One of the workshops I attended at the Nov. 9th Diversity@Work conference put on by Skills for Change was by Nadir Shirazi. He spoke about dedicated spaces in offices for quiet time, prayer, meditation etc.

Nadir’s presentation was very interesting; he shared the challenge for companies to name these rooms, and the lack of follow-up to see who is using them and how they are used. He confirmed that most of the requests for such rooms are made my Muslim employees. And he explained that complexities arise when these rooms are used by many people with different beliefs and needs. Providing a room, as the title of his workshop suggested, is just the tip of the religious accommodation iceberg.

What stood out for me most, however, was the inequity Nadir shared of where these rooms often are. In their commitment to diversity and inclusion many companies have such spaces in their corporate offices. This is wonderful for the executives and employees who work there, but doesn’t help the staff in the company’s call centres, or retail stores, or franchise outlets (for example).

It was an interesting manifestation of privilege within the context of attempting to be equitable; of how easily people can be overlooked even when we are trying to be inclusive. I’m willing to bet it’s largely unconscious that the men and women at head office have a meditation or prayer room while the workers “on the front lines” of these companies may not. But if this is the case, what do our accommodation efforts really amount to?

It sure made me wonder when I placed my order for tea at the Toronto Airport last week before boarding my flight, and noticed that not a single person working there was White.

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Copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder
author, speaker and facilitator on issues of diversity and inclusion

Tomorrow I’m going to the day-long conference  http://www.diversityatwork.org/ put on by Skills for Change. The topic is faith in the workplace – an issue that is on the radar more often these days in the world of diversity and inclusion.

I’m looking forward to the panel discussion on the difference between faith and culture (because I think we often confuse the two when we don’t have enough information), and to the workshops in the afternoon. I’m hoping to attend Nadir Shirazi’s workshop on balancing assimilation and integration (moving beyond meditation spaces at work) and Immam Michael Abdur Rashid Taylor’s session on accommodation (a common sticking point with HR and other employees).  Of course these are only 2 of the 4 workshops available, so if I can’t get into those, I will have other great choices. 

I’ll report back on Thursday to tell you all about it!

And for those who think there is no place for religion at work, or that it has no impact - consider why our work week is Monday to Friday…

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Copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder
author, speaker and facilitator on issues of diversity & inclusion
www.beeing.ca

Invariably when I do workshops on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), one of the themes that comes up is holidays. With the cold weather and Halloween approaching, it makes me think of the many weeks of Christmas carols we will experience when shopping.

I love Christmas, and I love to sing – but the carols that start in November wear me down. What about those who don’t celebrate Christmas?  How does the constant barrage of Christian (and secular) holiday tunes for weeks up to the event feel for them?

Ah privilege…those of us whose holidays fall on the days work and industries shut down have it good – without realizing it!

Last week I heard that a Toronto high school scheduled its Parent-Teacher night this school year on Rosh Hashanah! Rosh Hashanah is Jewish New Year, and it started at sundown on Sept. 28th of this year’s Gregorian calendar (and ended Sept. 30th). Imagine the public outcry if Parent-Teacher night was scheduled on January 1st! There would be a few choice words…but wait, it wouldn’t even happen.

Why do things like this still occur?

I think they happen because we all have bias and don’t practice awareness of what those biases are and what blinders result. It’s hard to broaden your perspective if you don’t know its parameters. If we did understand that we all have bias and if we did practice awareness, we might (in this case) have a multifaith calendar in our office for reference, we might ask around, or we may simply do a google search to know when the big religious holidays are for the people we work with, teach, serve, or know. Because our reality isn’t everyone’s, and we don’t know everything.

Bias awareness is the foundation of the work I do as a speaker and facilitator. Without it, D&I work - to me - is just window dressing.

What important holidays are you missing? What important holidays are you celebrating in the quiet of your home or community, oblivious to your colleagues at work? 

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder
author, speaker and facilitator on issues of diversity & inclusion

Last week I read Toronto Star columnist Rick Salutin’s column (The Ramadan kids go to the cottage). What struck me most about what he writes is how words alone fail us.

He writes about having 2 Muslim children spend a few days at the cottage with his son and himself, and the experience of fasting alongside them since it is Ramadan. He mentions the slower pace and the quiet that settled in after the first day; a sort of meditative state, he says.  And then he goes on to discuss slowing down and the deliberateness it brings with it.

Which got me thinking of how little words tell us without context – except that we often don’t realize this is the case. By having a small experience, he was able, in a few short paragraphs, to connect me with this month in a way I haven’t before. Because of this column, I can connect to the quiet that I experience on a slow walk with my dog, or canoeing or sitting in nature – and I can now feel some of the essence within the month. He wasn’t sharing facts, or just using the word Ramadan to stand for it all, he shared his experience.

As we hurry through life, and the busy-ness and bottom lines of work – how often do we brush aside opportunities to share experiences and stories because there is no time or we think we “get it”.

What opportunities are we missing (and who are we missing) as a result?

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder