that panel session here
https://vimeo.com/504887873
Check out Sun Life’s story here
https://www.hivelearning.com/site/sun-life-launches-inclusion-works-by-hive-learning-to-advance-dei-globally/
In this episode, we hear from Mitra Janes, the Group Head of Diversity and Inclusion at RSA about how it’s impossible to reach everyone in your DEI strategy.
Mitra joined us for a panel session on engaging the unengaged and shared with us her innovative way to get those hardest-to-reach cynics on board and even get them to advocate for your DEI initiatives.
Check out the full recording of that panel session here.
https://vimeo.com/513860157
In this episode we speak to Chloe Lipp Wellman, a thought leader in corporate wellbeing and the Associate Director of Wellbeing, Culture and Transformation at Sprinklr, about the pandemic’s impact on mothers, gender equality and mental health, and how the best companies create a culture that supports wellbeing. Chloe also shares her view on the relationship between inclusion and wellbeing, including the mental toll of covering or code-switching.
Deloitte’s report on covering which reveals that 45% of straight white men cover (oops, not 55% as Fiona stated on the show!): https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/about-deloitte/us-about-deloitte-uncovering-talent-a-new-model-of-inclusion.pdf
First Round Review article - Jessmina Archbold on why self-care is more about boundaries than bubble baths: https://review.firstround.com/making-self-care-tactical-why-you-should-focus-on-boundaries-not-just-bubble-baths
Connect with Chloe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloelipp
Check out Chloe’s consulting business: https://www.chloelippwellman.com/
In this episode we speak to Lukeisha Paul, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion U.S. at GroupM, about a few major topics: the innovative externship program GroupM designed to diversify their talent pipeline, the legacy of 2020 for corporate DEI, and the power of courageous conversations to create togetherness (not divisiveness) when carefully managed.
We spend the first half of this episode discussing the externship program GroupM designed in 2020, reimagined from an internship program that sadly had to be canceled due to Covid-19 — Lukeisha shares the ins and outs of how GroupM conceived the program, how it works, the impact it had, and plans for the future.
In the second half of this episode, we go deep into the legacy of 2020 and particularly how the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has reshaped and revitalized corporate DEI. Lukeisha speaks candidly on our responsibility to set aside our personal political leanings and make room for each other in our organizations by bringing together different viewpoints and exploring nuances. Lukeisha shares details of a post-1/6 event she hosted at GroupM called Coming Together After the Capitol Riot, which brought together different voices and views to better understand each other. She also shares how Group M creates space for courageous conversations on an ongoing basis.
Connect with Lukeisha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeisha-paul-7022b84
In this episode, we speak to author, journalist and Founder/CEO of the consultancy Candour, Ruchika Tulshyan, about why focusing on women of color’s experiences at work will help us create a more equitable, inclusive workplace for all. Ruchika is working on a second book that explores everyday habits of inclusion, and her research for the book uncovered a troubling phenomenon that psychological safety disproportionately impacts women of color. She shares thought-provoking insights on why we must assess psychological safety through the eyes of women of color, and how privilege and power blocks empathy (see interview with Jamil Zaki at Stanford University linked below). Ruchika also explains why a growth mindset is so useful for how we approach diversity, equity and inclusion at work, and how this relates to the concept of cultural humility versus cultural competency.
Ruchika’s first book, The Diversity Advantage: Fixing Gender Inequality - https://www.rtulshyan.com/book
NPR interview with Jamil Zaki about his research into the relationship between privilege/power and empathy - https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/09/jamil-zaki-empathy-power
Find out more about Ruchika and her work - https://www.rtulshyan.com/
Follow Ruchika - https://twitter.com/rtulshyan or https://www.linkedin.com/in/rtulshyan/
In this episode, we speak to Allison Avery, the Vice President of Inclusion and Community at Dow Jones, about how to create and sustain impact in DEI. Allison tells us that DEI practitioners need to borrow change management techniques and process improvement models like Six Sigma and Lean to create effective DEI strategy, programming and outcomes. She cites Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stacey Abrams as inspiration for this work given their approach of consistent, sustained effort to make systemic change over the long-term. Allison believes we too often fall victim to a “get change fast” fixation, which doesn’t sustain deep, systemic change and often results in diversity fatigue. We also discuss how learning & development fits into DEI strategy, and some tips and tricks to measure change.
Prosci’s ADKAR change management model - https://www.prosci.com/adkar/adkar-model
Hive Learning’s report on Diversity Fatigue - https://www.hivelearning.com/site/inclusion-works-frontline/
Connect with Allison on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-f-avery-she-her-98a94413
In this episode we speak to Carol Frazer Haynesworth, a marketing powerhouse and the Head of Equity and Inclusion at the creative agency Carmichael Lynch, about why it’s time to rethink multicultural marketing and how brands can really add value and connect with the communities they serve on an individual level. Carol also shares her views on why diversity and representation is so critical in advertising & media, how 2020 and George Floyd have changed the DEI agenda, and why courage and fearlessness are critical traits for leaders in this field.
Follow Carol on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/carolfrazerhaynesworth
Or connect with Carol on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cifrazer
In this episode we dive into the lived experiences of professionals of color with Netta Jenkins, co-founder of Dipper and VP of Global Inclusion for Unqork. Netta shares a nuanced view that as organizations we shouldn’t be telling people to bring their whole selves to work — that’s something that happens naturally when you have a great culture where people feel a deep sense of belonging. The reality is that it’s often dangerous for members of underrepresented groups to show up authentically as this opens up room for judgment that can have tangible consequences at work. Instead we need to spend time listening, learning about others’ lived experiences, and retooling policies and practices to be equitable.
Netta also talks about the lived experiences of people of color at work and how mistreatment (even supposedly “minor” incidents like microaggressions) can be incredibly damaging, and shares why she founded Dipper to help professionals of color find better workplaces via peer reviews.
Links:
Follow Netta on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nettajenkins/
Follow Dipper - https://www.ourdipper.com/
New York Life is one of the oldest companies in America and yet is known for its strong culture of inclusion. In this episode, Kathleen Navarro, New York Life’s Chief Diversity Officer, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how they’ve done it. Some highlights: why embedding DEI in everything you do rather than making it a separate program will help people make it a priority, how to be process-driven in talent practices to mitigate bias, and tips to create courageous conversations about race. She also shares reflections on how 2020’s sudden shift to remote working helped create inclusion in some ways, and also challenged it in others.
In this episode we speak to Michelle King, author of the book The Fix and former Director of Inclusion at Netflix, about why we need to value difference and focus on the lived experience of every person in an organization to really move the dial on diversity, equity and inclusion. You’ll hear Michelle talk through her model, the 4 Ps of equality, and explain why organizations need to be careful to give people the freedom to live out your organizational values in their own way — rather than having a fixed view of how these values look in practice. Michelle also shares insights on power structures, success archetypes and “the Don Draper ideal”, creating belonging, finding your personal “why” for DEI work, and why racial denial (or denial of any of our differences) is problematic and what we must do instead.
You can follow Michelle King on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellepking/
Check out Michelle’s book The Fix - https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Fix/Michelle-P-King/9781471193033
And subscribe and listen to her podcast, also called The Fix - https://thefixpodcast.org/
In this episode, we reveal how organizations responded to COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, and how it’s defined DEI priorities in 2021. We spoke to DEI experts from some of the world’s largest and most influential organizations and distilled our conversations into a pulse report, State of DEI in 2021. Listen for highlights from the pulse report, including the top three priorities on DEI leaders’ minds right now.
Read the full State of DEI in 2021 report here.
https://bit.ly/stateofDEI
Inchorus co-found Raj Ramanandi explains that companies completely overlook the microbehaviors that make up their culture such as microaggressions and microaffirmations. In fact, investigating your culture with common tools like engagement surveys is a deeply flawed approach. Instead, capturing the tiny moments that matter provides incredible power for understanding the macro cultures in your workplace and prevent incidents of exclusion. He walks us through fascinating findings from a project measuring microaggressions in the UK fintech industry, and also shares the two must-haves to create a “speak-up culture” in your organization.
In this episode, Sodexo’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer Margot Slattery shares how the global food services and facilities management company makes its D&I strategy both globally consistent and locally relevant across 60+ countries and a workforce of 420,000 people. Margot also shares some lessons she learned from her work as an LGBTQ+ activist on how to win the hearts and minds of the opposition, using listening and storytelling to connect and build bridges. She also explains why HR is at the heart of power in every organization.
Connect with Margot on LinkedIn - https://ie.linkedin.com/in/margotslattery
Or follow her on Twitter - https://twitter.com/margmargot
In this week’s episode, we talk to Eric Pliner, CEO at YSC Consulting, about the central challenge of DEI work — will your efforts be effective?
Eric shares YSC’s process for guiding clients to envision their desired future and backwards-engineer the interventions and factors required for those outcomes.
He details why many organizations’ approaches are well-intentioned but insufficient, why a stand-alone DEI strategy risks being ‘left alone’, his specific recommendations for the ingredients of an inclusive organizational culture that unlocks high performance, how to move beyond connection and make ground with curiosity and courage, and how to plan and work amid the huge uncertainty of today.
Follow Eric and learn more about YSC Consulting via the links below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpliner/
https://twitter.com/ericapliner
https://www.ysc.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ysc/
https://twitter.com/yscnews
In this episode Lisa Magill, CEO of the consultancy Aleria, explains why the best way to measure inclusion is by measuring exclusion, how most exclusion is down to actions of direct managers (and what to do about it) — and the top “moments that matter” for an inclusive culture, all based on extensive work with dozens of organizations. Lisa also gives us a look into how Aleria uses a unique mix of complexity science, behavioural science and software simulations to understand the impact of DEI interventions, and shares her predictions for the top themes in DEI in 2021.
Learn more about the 9 pillars of inclusion Lisa mentioned
https://aleria.tech/resource/measuring-inclusion
Connect with Lisa and Aleria and sign up for their weekly newsletter
https://aleria.tech/
This is the third episode of a three-part special series on allyship. What makes a great ally? In this episode, we’ll break down the 5 keys to be an effective, non-performative ally — including dozens of practical actions you can take in your organization right away.
Thanks to our guests Corey Flournoy, the Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity at Groupon; Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Chief People Officer at VICE Media; Julie Kratz, a TEDx speaker, inclusive leadership trainer and the author of the book Lead Like an Ally; Karen Catlin, author of Better Allies; Nichelle Grant, the Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Siemens USA; Toby Mildon, Diversity & Inclusion architect at Mildon and host of the podcast The Inclusive Growth Show.
Resources mentioned in the show:
Free privilege toolkit: hivelearning.com/privilege
Research from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) that shows that the average American (Black and white) has a very racially monolithic friendship group: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/25/three-quarters-of-whites-dont-have-any-non-white-friends/?wpisrc=nl-wnkpm&wpmm=1
This is the second episode of a three-part special series on allyship. The vast majority of people are well-intentioned and want to be inclusive - but various factors hold them back from stepping up to be an ally. In this episode we dive into the barriers to allyship, and some practical tips to overcome them — including some critique of call-out culture and its nasty older brother cancel culture.
Thanks to our expert guests Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Chief People Officer at VICE Media; Karen Brown, founder of Bridge Arrow; Karen Catlin, author of Better Allies; Sonja Gittens Ottley, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Asana; Sumaya Sherif, Director of Operations for Ally Squared; Toby Mildon, Diversity & Inclusion architect at Mildon and host of The Inclusive Growth Show podcast.
Resources mentioned in the show:
Our guest Toby Mildon’s podcast, The Inclusive Growth Show:
https://www.mildon.co.uk/podcast
Free three-step framework to address a microaggression:
hivelearning.com/calloutmicroaggressions
Free Workout to Set expectations: Address problematic language:
hivelearning.com/calloutmicroaggressions
This is the first episode of a three-part special series on allyship. Allyship is critical for building inclusive culture at work. In this episode, we explore what allyship is and some cautions and caveats that have emerged recently, with help from three expert guests: Corey Flournoy, the Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity at Groupon, Julie Kratz, a TEDx speaker, inclusive leadership trainer and the author of the book Lead Like an Ally, and Lukeisha Paul, the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion U.S. at Group M.
Resources mentioned in the show:
Research from Yale University — Beneficiary Activists’ Attitudes toward Allies in Social Movements by Jun Park, Preeti Vani, Sidney Saint-Hilaire and Michael Kraushttps://psyarxiv.com/umzk2
Procter & Gamble: The Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovY6yjTe1LE
Free allyship toolkit
hivelearning.com/allyship
Free Workout to evaluate your inner circle as a team
hivelearning.com/allyship
Back in the 1980s, we lived through the Era of the Super Leader. That was when the leader knew best. The leader knew everything. And the leader was a superhero.
In the 21st century, however, things are much more complex, and smart leaders are looking for cognitive diversity. Inclusion and diversity help organizations become innovative, creative, resilient, and agile.
What is preventing leaders from building a diverse and integrated team?
We asked Peter MacDonald Hall, the principal consultant at VERCIDA (Values-Equality-Respect-Culture-Inclusion-Diversity-Accessibility). Peter's mission at VERCIDA is to transform the world of work into inclusive, innovative, and high performing environments. Previously, he served as director of inclusion and diversity at The Ocean Partnership and membership director at LGBT Great.
In light of the unprecedented times we’re in as a result of COVID-19, we’re shaking things up slightly to create an episode we hope will be valuable to our community of inclusion and people leaders.
Sir Clive Woodward is the world-cup-winning England Rugby Coach, an expert in building high performing teams, and an experienced executive coach.
He talked to us about how to cope with crisis, lead through change, and build resilience in our teams. All of which are more vital than ever.
We talked about everything from making the most of your time without meetings, the importance of framing failure as learning, and why a ‘high challenge / high support’ environment is more important than ever in a crisis.
We hope you find it valuable.
A few links we mentioned:
Resilience Works from Hive Learning
The People Leaders Support Network from Hive Learning
Clive’s Hive
Clive’s recent book: How to Win
Mita Mallick is the head of diversity and cross-cultural marketing at Unilever. We loved chatting to Mita about her part in developing pivotal products that built diversity and inclusion within and beyond Unilever, through her ‘Every Voice Matters. Every Story Celebrated’ initiative, and her work to help Unilever achieve a gender-balanced workforce.
We are particularly excited to launch this episode in the week that Unilever announced it achieved a 50:50 gender balance in managerial roles across their business.
We chatted to Mita about a whole range of thorny issues covering:
- Whether the term ‘Cognitive Diversity’ is a get out of jail free card
- Why you can’t get diversity of thought without diversity of representation
- How to increase cultural competency and agility
- Biases about inclusion practitioners (because we know it’s not all unicorns and rainbows)
- And how to find the magic between the head and the heart
Tune in for inspiring stories and a tonne of practical tips.
In many organizations, accountability for hitting diversity and inclusion targets sits in the wrong place. It might be with a new and inexperienced people leader; it might be with an Employee Resource Group. But you’ll only truly move the dial if accountability for your diversity and inclusion strategy sits with your CEO and your management team.
That’s according to Dr. Maria Angelica Perez, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Standard Chartered Bank. Maria has been driving diversity in the workplace for most of her career and was nominated as one of the top European D&I leaders for her previous work at Ericsson where she established a global D&I strategy across 180 countries.
We talked with Maria Angelica about:
- How to appoint diversity and inclusion leaders who’ll make an impact
- How to weave diversity and inclusion into your business strategy - from talent to investment
- How to build a center of excellence and give your employees the tools to start a movement
Psychological safety is the bedrock of inclusion. But the behaviors you need to practice to build it in your team go against your instincts: being vulnerable, admitting you don’t know, embracing failure, giving others candid feedback, asking for feedback yourself.
Tim Clark is the founder and CEO of Leader Factor, a consultancy that offers elegant, practical, and powerful performance solutions to many industry-leading businesses. Tim has put his wealth of experience into a new book called The Four Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation, which is due out in March 2020.
In this episode we talked with Tim about:
- His four-step model of inclusion
- The three levels of organizational culture
- Practically how you can build a psychologically safe environment at work
What is it like to be a woman in technology? It's still a male dominated world, after all, with just 17% of the workforce being women. In addition to gender balance, technology lacks ethnic diversity as well, showing very little black, Asian, or Indian representation.
We can do better.
Jaqueline de Rojas is president of Tech UK, the association that represents 900 companies in the digital sector in the UK. She is also chair of the Board of Digital Leaders and has been described as one of the most influential women in tech in the UK.
We talked with Jaqueline about:
- How advances in AI emphasize the need for diversity in technology.
- The importance of transparency with new algorithms.
- The need for AI to have larger data sets.
- Examples of problematic behaviors in the tech workplace and practical tips for solving them.
If you were new to a country, didn't have a credit score, and had no access to mainstream banking, where would you go for financial assistance? Payday lenders? Credit cards?
What about a worker who experiences an unexpected change in financial circumstances? How does that person's stress affect themselves, their families, and their employers?
Financial wellness can contribute to an inclusive economy and social order.
Asesh Sarkar is Global CEO and Co-founder at Salary Finance, an award-winning global FinTech, and Dhiren Master is Chief Marketing Officer at Salary Finance.
We chatted to Asesh and Dhiren about:
- How financial worries are related to your spending, saving, and borrowing habits.
- How people with money worries are five times more likely to have troubled relationships with their colleagues and eight times more likely to have trouble concentrating.
- The importance of empowering the individual to take better control over the situation that they're in rather than solve the problem for them.
Most of us belong to the neutral middle — but being neutral is no longer enough.
Frankly, it isn’t actually neutral, either. It’s a tacit agreement that things are okay as they are, when they patently aren’t.
On this episode, I interview Marissa Ellis, Founder of Diversily and creator of the Change Canvas:
What we talked about:
- The formula for change
- Why neutrality isn’t neutral
- The Change Canvas (P.S. it’s free)
- Barriers to cultural change & how to overcome them
Is your office truly accessible? Only 6% of people with a disability are wheelchair users, yet when we think about designing accessible spaces, we immediately think of wheelchair accessibility. What about the other 94% of people with disabilities, including invisible disabilities?
In this episode, accessible design expert Ed Warner shares practically how to create a workspace that's truly inclusive. Ed is co-founder and CEO of Motionspot, an award-winning design consultancy specialised in creating accessible and inspiring spaces, and is also the UK's Government Champion for Accessible Design.
Listen in to learn about evidence-based design, some no-nos and quick wins for accessible spaces, design principles for neurodiverse individuals, and top tips for low-cost/no-cost things to do to improve your workspace accessibility.
Links for episode:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlbMqvt4SOU
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https://www.motionspot.co.uk/accessible-design-inspiration/
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https://www.motionspot.co.uk/blog/
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https://www.motionspot.co.uk/wheelchair-accessible-toilet/
As D&I leaders, many of us know that D&I departments alone can’t move the needle on accelerating diversity or increasing inclusion and belonging alone.
Diversity issues aren’t caused by just one person. They’re caused by the actions of many.
Which is why to build a truly inclusive culture where diverse teams can thrive, you have to make D&I a company wide priority and give every person in your organization the tools to be more inclusive everyday.
On this episode, we interviewed the brilliant Tiffany Edwards, Engagement and Inclusion Director at Droga5 - the award-winning creative agency responsible for producing brilliant and representative ad campaigns for everyone from Game of Thrones to The New York Times to Prudential.
In this episode, we talked about:
- How to get your leaders to recognize and commit to diversity
- The power of digital in creating lasting change
- How to make courageous conversations a habit
Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- Courageous Conversation by Glenn Singleton
- The raceAhead newsletter by Fortune
Gamiel Yafai is the co-author of Demystifying Diversity and Managing Director at Diversity Marketplace. When he conducted 35 pieces of research about the perceptions minority groups have towards employers he learned 2 major things:
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People know your brand, but they don’t know your employer brand. They don’t know the variety of roles you have on offer that might be accessible to them. Often, employer brands are almost invisible to these groups.
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Of the challenges that minority groups faced in 2003, they’re still facing 95% of them in 2019. If you’re an employer, it’s a mistake to think that what you’re communicating is reaching everyone.
Listen to our interview with Gamiel to hear his advice for making sure your employer brand helps - not hinders- you in your mission to attract diverse talent.
Listen to this episode and more from Inclusion Works at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
If you’re reading this, we don’t need to convince you about why it’s important to practice inclusion. But inspired by the conversation across National Inclusion Week in the UK a few weeks ago, we wanted to share all of the best bits of advice our guests have shared so far on the small things all of us can do to be more inclusive TODAY.
We ask all of our guests ‘What’s one thing everyone can do to be more inclusive this week’? Tune in to hear practical tips from:
- Dame Jayne Ann Gadhia - newly announced CEO UKI of Salesforce
- Aubrey Blanche - Head of Diversity & Belonging at Atlassian
- Asif Sadiq - Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at The Telegraph
- Kathryn Jacobs and Sue Unerman - Authors of The Glass Wall
Will you make a change this week?
Subscribe to Inclusion Works on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or tune in on our website.
When you think about inclusive environment design, you might think about creating gender neutral toilets. But what about creating toilets accessible for guide dogs too?
If you’re a gay man and a disabled person, where do you go when your LGBTQ+ ERG and your Disability ERG host an event on the same night?
In turns out, often our well intentioned inclusion strategies can be exclusive.
Toby Mildon is a Diversity and Inclusion Architect at MILDON, formerly D&I lead at Deloitte and the BBC, and a pioneer of intersectionality.
We chatted to Toby about:
- The problem with tackling D&I one underrepresented group at a time
- How to navigate the tension between benefits that are genuinely inclusive and those that are naturally exclusive, like childcare supplements
- His thoughts on “people-first” language (and inclusive language in general)
Watch out for Toby’s forthcoming book due out in Autumn 2019, tentatively titled Inclusive Growth.
Jackie Glenn is the former Chief Diversity Officer of EMC Corporation, Dell, author of Lift as I Climb: An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America and founder of Glenn Diversity & HR Solutions.
Jackie’s adaptation to American culture as an immigrant from Jamaica helped her cultivate skills and insights that uniquely qualified her to lead EMC’s efforts to create a diverse workforce, and an environment that would retain top talent from around the globe.
On her journey, Jackie identified 10 critical behaviours or ‘gems’ that all organisations must practice to create a truly inclusive environment that enables diverse teams to thrive.
In this episode, we were honored that Jackie shared 4 of her 10 “gems” with us.
In the D&I community we often talk about how difficult “the only” experience can be. The feeling of being the only woman, or the only person of color in a room. But what does that really feel like and how can it shape our perspective of what a powerful inclusion strategy really looks like?
Stephanie Foster is a Product Manager at the leading fintech business Fiserv, and founder of the Women in Wireless movement. We’re honored that she shared her experiences of being the only woman of color in the room, and how that shaped her world view of what it takes to be a better ally.
Links Stephanie referenced in this podcast were:
- McKinsey/Lean In Women in the Workplace Report 2018 - https://womenintheworkplace.com/
- The Memo by Minda Harts [book] - http://mindaharts.com/
- Mellody Hobson Wants Less Talk and More Action When it Comes to Corporate Diversity - https://fortune.com/2018/09/25/brainstorm-reinvent-mellody-hobson/
- Mellody Hobson's TED Talk Color Blind or Color Brave? - https://www.ted.com/talks/mellody_hobson_color_blind_or_color_brave?language=en
As people who care about building inclusive cultures at work and in the community, we all know how important cognitive diversity is. But how deliberate are you in building diverse perspectives into your own personal network?
Dr. Zella King is the Co-Founder of Personal Boardroom, a Senior Associate at Care City and an Executive Fellow at Henley Business School. Her research on the science of social networks focuses on the critical people you need in your own personal boardroom to help you succeed.
In this episode of Inclusion Works, Zella talks about the 12 types of diverse perspective you need in your network, how women network differently to men and why we’re failing the older generation.
Useful links:
Zella mentioned the brilliant Radio 4 drama Flying Visits about what it’s like to work in social care
Read the inspirational writing of Herminia Ibarra
Access the Personal Boardroom online tool here
A CEO once asked Denise McQuaid: How can I have a position on inclusion when I have no experience of being in the minority?
We’re all trying to build a more inclusive workforce, but ‘minority labels’ can be dangerous if they’re not used in the right way. To truly build an inclusive culture, we need to stop making assumptions about people because of their label. We all think differently, and harnessing the power of our neurodiversity often means giving everyone the right to offend.
On this episode of Inclusion Works, we got to talk to Denise, Customer and Innovation Director at Connor HR Consultancy, about inclusion, the courage to be vulnerable in the workplace, and how to build bridges around the D&I agenda.
Suzanne McGovern is the Chief Diversity Officer at Splunk.
A mother of biracial children, she’s personally invested in paving the way for equal footing for all people in the future.
“Success to me is when you don’t need to have a Chief Diversity Officer in the future. That’s just part of having a business.”
In this episode, Suzanne was vulnerable enough to share some of her struggles with work/life integration years ago, and how she defied those who said she was on the “B-Track” when she moved to an internal position at her company.
Every company knows that diversity and inclusion are good in theory, but what about in practice?
This week’s guest shares with us how inclusion can not only add to employee happiness, but how it can also have also have a positive impact economically, and after a career in finance she should know!
As the former Chief Executive of Virgin Money (before their sale in 2018,) Jayne-Anne Gadhia explains her mission championing women in one of the most male-dominated industries on the globe--finance.
Her time spent at Virgin Money working alongside Richard Branson, empowered her to understand that personality and purpose were keys to a workplace rich in inclusion.
These factors can inspire employees affected by the issues of diversity and inclusion to create a culture that is filled with purpose
Early in her career, Natalie Sigona applied for a promotion. She didn’t get it. She knew in terms of the work she'd done, and in terms of her submission, that she was deserving of the promotion.
When she went to get feedback from those involved, one of the things they mentioned was the pink handbag she’d been carrying. They said she needed to be careful about how people might perceive it. Even though she was very angry, she handled the situation with grace. In fact, the way she addressed the situation actually enabled her to get a double promotion.
This story highlights how remarkable Natalie is, and how committed she is to diversity and inclusion. That’s why we wanted to invite her to be a guest on this episode of the Inclusion Works podcast. On the show Natalie shared some of the personal experiences that made her aware of inclusion. She also talked about what inclusion means to her and how we can all start taking steps to increase inclusion and belonging in our own workplaces.
Inclusion and diversity aren’t about lowering the bar. They’re about finding the right bar in the first place.
Fiona Smith and Katy Murray, cofounders of Catalyst Collective a consultancy creating resources and community for leaders who want to shift the dial on diversity and inclusion, visited the Inclusion Works podcast recently to share their views on what’s wrong with our traditional models for measuring worker success.
Many workplaces have an unspoken, unconscious view of what the ideal worker looks like. It’s typically been defined by the traditional white male model of leadership (which is, by definition, exclusive).
It often defines success by focusing on a particular educational background or certain life experiences that all too often are closely linked to privilege.
When we don’t question or consider the inherent bias in this model, we put undue stress on the few senior minorities who might be on staff. They consequently feel they must fulfill all of the mentoring, coaching, etc. responsibilities to junior minority staff.
If you’re looking to reset your bar, Smith & Murray have three suggestions to start.
- Use your privilege to get people's voices heard.
- Use your privilege to take people places.
- Make sure people get the credit for the work they do in the spaces where their voices aren't heard.
Why is “culture fit” a bad fit for creating an inclusive work culture?
Aubrey Blanche, head of diversity and belonging at Atlassian, was a guest on Inclusion Works recently and shared her thoughts about how most businesses seeking to diversify are doing it backward.
Blanche calls culture fit one of the worst talent concepts that's ever been invented, one that is anti-innovation.
At Atlassian, they interview for values alignment instead. They look for specific behaviors that are congruent with their corporate values. These include:
- A commitment to candor and transparency
- Thinking about the folks around you
- Finding some joy in your work
Their interviews are designed to tease out the people who have demonstrated those behaviors in the past and who want to work in a way that is collaborative, positive, and additive to the culture.
Blanche said applicants don’t need to fit a perfect mold, just be interested in going above and beyond to support and help their colleagues.
Most diversity and inclusion programmes don’t work. While companies may have training for D&I in place, most focus solely on unconscious bias or cultural awareness. It also tends to be mandatory, face-to-face, and one-off, all of which can be problematic. There are even studies that show this can trigger backlash.
Culture is a combination of shared values AND shared behaviours. So if you’re trying to change a culture, you can’t just update your values and expect things to change. You have to change behaviours too.
Traditional training often fails because it doesn’t give people the practical tools to change what they’re doing every day. On this episode of Inclusion Works, Fiona Young, Head of D&I practice at Hive Learning walks us through four specific ways to create a D&I programme in your company that can actually change the culture quickly.
It’s Monday and you’re at work.
Your colleague asks “How was your weekend?”
You think about your weekend, carefully filtering the details before you speak.
You don’t feel entirely comfortable sharing honestly.
This is the reality for many LGBTQ+ people, according to diversity and inclusion consultant Vessy Tasheva.
We were honored to speak to Vessy for the latest version of the Inclusion Works podcast, where she shared her insight into how companies can get inclusion right by taking action, getting senior buy-in and mixing culture and business to create a space where everyone - and in particular, members of LGBTQ+ communities, feel like they belong.
Innovation comes from diversity of thought. It comes from people from different backgrounds doing things differently - rather than the same people doing the same thing over and over again.
In this episode of Inclusion Works, we spoke to Yari Blanco - senior manager of culture and diversity at The Wing, a network of work and community spaces designed for women.
Yari shared her insight into how the privileged among us can foster innovation in our communities by simply passing the mic.
Being inclusive is good for morale, and can strengthen a company’s bottom line.
This is one of the things I learned from my recent conversation with Adelmise Warner, global head of diversity and inclusion for Sirius XM and Pandora.
People are their company’s strongest assets. If you treat them fairly, they'll stay. Believe it or not, this also limits or reduces a company’s risk of litigation.
If you treat people fairly, they feel like they're part of the whole. They will work harder because they believe they are part of a team that is pulling in tandem. Because they get the same fair and even-handed opportunities as their peers, they will have no incentive to malign or sue you.
Inclusion work is about making sure people feel like they have a voice at work and are treated fairly. An executive needs to make sure that (s)he is doing things that are right for the employees and that those things are not mutually exclusive from representing the best financial interests of the company.
It is impossible to strip people of their personal biases. Deeply ingrained in us from a really young age, even when we become aware of our bias and have an intention to change, they’re nearly impossible to remove. While we can’t change our personal biases, we CAN change our hiring processes to remove our inability to be unbiased.
From demanding a diverse candidate pool to anonymizing the resumes and CVs, there are many ways to strip bias from your everyday hiring practices. Fiona Young leads content at Hive Learning where she also leads the diversity and inclusion practice. On this episode, you’ll hear about four practices you can implement this week to strip bias from your hiring practice.
Our guest Sereena Abbassi, Worldwide Head of Culture and Inclusion at M&C Saatchi, had some suggests that a critical part of building a more inclusive culture is to take time to interact with people that you wouldn't usually interact with.
Far too often we dehumanize people without even realizing we dehumanize them.
Stepping into someone else’s shoes can be an eye-opening and powerful exercise to enable you to see how people relate to you when you’re out of your perceived sphere of comfort.
So step into someone else’s shoes, really seeing them and acknowledge their experience and how it’s different to your own.
Women are still under-represented in the executive suite, especially in tech.
Sue Unerman, Chief Transformation Officer at MediaCom, and Kathryn Jacob, OBE, CEO of Pearl & Dean, are the authors of The Glass Wall.
If you’re looking to rise through the ranks, or help others do so, these accomplished women have some advice on how to...
- Recognise that there’s a lot of work to do and that women’s representation in upper management is woefully inadequate.
- Understand the factors holding women back and how to overcome them - whether you’re a woman or not.
- Find practical ways to give others a hand up
- Create a support network with diverse experiences and us a different POV to untangle a problem.
Their rallying cry? “Avengers, assemble!”
How many times have you encountered a company with a set a values that didn’t match their actions? We see it all the time, don’t we? “Culture” has become synonymous with “Values,” so we tend to think changing values will change the culture. News flash: it won’t.
On today’s episode of Inclusion Works, we sat down with Sonja Gittens Ottley head of diversity and inclusion at Asana. From the beginning, Asana’s leadership has been laser focused on building a culture that is inclusive. They approach it the same way they approach the building of their products; in a really intentional way.
It’s more than just team outings or free lunch at the office… It’s about ensuring that you’re prioritizing the creators of your product: your employees. Because when people feel comfortable in their workplace, they contribute more to your business.
Culture is not a set of cute, clever statements you can easily rattle off or spray paint on your walls. It’s about behavior shift.
You often hear about the importance of diversity and inclusion in a workplace. But what about belonging? Asif Sadiq is the head of diversity, inclusion, AND belonging at The Telegraph. You don’t see the title of belonging much in the industry so many may not be familiar with what that means or looks like.
Asif describes it this way:
Diversity is great, we need to realize difference, and we’ve done that over the years.
Inclusion is where we are. We’re trying to really make that diversity mix work.
But where we really need to get to is belonging. Creating a sense of belonging for all people.
Because sometimes diversity and inclusion efforts end up isolating particular groups. The majority within groups start to feel like the minority. So to address and tackle this particular challenge, they brought in the idea of belonging. From teaching the basics like sitting next to someone you don’t usually sit with to encouraging a culture of learning where you’re not afraid to ask someone questions, Asif has great tips on building belonging into your program.
How is your business doing when it comes to diversity and inclusion? While we can all agree on the importance of this type of work culture, it can feel daunting to put a plan into place. Where do you even start?
That’s why we’re (Hive Learning) launching the Inclusion Works podcast. The host of the podcast, Fiona Young, is the director of content for Hive Learning; a mobile-first learning app for enterprises. They’re a digital partner for putting culture change into action and inclusion and diversity is one area they’re especially focusing on right now.
Her team has spent many months researching and distilling out the most helpful, actionable, and practical information to teach leaders and managers how to be more inclusive. As they were building this new program, not only were they finding such great information from their research but they were meeting so many interesting people in the space. What better way to share these learnings and introduce the world to these experts than a podcast?
You can expect to hear tips from both worldwide experts and those in the trenches every single day on building diversity and inclusion initiatives across a wide range of industries. What really works, what has driven change for their organizations, top mistakes they see people making, and more. If you think you’d make a great guest or you know an expert we should hear from, email fiona.young@hivelearning.com.