As we continue to navigate the complexities of our modern world, it’s time to focus on taking the conversation further and dive deeper into what building an inclusive culture means. More importantly, how do we get beyond just conversations, how do we turn awareness into action?

Our ongoing DEI webinar series at OpenSesame assembles some of the brightest minds in DEI for discussions around how organizations can level up their workforces and build psychologically safe environments.

Are you measuring DEI progress with the right metrics? Take our DEI survey to find out.

Define your DEI anchor. 

“When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, it’s not something where you can fly in an expert for two hours, do one training and then you’re done,” said Tara Cooper, DEI consultant at OpenSesame. 

Achieving a true commitment to DEI takes time and practice. It’s okay if you don’t get it right on the first few tries. In order to hone in on an effective DEI strategy, it helps to define what your DEI anchor is as an initial step. An anchor for DEI is a key area or mission that you wish to focus your organization’s time and resources on. It helps you to set priorities and align on goals. The anchor can be socioeconomic, political or cultural in nature, but it gives you a lens through which to start building an action plan.

So leaders should take some time to self-reflect at both the professional and personal level. 

What should be the DEI vision for your organization?

Ensure you have support from leadership. 

The responsibility of promoting DEI within an organization cannot be assigned to just one person or consultant. In order to succeed, you need buy-in from leadership. Senior Leadership  buy-in is essential for the success of any DEI program. What is happening at the bottom typically won’t change if nothing is changing at the top. For organizations that are serious about improving the experience of underrepresented employees, senior leadership needs to take charge and drive the conversation. 

“Much of this work is pulling the wool back from peoples eyes and showing how insidious unconscious bias can be and how socialized we are to be discriminatory. We want people to slow down on their reactions to others and think about how they treat people,” says Cooper.

Start your organization’s DEI journey by accessing our DEI toolkit.

And it can’t be reduced to a mere, simple checklist. It is the responsibility of leadership to determine how deep the organization is willing to go and what they’re willing to invest in DEI. And that will look different for each organization. It depends where an organization is in its DEI journey. Are you at the level where you’re hoping to improve hiring practices? Or at a level where you’re requiring learning opportunities like unconscious bias training for all employees?

“There are trainings that aren’t super deep but their purpose is to just get conversations started. But if you’re wanting true transformational change, you’re using outside consultants, you’re taking those extra steps to ensure psychological safety and build that proper scaffolding,” says Cooper.

In addition to inclusive leadership training for managers, it’s important to seek advice from outside consultants and DEI subject matter experts. Bringing in a third-party helps to catch problems that leadership may not see and to execute a roadmap for the future.

Foster employee engagement and commitment. 

To effectively promote awareness and sensitivity towards DEI, organizations need to successfully harness the energy and curiosity of their employees in order to drive momentum. However, depending on where your workforce is in the DEI progress index some conversations with employees might feel new or uncomfortable. 

DEI should be a leadership directive, but says Cooper, it’s crucial that individuals are doing the work at every level of the organization. She also stresses the importance of affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups, for workers of marginalized identities. 

“I’m all about self-care. So if you need to have an affinity space to discuss the issues you need to discuss and build yourself up so you can be more productive in the workspace, then that’s what they need to be able to do.”

Affinity spaces sometimes come under fire for being “divisive” or a form of “self-segregation,” but Cooper encourages leaders who feel that way to look at the larger picture. The concept of affinity spaces are not new, as they tend to form organically and frequently occur in various settings.

“Think of all the instances where employees may separate into subgroups in an organization, the gatherings where it’s only men or only white people. If you only get nervous when the subset is around a certain race or gender, then you should question that.”

As organizations continue to embrace DEI initiatives in ever-increasing numbers, it is critical that employees fully comprehend their role in achieving DEI goals. To achieve this, dig deeper into what an inclusive workplace entails and the transformative impact it can have on your organization. In essence, your “why” must move beyond surface-level understanding and into a more profound exploration of the power of inclusivity, towards belonging.

The post How to Find Your Organization’s DEI Anchor appeared first on OpenSesame.

Where it all started

The origins of Women’s History Month began in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized the President to proclaim March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” In the 1970’s, local groups were celebrating Women’s History Week. One of the most notable celebrations was organized in Santa Rosa, California by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women in 1978. 

March 8th, International Women’s Day, was chosen as a point of observance. Dozens of schools planned special programs for the week. Over 100 community women participated in presentations in classrooms throughout the country and organized an annual “Real Woman” essay contest.

After petitions were signed from the National Women’s History Project in 1987, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which officially designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” (Source: March is Women’s History Month). Women’s History was no longer a week-long celebration but the entire month of March marking the celebration of women, their feats, milestones, and their true power. 

Celebrating women in the workplace

It is an indisputable fact that women and men remain unequal in the workplace. The general wage gap between women of all races and men of all races is about 18 cents (Source: Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap). This number significantly differs when comparing women of color, along with LGBTQIA+ women. Women of all race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and religious affiliation should be celebrated and empowered in the workplace. Across the world, employers are leaning into diversity and inclusion for a better work environment for all. This is a special month, in particular, to fight and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

So what can we do to celebrate women in the workplace in March? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• • Craft a get-to-know-you post for the women in your organization and post on corporate social media platforms
  • Run a daily social media takeover where different women in your organization post on your corporate social media accounts for the day
  • Interview the women in your organization or invite guests to go live on Instagram and answer public questions
  • Buy the ladies of your office a coffee (doubleshot energy!)
  • As a company, invest in nonprofit organizations that support women and girls (e.g. Girls Who Code, The Malala Fund, Invisible Girl Project, Girls Not Brides USA, Global Fund For Women). For an extensive list, click here: Women’s History Month & Nonprofits Focused on Women & Girls
  • Start a book club and share inspiring books from female authors
  • Female-focused roundtable: Go around and talk about the women/woman/womxn you are most inspired by and why
  • Support BIPOC women-owned small business and give a small gift to the office
  • Identify and stop using gender-biased language in meetings, job postings, day-to-day conversations 

Treat every month as Women’s History Month

Although March is specifically dedicated to Women’s History Month, check in with yourself and your organization to make sure you are advocating for the women in your office, especially women of color. Are you giving them the right platform, voice, opportunity, creative input, and respect? OpenSesame provides your organization with engaging courses you can take to inspire, educate, and boost confidence to stand out as a leader. Check these out now:

• • Getting Equality with Men: Don’t Let your Organization Work Against Diversity 
  • Assertive Communication Skills for Women
  • Leading with Gender Inclusivity
  • Small Acts of Confidence: You are Not an Imposter
  • Influencing in Meetings

With courses offered in multiple languages, and available on multiple devices, OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired global workforces. Check out our free course of the week, and if you have any questions contact us at info@opensesame.com today.

Sources:

https://womenshistorymonth.gov/about/

https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/womens-history-month/womens-history-month-history/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/us/womens-history-month-why-march-explainer-trnd/index.html

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=2133&c_src=E200305AXXXXXX0&

The post The growing power of women: From history to history-in-the-making appeared first on OpenSesame.