I recently spoke at an HR & Benefits conference on how to begin and/or refine your DEIB efforts in order to actually be successful in moving the needle in this important work. I will share some of my ideas over several posts. Contact me if you want to know more!
First let’s lay the foundation of some definitions. I adapted this Bank of America graphic and added the Belonging information. So if you start with these definitions and develop outcome goals from there, you will focus on the right outcomes and the right problems so that you design the right solutions. When developing your strategy, know your starting point and what you want the future state to look like and achieve.
A few other things to think about as you develop a strategy:
•Know the power dynamics at your organization.
•Know what you will measure and how. How do we know we have met our outcome goals?
•Establish a baseline-employee satisfaction, engagement, retention, turnover, demographics, surveys.
•Identify resources: Internal/ external.
•Budget: You need one!
•Define terms so that everyone understands.
•Create a playbook.
•Don’t try to take on too much.
I’ll stop there. My next post will continue the conversation on developing a DEIB focus at your organization. Leave a comment if you have any other ideas when developing a strategy.
Next week, I am co-presenting a session to a group of women new in their careers. Our topic is how obstacles can hinder women’s careers in the workplace. We all know bias exists and it certainly is a challenge for women…all women. I have witnessed it. I have experienced it. And I don’t want my daughters (or any other woman) to have to deal with it.
I have created some pre-work to set the stage for the face-to-face training, which I have shared below.
Individual Reflection:
1. What is my first memory of seeing or experiencing someone different from me?
2. When was there a time in my life that I felt different from others?
2. Have you ever experienced or witnessed any of the bias the article discusses?
3. How did you deal with the situations above?
During the live session, we will walk through what bias looks like, how we all have bias and some things we can do when we see or experience bias. I know that women new in their careers might not be willing to speak up, but my hope is to share some tools that will help them address bias in a thoughtful, intentional, empowering way.
I had such a great time being interviewed by Michael Hingson from Unstoppable Mindset. We spoke about a variety of topics. Driving the conversation and taking a proactive role is the crux of my conversation. Michael has such an interesting story and perspective, himself. Listen on and contact me with questions, comments and feedback!
“It’s easy to stand with a crowd. It takes courage to stand alone.” Mahatma Gandi
Besides my consulting work, I have signed on for two speaking engagements in April. One session is focused on early career women and how to overcome barriers in their careers. The second presentation is an HR/Benefits one day conference. I will be presenting on how to jumpstart DEI efforts at organizations. This audience is mainly HR and CFO folks.
I love presenting, sharing ideas and hearing stories from audiences. For the barriers presentation, this article provides a nice overview and some much-needed pre-work for audience self-reflection. I think back to my career and how I put up with so much “wrong” stuff early in my career due to fear, lack of knowledge on what to do and just overall naivete. Even in present day, the barriers are pretty much the same…women hold little power and are subject to so much bias. And then couple that with being a women within another marginalized group and imagine the obstacles, doubled or tripled!
I remember being told that you must “ask for what you want” yet even as recent as five years ago, when I did that, I was told, “Leadership will decide when you are ready…not you.” Unbelievable and yet, as women, we are forced to comply or start over. In this example, it was the beginning of me realizing exactly the environment I was working in and fortunately, I had options so didn’t need to stay.
But most women don’t have options or fear sticking their neck out and saying something. How do we teach women to move beyond this fear? First, we talk openly about it! If we normalize behavior that holds women back is acceptable, it will continue. I think we also need to make women aware of bias and what it looks like and actions they can take against it.
Bias “is a human trait resulting from our tendency and need to classify individuals into categories as we strive to quickly process information and make sense of the world.” There are two types of bias:
Explicit Bias
Implicit or Unconscious Bias
Explicit cognitive bias includes overt racism and racist comments; “individuals are aware of their prejudices and attitudes toward certain groups.”
Implicit cognitive bias “involves all of the subconscious feelings, perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes that have developed as a result of prior influences and imprints.” Implicit cognitive bias “involves all of the subconscious feelings, perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes that have developed as a result of prior influences and imprints.” Implicit cognitive bias involves “automatic, unconscious mental processes based on implicit attitudes or implicit stereotypes that are formed by one’s life experience and lurk behind the surface of the conscious.” Implicit biases are necessary for us to survive since our brains cannot possibly process every piece of information coming at it in real time for us to make decisions. Our brains learn to categorize similar things so we can react. EVERYONE has Implicit Bias. A preference for a group (positive or negative) often operating outside our awareness and based on stereotypes and attitudes we hold that tend to develop early in life and tend to strengthen over time.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” Mark Twain
Individual Reflection:
1. What is my first memory of seeing or experiencing someone different from me?
2. When was there a time in my life that I felt different from others?
3. How did you deal with the situations above?
Bias
Conscious Bias
Expressed directly
We have it and we are aware of it.
Unconscious Bias
Expressed indirectly
We are not aware of the bias.
Bias in Action
Age
Color
Education level
Expertise
Family status
Gender
National origin
Personality
Physical ability
Physical appearance
Political views
Race/Ethnicity
Religion
Sexual orientation/Identity
Socioeconomic status
Bias effects
Confidence
Creativity
Decision making
Emotional health
Employment
Engagement
Opportunity
Performance
Personal freedom
Physical health
Relationships
Risk taking
Safety
Self-esteem
Q:When have you experienced or witnessed bias? What happened? What was done about it? What was the end result?
Who are you?
I am not biased. I view things objectively.
Or
Bias exists in everyone, including me. I actively STOP and think about how bias effects the choices I make.
Q: Which one are you? Provide an example.
Sources of your bias:
Your own experiences.
Information you read such as news, social media, stories, books, movies etc.
Your education including school you attend and what you study.
Your context-family, friends, work, where you live, what you do and who you spend time with.
Culture-spoken and unspoken rules in your community and society.
Innate characteristics you are born with.
All of these create your identity. Your identity can be sources of positive and negative bias. Some of our identifiers cause us to be biased to others and others to be biased towards us.
Q: What is your identity? Note if any create bias towards others.
How to Disrupt Bias (within yourself)
Create connections with folks different from yourself.
Move from “autopilot” to questioning your thoughts and behaviors.
Be curious.
Be empathetic.
Ask questions. Even if uncomfortable. You can say you are uncomfortable!
Q: Think about who you connect with, hang out with, spend time with, ask advice from…do they look different or similar to you? Why?
Broaden your viewpoint by:
Joining different groups
Reading different viewpoints, following different influencers
Joining different community groups
Try new experiences
Change your routines
Take Action
Ways to Act with Courage
Notice bias happening
Confront bias
Help others with bias
Address bias
Q: What are specific ways you can act with courage as described above?
Pause and question actions, thoughts and outcomes.
Seek to understand.
Check assumptions.
Learn. Educate yourself and others.
Share your story.
Bring people together.
Be a coach or mentor.
Amplify others’ voices.
Speak up.
Organize groups.
Your perspectives are incomplete. You are an expert on your identity…be willing to learn about others.
Types of Bias
Confirmation bias-get information that supports our existing beliefs. Ex. News from a single source.
Take action: What could we do differently?
Anchoring bias-rely on first piece of information we see. Ex. Misdiagnose an illness by paying too much attention to the first symptom we see.
Take action: What could we do differently?
In-Group bias-we favor people we like and who are like us. Ex. Hiring a candidate that has our similar background, alma mater etc.
Take action: What could we do differently?
Negativity bias-we are more powerfully influenced by negative experience than positive or neutral experiences. Ex. Remembering bad customer service experience.
Take action: What could we do differently?
Attribution bias-we judge others on their action but we judge ourselves based on our intent. Ex. Thinking someone is ineffective because of a mistake.
Take action: What could we do differently?
Sunk-Cost bias-we continue things because we have already invested time, money resources. Ex. Keep reading a book even though you don’t like it.
Take action: What could we do differently?
“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles; cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances.” Martin Luther King
Share your experiences and ideas…and what you can do differently.
…Action is where real change happens. Change can feel thorny but nothing changes without action.
So today is International Women’s Day. First of all, I hate innocuous holidays or celebrations because what purpose do they really serve except for a feel-good?
I say it over and over…
“Talk is cheap. Action is where real change happens!”
It feels good to share platitudes, recognition and high-fives. But my question is, “What are you going to do about it?” Action must happen to make change happen. All the greatest intentions accomplish little. Instead, think about actions you can take to change the system such as:
Educate someone to consider and shift their perspective.
Learn something new yourself and then do something with that new knowledge.
Confront your own privilege and make changes to be more inclusive.
Seek different perspectives and challenge your own beliefs.
Volunteer with a group you have not been exposed to. This dispels generalizations and bias.
Attack policies that do not reinforce equity for everyone.
When you see something that is wrong, say something!
Share your ideas in the comments. Together we are stronger.
I recently finished reading “How to Have Difficult Conversations About Race” by Kwame Christian. I believe stumbling blocks do exist about how to get the conversation started and folks avoid the tough discussions all together. Conversations about race are loaded with minefields of discomfort, misunderstanding and lack of know-how. But does that mean we avoid these discussions all together?! Absolutely not because if we avoid, we never solve.
I loved Kwame’s suggestion to mobilize compassionate curiosity. For one thing, what a great way to remove defensiveness by calling it curiosity. His framework includes three steps:
Acknowledge and validate emotions.
Get curious with compassion.
Use joint problem solving.
Compassionate curiosity can (and should) not only be used with others, but also yourself. I have spoken before about being on auto-pilot and a great way to move away from this mindless way of acting is to stop and question yourself (and others) on why they believe something…in other words step back to self-reflect. Other phrases such as, “Tell me more about…and help me understand” are powerful, empathetic ways to learn where someone is coming from. Kwame’s book walks through this methodology in great detail and with examples, which are very helpful to guide the reader into action (and comfort).
Another eye opener in his book discusses speaking the same language. Kwame states, “The dictionary definition of a word isn’t important. What’s important is what the person you’re talking to believes the word to mean.” Great examples are the words privilege and inclusion. I loved his explanation of how conversations get derailed when agreement on what the word even means is not established yet! I am definitely adding this important step to my conversations. Check out chapter six to learn more and get detailed examples.
It is not new information to not speak in absolutes and Kwame touches on this, too. He suggests to use often instead of the word always. Also, use likely or frequently instead of will and finally use rarely or infrequently instead of never. Just say those words aloud and you can already sense how the conversation can change for the better.
In my mind taking action is front and center and Kwame focuses the last section of his book on this important verb. He states, “racial inequity is a problem of bad policy not bad people.” So he is a proponent of changing inequitable policies that create inequitable outcomes rather than individual beliefs. “Progress doesn’t move at the speed of comfort.” Wow and YES! If we wait for people to be comfortable we will never move…we will wait forever. And my biggest pet peeve, hope vs. action. For example, our hope and prayers are with families every time there is a mass shooting but until we actually take ACTION and change policy, nothing will truly change. Kwame suggests that with policy change hearts and minds actually do change. An example is how organizations had to quickly pivot due to COVID-19, whereas in typical times that severe change would have taken likely decades!
Another powerful sentiment of Kwame’s that I definitely know about (and likely anyone in the DEI space has experienced) is this:
“When you’re advocating for change within your organization, you may be seen as an irritant, too. Difficult conversations can make people uncomfortable and that discomfort can lead people to blame the irritant, because it seemed as though everything was fine before someone spoke up. People often struggle to see a problem if it’s not a problem for them. But the irritant of advocacy is the medication necessary to cure the greater ill of racism.”
I read recently that DEI professionals have an average of an 18 month lifespan (just a little shorter than Greek ruins). I don’t find this surprising given the many stories DEI peers have shared about being in a DEI-focused role in an environment resistant to change…a system resistant to change…a country and even a world resistant to change. Over and over I hear about DEI professionals with targets on their backs for just trying to do their jobs. Why is that? WTF is more like it! I am pretty confident that DEI professionals are not in their jobs to be a “check the box” role in their organizations. DEI work is emotional work. It is hard work and I know we do this work so that we can MAKE a difference, not just serve in a figurehead capacity.
So how do we determine if our role is just fluff filled with lip service? I have a few suggestions of things to dig deeper on to determine if it is time to move to an organization that actually means what they say. To be fair, the type of change we are all working towards is not fast work. The needle will move slowly but it still needs to move and I want evidence that it is actually moving.
Budget. No project, initiative or role can move forward without money. Having a budget (and being able to use that budget) signals that there is validation for your efforts. A budget allows you to tie strategic goals with money to accomplish those goals.
Positions. You might momentarily feel proud of yourself that the organization finally “put their money where their mouth is” and created a full-time, singularly-focused DEI role. You might say to yourself, “finally the organization realizes this role is critical.” But I say not so fast because you will find that there actually is way too much work for one person. One subtle way to stop progress is to bury the DEI professional with so much work that they cannot see the what’s really going on. So, don’t gloat so quickly and instead determine what roles are needed to really do the WORK and then make the case to get those roles hired.
Authority. Do you have a seat at the proverbial table? If not, you will get mired in layers of approvals and suddenly the simplest thing like a educational article or training event will get stuck in roadblocks and potholes. You basically sit at the red light eternally…or until the article or topic’s essence is no longer current with whatever the issue was that you wanted to highlight.
Diversions. Leadership will throw you a bone and tell you how great you are doing…what an awesome influence you are making on the organization. Don’t be fooled…incremental changes like getting the organization to stop using some male-focused words in not what we are after. Yes, it is great to change the bias vernacular that your organization is using but it will never be more impactful than true, systemic changes like digging deep into your recruiting practices and eliminating bias from the process. For example, where does the organization choose to recruit from to how they interview all the way to how they decide if someone is a “fit”. If we continue to hire folks like what we already have then we continue to live in our bubble of sameness.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Creating an environment where ERGs are not only allowed to form, but actually encouraged, will empower employees with shared identities, characteristics, and/or life experiences to come together to collaborate and support each other. It also will enable other employees to learn how to be come allies, a necessary ingredient for change to happen.
We are overdue to band together as a profession and as human beings. As Brene Brown mentioned in her latest book, Atlas of the Heart, “I’m here to get it right, not to be right.” Let’s get it right by setting ourselves up to successfully do the work and make an impact in this world for generations to come. Frankly the world is evolving and change is a part of evolution.
What does getting it right look like? Please comment and let’s figure out how we can support each other and the systemic change so overdue.
Treat people’s culture with care, curiosity and respect.
An Employee Resource Group (ERG) is a voluntary, employee-led group. Members of an ERG are employees who identify as part of a group with shared identities, characteristics, and/or life experiences. Allies are also typically welcomed to join these groups. ERG members collaborate to support themselves and each other. They may do so by joining in meetings together or planning events to engage others in the company.
Benefits of an ERG:
Meet and connect with new colleagues
Be an active voice for change
Learn and grow professionally and personally
Share their culture, values, and experiences with others
Contribute towards a more open and human world of work
Foster inclusion and belonging at work and beyond
Empowerment for the marginalized group
Steps to create an ERG:
Gauge employee interest (consider an application process)
Get executive buy-in and recruit an executive sponsor
Define group’s mission
Recruit members
Host a meeting
Keep it alive! This is often the most difficult step.
Types of ERGs:
Culture or ethnicity
People with disabilities (visible and invisible)
Women
Faith-based
Gender identity minorities
Sexual orientation minorities
Age minorities Working parents, single parents and caregivers
Mental health
Best practices:
Define goals and a mission statement
Develop structure and guidelines
Set a leader for the ERG
Have executive sponsors
Mentorship
What have you seen work to ensure an ERG succeeds?
seniyegroff 