There has been much criticism recently about white diversity and inclusion (D&I) specialists profiting from antiracism work, often focusing on Robin Di Angelo (this Forbes article is one example). I completely get this point. The very core of antiracist practice is about elevating Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC), so they can take their rightful place in all aspects of work, including D&I. It is also about redressing the economic disadvantage of BIPoC’s experience in our white supremacist society. Having white people lead on antiracist topics, on the surface at least, serves to reinforce white dominance.  For me, this also creates an ethical issue, in fighting for social justice, how can I as a privileged white person, relinquish some of my power, whilst at the same time, fighting for other (mostly invisible) aspects of my identity? I am not Robin Di Angelo, and I too understand the struggle to pay my mortgage (and my privilege of owning my own house).
 
So, I don’t believe that this is a binary, all or nothing issue.  It is complex and in our rapidly changing world emergent, as we evolve as people to create a more just society.  As this implies I acknowledge that in writing this, I too am not a finished person, I'm evolving and learning as I go. That said the following points represent where I am now. I will appreciate and learn from any comments I receive.

The recent increase in visibility of the Black Lives Matter movement and awareness of racism in our societies, has led to a corresponding increase in awareness, dissatisfaction and trauma around racism in our organisations (and no doubt grievances and tribunals to come) from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour). This upwelling emotion has resulted in organisations scrabbling to make statements of support and action to back them up.  The go-to activities include an old favourite - unconscious bias training. However, evidence suggests unconscious bias training doesn't eliminate bias. Indeed it can even backfire and increase bias (e.g. ‘it’s okay to be racist because that’s how the human brain works’). Indeed, we could also argue – what now is still unconscious?  I’m sure there’s a lot, and we also have lots of conscious awareness to process.  

As a business psychologist, I understand brain functioning and how bias can be 'hard-wired' into how we process information and make decisions.  However, it has never been my solution for diversity and inclusion training because no evidence understanding these processes or improves people’s ability to be inclusive of diversity.  This blog outlines more impactful alternatives. 

Are you or your employees just beginning your journey exploring diversity and inclusion?
Maybe you're feeling a bit hesitant and not sure where to start? 

Alison France is a highly experienced Diversity and Inclusion professional who uses both Organisation and Leadership Development to enable the achievement of successful business outcomes. Her vision is “to evolve the human race so that everyone inherently values, and has the skill, to be truly inclusive of each other's diversity”
 
Come and join us for a thought provoking and experiential session. Recent events around the world have highlighted the importance of inclusion, why not take this opportunity to explore further from both a personal and professional perspective? For more information have a look at the outline PDF below.

For registrations, please message Sarah Law on LinkedIn or email here.  

Layla Moran MP recently came out as pansexual to a cacophony of liberal responses of ‘this isn’t news’. 
This is rooted in a misguided belief that it’s a supportive comment, ‘it (who we are in a relationship with) doesn’t matter’, ‘we can love who we want’. But in the U.K. in 2020 it does still matter. Also these comments are rooted in a heteronormative narrative which are making the homophobic and transphobic culture worse not better. Here’s why...

We chose the title Identity, Voice and Power for this year’s NTL community day because they are the three key elements of a generative engagement model. It was designed by Royce Holiday and Mary Nations, specifically for use in diversity and inclusion work which takes into account complexity (its part of human system dynamics theory).  To find out more about the model visit https://www.hsdinstitute.org/resources/generative-engagement.html.

What is Courageous Inclusion? 
Real inclusion takes courage, and it takes heart. It requires an ability to understand societal inequality, its impact (both positive and negative) on yourself, based on aspects of your identity and personality, as well as that of others. However, the prize is worth the effort, individuals can be their whole, authentic selves and achieve their true potential, and organisations can truly benefit from team interactions where “the whole is other than the sum of its parts” (Kafka).  

Our definition of courageous inclusion is:
“The whole-hearted act of sensing, inquiring, disclosing and learning in service of integrating the similarities and differences of a group of people; To incorporate everyone's contributions into conversations, idea generation and decision making to improve organisational outcomes. These differences may include aspects of identity such as sex, gender identity, age, disability, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. However, they should also take into account personality, performance strengths, professional expertise and experience.” (France 2019).

Our Courageous inclusion model:

​Most organisations we work with have a desire to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) across the business. However, it is such a complex and challenging issue to address our clients often don't know where to start. Here are a few simple ways to take the steps forward needed to develop towards an inclusive organisation. 

​Inclusion is a CEO priority
In 2017, Deloitte reported that over two-thirds (69 percent) of executives rate diversity and inclusion an important issue (up from 59 percent in 2014) and Thirty-eight percent of executives report that the primary sponsor of the company’s diversity efforts is the CEO, but why?
 
Inclusion is essential for team performance
From a purely business perspective, research demonstrates that inclusive teams perform better. They make better, faster decisions with fewer meetings (Forbes), they are more innovative, engaged and creative in their work (Deloitte) and they produce better financial results (Bain & Co.). Furthermore, companies with inclusive practices generate up to 30% higher revenue per employee than their competitors (Deloitte).