Blogs & Thoughts

Benjamin Franklin was an author, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and politician. He said many things. In fact, hundreds of quotes have been attributed and misattributed to him. Perhaps his most [...]

While there are human rights commissions in every province and at the federal level, the authors argue for a more coordinated, horizontal approach such as a national anti-racism commissioner who [...]

In this interview with Hamlin Grange, CEO of DiversiPro, he explains why Anti-Racism must be part of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Conversation.

Everyone has unconscious biases—instinctual shortcuts that help us navigate the massive amount of information our brain is constantly processing. These shortcuts are often helpful, but sometimes [...]

Unconscious bias can harm employers’ bottom line, company culture, customer experience, say experts

“PEOPLE LOOK AT the news and see Black and brown faces reading the news,” says Hamlin Grange, who used to do just that for a living.

The anti-racism movement that erupted during the pandemic is already changing corporate culture. But to be truly successful, the new push for greater diversity will have to be built on the spirit [...]

While there might be an increase in the number of on-air personalities who are people of colour, that's not an accurate measure of success, says diversity consultant and former journalist Hamlin [...]

The race-based failings of many of the companies seeking help from diversity and inclusion expert Hamlin Grange are not new.

Defunding the police in the face of wages that have gone up, and keep going up. Plus physical vs. virtual futures for office space, and how to look like a boss in your next Zoom meeting [...]

Being "not racist" is no longer good enough. You must be antiracist, and it is time we seriously reflect on the changes that are surely coming to our society, Hamlin Grange told a group gathered [...]

Depending on whom you listen to, the current COVID-19 virus outbreak is either just a bad flu or a healthcare emergency of pandemic proportions. Either way, it is a crisis situation. And in times [...]

Observations on Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Competence by D&I Strategist Hamlin Grange

There’s no denying the recent U.S. election has had an impact. Donald Trump was elected by polarizing voters into “Us vs. Them” camps and focusing on fears. Now the genie is out of the bottle: [...]

Public comments by politicians can bring issues such as anti-immigration and racism to the forefront in a powerful way. It’s easy to have an emotional reaction, whatever ‘side’ they’re on. [...]

The term “political correctness” has become code for so many things lately; from conversations about women and racial and ethnic minorities. It has become a license for some people to say [...]

In the late nineties, I was a journalist with CBC TV in Toronto, doing a documentary series on new immigrants to Canada. The TV cameras followed one man and his wife on their journey from [...]

When Canada’s new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was asked by a reporter why 50% of his government ministers in his Cabinet were women, he said, without missing  a beat, “Because [...]

Some people may say the Disney Problem is a matter of unconscious bias, or even cultural blindness. However, it’s more likely a lack of intercultural competence. The writers and producers [...]

The United Nations has declared March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racism. However, every day should be the day we eliminate racism. The following was first posted in 2014.

Reading the Department of Justice Report on the Ferguson Police Department is a lot like reading a “How-Not-To-Do-It Guide” to law enforcement. The findings of the DOJ are shocking in the [...]

Although we are all prone to having unconscious biases about different people, it should not be used to obfuscate or used as cover for egregious acts against people of colour.

  The word “forgiveness” has been popping up a lot these days in the media. Actor Mark Wahlberg is asking for forgiveness for committing racially motivated assaults as a teenager.  In filing [...]

In his poem Dream Deferred, Langston Hughes asked:  “What happens to a dream deferred ?”  Sixty three years later, we have found an answer in Ferguson, Missouri. Some people say the [...]

 The province of Saskatchewan has a booming economy but projections are that the current workforce will shrink as workers get older. So they are looking for workers. However, merely filling the [...]

In today’s increasingly diverse world it’s important to make meetings and events accessible to everyone; it’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. I [...]

Few people would disagree that Blacks and other non-whites are treated differently than whites by the criminal justice system.  All the statistical data show that Blacks get harsher penalties, [...]

There’s an ongoing war of words between the anti-oppression, diversity and inclusion and intercultural competence camps. It can be nasty sometimes. All sides have the same goal of eliminating [...]

A successful diversity and inclusive program has many moving parts, so it’s important to make sure all the parts are operating at full capacity. And like a high-performance sports car, the [...]

Today is the International Day for the Elimination  of Racial Discrimination.  It is an odd day indeed. Do we wish each other “happy racism elimination day” or do we  express [...]

Canada is celebrated around the world for its tolerance and acceptance of people who are different. In fact, Canadians wear its multiculturalism as a badge of honour. although there are times [...]

  If an organization wants to be more inclusive, how leaders behave will determine success or failure. Leaders set the tone for others to follow. It is said that employees expect four things [...]

Implementing a diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiative is a lot like cross-country skiing; it’s important to find the right balance so all the elements are working together to get optimal [...]

Members of a Diversity and Inclusion Council completed the following sentence: “Leaders in an organization are being inclusive when….” They are walking the (diversity) talk and [...]

Just because a team is diverse — having people with different perspectives, race and cultural backgrounds — is no guarantee the team will be effective. A recent analysis of the [...]

Newton’s first law — the law of inertia — states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. The same law can be applied to diversity and [...]

Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper to make two columns. In one column list the qualities of the Worst Boss you have ever had. In the other column list the qualities of your Best [...]

Many people and organizations are becoming more interested in implicit or unconscious bias and the role it plays in our interaction with those who are different. Just like “mindbugs” [...]

  The flu season is upon us and you can get more information about it than you can blow your nose at. But when you are in the grips of the flu and you are feeling like the Grim Reaper is [...]

For many people the word “diversity” is an honourific term that denotes positive things in the workplace, on teams or in neighbourhoods: including more creativity, more innovation, [...]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated yesterday (Jan 20) across the United States, in Canada and around the world.  This is done each year on the third Monday of January. The day had me [...]

Diversity, Inclusion Boost Innovation, Organizational Strength Diversity and Inclusion was the focus of the recent Credit Union Leadership Forum Edu-Leader learning event for senior leaders to [...]

A new study by researchers at San Francisco State University has confirmed what many people have known all along (at least those in the African Diaspora). The study titled, “When an [...]

We all have implicit or “unconscious” biases that could affect who we interact with, or who we hire or in what neighbourhoods we choose to live and raise our families. More and more [...]

Many people make resolutions at the start of the New Year.  Some people, however, avoid them at all costs; after all, they say, “Ill just break them any way.” Just visit a local health club and [...]

“Throughout our discussions with employees ……it was evident that many staff lack confidence in the ability of the current academic and business hiring process to ensuring hiring [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuuRipsd-7I&feature=plcp

Dawna MacLean encourages us to be courageous enough to go outside our comfort zones and to seek out False Truths and conquer them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRQSRed58XM&feature=related

When is a handshake more than a handshake? When is a nod a "yes" or a "no?"

Rodney King died without ever getting the answer to the question he asked so many years ago: “Can we all get along?” The man who ignited one of the worst urban riots in U.S. history [...]

Katherine Klein, Professor of Management, the Wharton School, discusses the need to  think more broadly about diversity and the role of leaders. Problems may arise when there is a diversity of [...]

DiversiPro President, Hamlin Grange & Change Dezign Consulting Principal, Michael Charles explore “Leveraging Talent in a Diverse Population”. Read more here via: The Mark    

Tom Crane is an experienced OD consultant, international speaker and facilitator  who specializes in working with leaders and their teams to build feedback-rich cultures that create and sustain [...]

Cultural Competence is a key performance attribute of successful organizations and will become increasingly important in the future.  Coaching is the skill to make sure that your team [...]

Finally, summer has arrived and we’re well into baseball season now, but it’s time to make some change ups and sharpen those skills. Draft Picks DiversiPro is now an Associate Member [...]

Hamlin Grange, Principal Consultant with DiversiPro, talks about why cultural competence is important for businesses and organizations. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUgmFMw7YZM]

President of DiversiPro and Award-winning Journalist, Hamlin Grange was recently featured on Who’s Who in Black Canada as part of their Black History Month tribute, highlighting 28 of [...]

In the final days of Black History Month I am in a reflective mood. For me Black History Month has always been a time for introspection.www.whoswhoinblackcanada.com. The Month is meant to be a [...]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6OKbHbhrIk] The business community has been dealing with issues of diversity for many years, with many successes to show for their efforts. What can the [...]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSLHvlLRt40] How we live with the earth, and how we live with each other — these are two of the defining issues of our time. This audio – [...]

Culture is defined as a system of values, beliefs, attitudes, traditions, and standards of behavior that govern the organization of people into social groups and regulate both individual and [...]

One definition of a movement is an ongoing, informal group action that's inspired by a passionately shared idea and directed toward positive change. I believe such a "movement" is taking place [...]

The most recent example of “Going Postal” occurred recently in Manchester, Connecticut. Omar Thornton, the newest driver for Hartford Distributors, a family-run wholesaler of beer and wine, was [...]

Ten years ago a most remarkable thing happened on Toronto radio; Canada's first "urban music" -- read "black" -- radio station was launched. FLOW’s journey has not been easy. It faced incredible [...]

The mere mention of a sexual harassment allegation can be the modern day version of the scarlet letter for the victim as well as the alleged offender. An allegation of sexual harassment has the [...]

A recent study found that visible minorities are under-represented in the senior ranks of leadership in "the most multicultural city in the world"; just 14 per cent. The numbers are even more [...]

Besides thinking differently about how to pay for "effective, efficient and adequate" policing, a paradigm shift in thinking about how to police must also occur. The outdated and antiquated [...]

The latest cover of Vanity Fair features nine actresses as the faces of the "new Hollywood." The women have many things in common: they are obviously female, they are also pretty, thin and [...]

Nearly 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now-famous “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. His words galvanized his followers and punctuated the civil rights [...]

Canada is not a melting pot where everyone becomes part of some colourless gruel; rather we are the salad where each contributes to the whole, yet retains that which makes us distinctive. That is [...]

In a world full of diversity, Kinu taught me and those he met many things. Among them: Be open to new experiences: He enjoyed long walks to discover new people and places. He especially loved [...]

One year ago this month, a bold and out-of-the-frame project was launched to change the face of leadership in the city of Toronto. The primary goal of DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership [...]

The King of Gonzo journalism had it right after all: “The television business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like [...]

Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Prem Radhakishun is a TV celebrity in Holland. Until recently he was the host of PREMtime, a program on Dutch public televison. Being among the few non-white [...]

  Hilversum, the Netherlands: Hilversum is the media capital of the Netherlands all because a housekeeper refused to move to the capital city. According to a little-known story; the man (he lived [...]

Stockholm, Sweden: Majestic. Beautiful. Historic. Changing. Swedes have a wonderful word that expresses diversity: the “mangfald”, or “the “many-ness”. Immigration is quickly changing this [...]

Utrecht, the Netherlands: After a four-hour delay in leaving Toronto due to a technical problem with the KLM plane, arrived in Amsterdam. A 30-minute train ride too me to Utrecht. Diversity and [...]

As cities become more and more culturally diverse, it is vital that all residents are encouraged to become part of the life and fabric of that city. More importantly, cities must develop policies [...]

Racial profiling is one issue that can ignite emotions and inflame situations; partly because the allegations strike at the very core of our personal beliefs and partly because it is so difficult [...]