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

Yesterday I came across a poster entitled How to Build Community (created by the Syracuse Cultural Workers 1999). The last 2 lines made me stop and pause, so I’d like to share one of them today.

“No one is silent, but many are not heard – work to change this.”

Powerful, isn’t it?

Think about it: we all have something to say; we have experiences and perspectives to share that could be valuable, help us to connect, inspire someone, or lead to change or innovation (for example). But not everyone is heard.

In fact, we often hear from the same people over and over again. Sometimes these are the people who are simply the loudest. Sometimes in organizations it’s about position and responsibility.  Sometimes it is because of who we are, and the privilege and power our identities carry.

Here is the challenge for all of us: let’s take a look around today and notice who is taking up space – in our meetings, in the copy room, in the subway, in the coffee shop, at our dinner table – and then let’s take a look at those who are not being heard, ask ourselves what we might be missing, and make some space to listen.

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

Last month Australia made a significant change on their passport application forms; there are now three options for “gender” – M, F and X. 

When your passport doesn’t reflect what you look like – when your listed gender doesn’t match who you  are – it can be, in the words of Senator Louise Pratt, “very distressing, highly  inconvenient and frankly sometimes dangerous.”

This is a human rights victory for transgender and intersex individuals in Australia, even moreso because sex reassignment surgery is not required to use the “x” option.

Imagine the relief of being able to mark X and being able to move through customs like everyone else instead of being grilled about why your passport says you are male, but you look female (or vice versa). For people who have experienced greater scrutiny at customs for other reasons (like race, or real/perceived ethnic origin or religion for example – especially since 9/11) you will understand what this can mean.

Hooray for Australia! Change happens when people start to “get it” – and even moreso (and faster) when people in power “get it”.

Senator Louise Pratt’s partner is transgender. This gives her an inside view into the barriers that transgender and intersex individuals face – barriers that those of us who are not transgender or intersex may have no idea even exist. Because of her experience, her position and her conviction, Australia has change!

It’s a small change, one that doesn’t impact cisgender people at all. There is still an “M” and an “F” to choose from. Australia has simply added another option – to recognize that not all realities are the same, and to make travelling more equitable and safe.

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

Stephen R. Covey has come out with a new book. It’s called The 3rd Alternative. I read about it in the Globe and Mail last week and it’s on my list of books to acquire. I think it would make a great read for any organization committed to diversity and inclusion. Here’s why:

One of the barriers to inclusion is the resistance to change. Organizations look for the best and brightest when they hire, only to often stifle the very talent they were seeking by being set in their ways, and refusing to see the value in “out of their box” thinking. 

And it’s not just in organizations! As human beings we often mix up “I have always done it this way” with “my way is the best way to do it” or even worse “my way the only way to do it”.

Diversity brings new ideas, perspectives, needs and realities – all of which can create conflict. Stephen Covey’s 3rd alternative is about dealing with conflict in a way that is truly win-win.  Harvey Schachter’s article in the Globe and Mail summarizes it well: The 3rd alternative, he writes, is “not a compromise, but a whole new approach that combines the best of both sides.” 

The article lists the 4 steps that Covey outlines in his book as:

1. Ask the third alternative question
2. Define criteria for success
3. Create the third alternative
4. Arrive at synergy

I’m smiling just re-reading the article, and I’m looking forward to the book!

I can’t help but wonder what great things we could achieve if we didn’t dig in our heels out of fear or a need to be right.

What if we asked the third alternative question and were open to seeing where our collective genius could take us – in organizations, in communities, in families… and globally!

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder

I’m in New Brunswick today!
This afternoon my colleague and I will deliver Diversity and Inclusion workshops.
I love to facilitate, and D&I is “my thing”.
What makes this experience a little different, however, is that this part of New Brunswick is very French.

Which makes me wonder…do I tell them I speak French (albeit it’s rusty) or keep my mouth shut? It’s an interesting conundrum.

On the one hand, my fear is that I’ll open myself up for a challenge that, in an already tight schedule, may not be wise. But on the other, it allows me to show up as more of who I am (a Montreal-born formerly bilingual now Torontonian with excellent comprehension and not so excellent spoken French). More importantly, it may also make a difference to some workshop participants. Although I can’t promise to answer their questions in French, maybe having the option of asking in French will be appreciated.

Which leads me to my point.

There are many Canadians for whom English (or French, depending on where you are) is not their first language.  No matter how fluent you are in a second language, it’s often still easier to express yourself in your first language. And often “native speakers” speak quickly and we don’t catch everything. Sometimes we ask. Sometimes we may just nod and hope we get the general idea and that no one will notice. It can be an invisible disadvantage.

It makes me wonder how much we may be missing when people don’t have the option to share their ideas or ask questions in their first language, regardless of how fluent they are in the second (or third).

So today, I’m going to be brave and offer the option of asking questions in French, if that’s easier. I may not be able to answer in French, but if they are willing to be patient, I’m willing to try.

I’m hoping it will make the time we have together a little more inclusive.

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder

I have recently been reading about Google and their commitment to diversity and inclusion. Some of the things I’ve been reading make my heart sing, so I thought I’d share.

Google has Employee Resource Groups  (ERGs) for different communities (Asian, Black, LGBT, Latin American, employees with disabilities and women). The great thing about these ERGs is that they provide a place for employees who share an identity to come together to talk, learn and support each other, as well as creating magic internally and externally like:

- community-specific outreach
- speakers series to empower and inspire employees
- internal education and awareness
- helping shape company policy
- building external presence
- input on products and workplace issues
- supporting education initiatives

What strikes me most is the encouragement of employees to come up with ways Google can make a difference in communities, and their understanding that their staff help them to understand their customers better.

Google’s revenue continues to increase. What does that tell you?

But that’s largely external. Often companies start on the outside, and their internal environment isn’t part of the vision. Well, when I read: “At Google, being yourself is a job requirement”, I almost wept.

Sounds like they “get it”.

How would a culture like this transform your organization?
Who could you be at work, if you worked for a company like Google?

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder

On the heels of last week's interview with Anne Golden (CEO of the Conference Board of Canada) on CBC, here are 5 things Anne suggested companies need to do, to make a conscious effort to increase the number of women in senior management.  Anne made reference to these as steps CP Rail has taken in their effort (with success).

Of course, these are not specific to increasing the representation of women in senior roles...

Strategy
Making a more representative senior management team is not something that will happen on it's own. It requires commitment and a strategy. Strategies suggest that something is important, and gives it more weight while obviously providing a road map for accomplishing the goal.

Tracking
Anne's words in the interview were "what you inspect gets respect". Making sure you know how you are doing vis à vis your goal is a crucial component in reaching it. And tracking your progress also keeps the issue on your radar.


Networking Across the Organization
The opportunity to talk with and learn from others - in this case other women in similar roles, or other women in higher roles - is helpful for personal and professional growth. Networks build support systems, can create opportunities, and at the very least let us know we are not alone.

Recruitment & Succession Planning
Make no mistake, this is not about quotas. But if you have a commitment to increasing the number of women in senior roles, you need a plan. This is an internal plan for the women you currently employ who are on the track to senior management, as well as a plan for your hiring process.

Experience / Training for Promotion
Further to the above, mentoring and providing training  & professional development for the women in your organization so that they have a fair chance of being promoted is key. This is not to say that promotion won't happen without this, but given our national track record, it would seem that making sure female employees have as much in their professional toolkit as possible would help break through the obvious bias that exists.

Again, these steps can be applied to any group that is under-represented in your senior management. Take a look around and see who is missing.

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

We haven’t come as far as we think.
Although there are many more women in the workforce than in 1987 when the Conference Board of Canada started their study, the number of women in middle and senior management has flat-lined.

Men are still twice as likely to be in management positions as women. This probably comes as no surprise to many of you, but it’s something that we should not be complacent about.

Yesterday on Metro Morning, Matt Galloway spoke with Anne Golden, CEO of the Conference Board of Canada about the study they have just released (spanning 22 years: 1987 – 2009) that shows these numbers. She also asserts that studies show that companies who have women in senior management positions do better.

So, what’s up?

It’s the same old story: “the way it is” is powerful, so firstly, we often don’t even imagine a change, and often don’t notice who is missing from these positions since we are so used to seeing the same old guard. Plus, challenging our ideas of what a CEO or VP or Senior Executive looks like (not just regarding gender, but skin colour, cultural background, age, ability….) is difficult and often not comfortable. Challenging the status quo is difficult work, but worthwhile work.

Next week I’ll write about some of the ways companies can create change in this area.

In the meantime – take a look around.
Who are you seeing in positions of power? Who is missing in your organization?
Let me know! Add a comment and let’s start a conversation!

See more.

copyright 2o11 Annemarie Shrouder


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