Brainz Magazine strives for excellence in creating a positive culture and safeguarding diversity, equity, inclusion, dignity, and respect for all. We realize that a diverse team will benefit our users and our business by offering different perspectives and life experiences. We want our users, customers, employees, and partners to enjoy a welcoming and safe corporate culture.
The DEI panel is hand-picked and invited to contribute due to its knowledge and valuable insight in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The DEI panel will work for a better future and the goal is for everyone to be represented and for no minority to be left out.
Understand what’s impeding your ability to build an inclusive workplace. Do you have a clear understanding of what inclusion is? What are your inclusion intentions and does it align with the impact you want to make? How does it look in practice? What does inclusion look like through the cultural lens of your talent? Why is it important? Inclusion is about ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard, opinions are considered and value to the team is evident. It’s an action-oriented, community-centre skill that is the responsibility of the collective in this New Age of Leadership. You have to be aware, acknowledge, and accept that there is an inclusion gap that exists which may be poisoning or stalling the cultural excellence you desire within the organization. The solution, invest in the creation of safe spaces where your talent can genuinely share matters of their heart and mind and explore harm-repair solutions without fear of retaliation, backlash, or blacklisting. Organizations can no longer be passive bystanders or willfully ignorant because their brand will tarnish or at the very least be viewed as complicit “keep the status quo/change-resistant agents” in the DEI movement. We are experiencing a societal shift where top talent views Inclusion as mission-critical and as a competitive edge.
2. Nama Tasi
A Seat at the Executive Table
It's about time companies create room for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the C-suite.
Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is rapidly becoming a call to action companies cannot afford to dismiss anymore or offhandedly delegate to HR.
As the C-suite sits down to draw out and plan the company's goals and direction, it is imperative DEI become one of those.
Creating a solid plan on how to achieve DEI is a huge part of making it a reality and having a face behind the goals for the sake of accountability will pull that reality even closer.
Why?
Because now to the goal and plans we had we have added intent and accountability.
Operating in ambiguity is quickly losing taste. Companies that invest in purposely leading conversations around DEI in their workplaces demonstrate their value for their people.
It's the people who make the company after all.
It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: If the people win, the company wins.
1. The power is in the listener so listen deeply and well to your staff. When you listen deeply to someone not only do they feel heard but they also feel seen.
2. Take on them as ingredients in a recipe to make a delicious meal. Each individual brings a unique flavour to your organization and you must receive them well.
3. Each person matters. Believe that statement and live into who you need to be to show up that way for your staff.
4. Dave Bahr
Stop, Look, & Listen: When hiring, you are more than likely going to come across an applicant who discloses that they have a disability. In these situations, I like to use the formula “Stop, Look, and Listen.” Stop and acknowledge that this situation is different from what you’re used to and it may be necessary to change your typical approach. Look at the person and recognize that their experience as someone with a disability is different, and consider what you and your company can do to accommodate those differences. Listen actively to the person’s requests for reasonable accommodation with an open mind. Most are simple requests that will allow them to perform their tasks just as well as an able-bodied individual. –
5. Suzi Freeman
Diversity opens us up to new ideas, helps us see more possibilities in any given situation, and makes for a more beautiful world. Diversity gives us richness in our lives that we would otherwise lack if we only interacted with people who are just like ourselves.
But how can we create a diverse and inclusive environment at work, where employees feel like they belong?
An organization can promote belonging within its environment by creating a culture of inclusion. This can be done by first training the company leaders starting from the top down then educating employees on diversity and inclusion. With the input of all employees, a diversity and inclusion policy can then be created and implemented.
One way I think about bringing equity to the workplace is in the hiring process. Depending on a business’s location, the social demographics may be fairly diverse, and the applications should reflect that. If this company’s talent pool is largely homogenous, leadership should consider whether all of the possible candidates have an equal opportunity to apply for positions. For example, is the only way to apply for work through an online portal? If so, who might be missing the opportunity by not having consistent access to the internet? Also, could someone with a disability be able to navigate this portal? This sort of analysis allows us to think about equity at the systemic level to focus on removing barriers.
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8. Latrice Ross
It is important for an organization that is just beginning its journey to cultivate greater inclusion to begin by assessing the current state of inclusion. This can be accomplished by analyzing the processes, procedures and practices of the organization to identify any areas that may create the opportunity for bias to enter into an organization’s way of doing business. One effective way to conduct this current state assessment is to follow the employee life cycle. Additionally, an organization should also include employee perceptions. This can be gathered using surveys, interviews and focus groups to gather information directly from employees about their lived experiences working with their organization. By starting any DEI strategy by conducting a current state assessment, an organization can Uncover DEI gaps and challenges that are preventing the cultivation of a truly inclusive culture. When DEI professionals are armed with data, they can create strategic initiatives specifically targeted to the organization’s specific needs and successfully cultivate greater inclusion and belonging.
