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: certain groups and individuals have become emboldened, saying and acting however they choose towards others. Trump’s ascendancy to the White... Read More
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. However, it may help to understand what’s happening in an objective manner by looking at it through the lens of an assessment tool I often... Read More
The recent admission by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that law enforcement officers are racially biased has been rightfully described as “unusually candid.” However, no-one has called James Comey’s remarks “original.” Comey, like so many before him, is calling for “honest and open conversations” about race and law enforcement. It seems after... Read More
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 ranks is not good enough. They must create an inclusive culture. Despite being recognized as one of Canada's top "diversity employers", creating an inclusive culture is... Read More
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 recently made a keynote presentation to 200 at a staff development conference at Toronto's George Brown College. I was impressed with the effort the College... Read More
[caption id="attachment_665" align="aligncenter" width="660"] The Grand Canyon and the Colorado River[/caption] 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 discrimination, racism and creating inclusive workplaces, but their approaches are very different. After attending an... Read More
[caption id="attachment_629" align="aligncenter" width="300"] http://goo.gl/2IBGP4[/caption] 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 from their leaders or managers: meaning or direction, trust in and from the leader, a sense of... Read More
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 results. It has been a harsh winter here in Ontario. With a record number of days at -20C, 40 per cent more snow than normal... Read More
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 modeling inclusive behaviour. They are taking part in both formal and informal processes that support the development of an inclusive organization. They understand community expectations and hold their staff accountable for... Read More
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 composition of top management teams by the Centre for Effective Organizations (part of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California) has... Read More