I was working with a large Fortune 500 company considered to be one of the diversity and inclusion leaders. The CEO was championing diversity. He had all the right policies and procedures in place. Senior management was more diverse. Culture at that level was starting to change. A young African-American man pulled me aside to talk. He said he was the…
“I have a friend who keeps making offensive jokes about LGBT people and racist comments about Black people, but I don’t say anything. I don’t want my friend to be mad or hurt her feelings,” a colleague told me. My reply, “If you are really a diversity champion, if you support equal rights and opportunity for everyone, then you…
During a recent client meeting on inclusion, when the words LGBTQ came up, one of the meeting attendees remarked, “I’m not anti-gay but I just don’t believe that should have special rights.” My first thought, “Oh no, do we really have to have this conversation again?” Obviously we did. I told this woman that LGBT people want the same…
Target is not backing down in its policy to let people use the bathroom according to their gender identity. A group called Faith 2 Action, who says they are a “pro-active launching pad for the pro-family movement,” F2A, is organizing a “Don’t Target Our Daughters Day” on June 4, In the past, we saw companies back down because of fear…
A recent email message said, “It seems like every time I read the news, there is some story about racism, homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, agism, gender discrimination. What’s going on? In the “old days “ you didn’t hear about all of this discrimination. It’s because people are overly sensitive. You can’t say anything without being accused of wrong doing.” The sender…
A reporter asked me for three business benefits of diversity. Here is my response 1- Breakthrough innovation in products and services Research in the US and Europe shows that breakthrough innovation is increased and accelerated by diversity and inclusion when certain factors are in place- • Senior leadership has a diversity and inclusion mindset • People know each other on…
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner! Is It Diversity? In 1967 there was a comedy-drama about interracial marriage with Sydney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn, Beah Richards, and Spender Tracy. Interracial marriage was still illegal in some states when the film was made. At the time, the film and its subject were a “big deal.” While there are still people who “shudder” at…
I’m tired of people talking about cultural competency. I’m not sure what it even means. It sounds like it is limited to “being good” at one culture, or just good enough to pass. I prefer to talk about cultural intelligence, or cultural flexibility which are processes to be able to interact effectively with people from any cultural group. Cultural intelligence…
It’s Gay Pride month when LGBT people and their allies take to the streets, see LGBT films, and assert their rights as human beings to be individuals, to love, have families, be as neurotic and stressed as everybody else, and be left alone. What if those of us who believe in diversity, love and inclusion were louder for one day…
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