Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Interesting event, panel discussion: For me indeed "“DEI has always been Accepting people as they are, for what they are, adding variety with “tolerance and justice”. "

Toleration is the allowing, permitting, or acceptance of an action, idea, object, or person which one dislikes or disagrees with. It's a wider term. 

Diversity = the “what”

Diversity refers to the variety of similarities and differences among people, including but not limited to gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, native or Indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socio-economic difference, appearance, language and accent, disability, mental health, education, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role and function, thinking style, and personality type.

Diversity is Difference, Dimension, and Development. 

• Difference is good! Ignoring differences is bad. 
• When we talk about differences, we acknowledge that there is difference between groups as well as within groups. Dimension is a more appropriate term for the difference within groups
• Diversity is also Development : which is simply defined as growth. If you hire difference and dimension but your culture values sameness, there will be little to no development of your people.  

Diversity means, safely and openly, bringing together people form all variety and abilities in a space where they can truly be themselves. 

Jeeva shared her story on Diversity:

I worked for a firm where most of the employees were men and I was the only female employee to be worked on the live production floor(It’s a Mobile manufacturing company)

When I selected for the firm, I felt overwhelmed as it was my core company where I thought I could implement all my studied theories, I was topper in my college and got this opportunity from the campus interview among 65 students, so you could imagine how the feeling was!!

But things were not that much easy, as most of my colleagues are men they group and laugh together all the time, they don’t even care that I was there, I felt alone as they always shows that they are Group of men and they are seniors.

I have been in meetings where I used to get a comments that “ you always have some useless points! women always speaks without any point please say! so that the meeting will come to an end” this was a Joke for them but hurts me badly and still I can hear those voice in my mind.. If I made any point stronger with some evidence they call it as “Headstrong but no results” and rejects it straightaway! I was clueless, how to overcome as I cannot leave the job just like that since it’s my carrier and my family needs it.

I worked with the same kind of people for almost 3 Years, my bad dream days I could name it as scary days of my life, I was waiting for my day to come but worked towards it always, somehow I done one project where I struggled and got approval after 3 times rejection, that also when the senior leadership pressured for the project from each individual. You believe it or not the result was amazing and appreciated by one of the senior leadership guy. It was presented as the global project for the year and I won the “Employee of the Year 2010”, this is the day where I got recognized as an employee/colleague not as a women. But what would have happened if the project got failed! This thought comes to my mind even today, There are many people who still experiences this kind of struggle we cannot say that same kind of project success will comes to everyone! ,  So I hope this is an eye opener for diversity, every individual born with some talent don’t differentiate them by Gender, Age, race etc., give your hands to them and help them. 

Equity:

What is equity?  The word equity was included to point out that once you start to create diversity within your organization, you must ask some important questions: What are you going to do with that diversity? How are you going to cultivate it? And how do you want your people to feel, think, and act as a result of that diversity? Here are three components of equity you should keep in mind as you embark on a diversity and equity journey:

• Equity is not Equality: Equity is defined as the quality of being fair and impartial.  With equality, we treat everyone the same and give everyone access to the same opportunities. 
• Equity is Justice 
• Equity is Ownership

The Interaction Institute for Social Change has a great example of equity in Illustrating Equality VS Equity which shows three young people attempting to watch a baseball game. With equality, each person is standing on a crate of equal height attempting to peer over a fence. One has a great view, one has an adequate view and one has no view at all. The individuals are of different heights so the same sized crate doesn’t take that fact into account. With Equity, each person has the same view of the game. In the illustration, one person can stand on his own feet without a crate to peer over the fence but the other two need crates of different sizes to be able to see the game. That is the definition of equity – providing each person what they need in order to be equal. While we all are created equal we are not all treated equally. Equity recognizes that we need to meet peoples’ needs and not simply increase opportunities.

Equity is an honest understanding that not every person is considered equal by the society, and does not come from the same background, set of experience or fortune - and taking action. Fairness doesn't mean everyone get the same, fairness mean everyone get what they want. 

1) Some of you might have read the book Lean In ; Sheryl Sandberg narrates an incident. For those who do not know her, she is the COO of FB and founder of Leanin.org.  Sandberg was pregnant with her first child and had ballooned to the size of a "whale" (her words, not mine). Late for a sales meeting, she was only able to find a parking spot far from the front door of Google's headquarters,  and waddled her way inside. The next day, Sandberg marched in to see her boss, Sergey Brin, and demanded that the company create closer pregnancy parking for expectant mothers. Brin immediately said yes and wondered why such an idea had never occurred to him previously. Sandberg asked herself the same question. A closer parking slot for expectant mothers who require it – She said it, and now many  are implementing it!!

2) Next I would like to share experience from Seema one of our colleagues who was to share her thoughts today,  but who could not join us. She had migrated to Australia for her higher studies, her Manager gave her a book of slangs  so she could use it  in the day to day conversation  it helped her  get used to accent and be at par with others.  It helped her understand her colleagues better. A small but unique gesture from her manager helped her. 

3) I too have had wonderful and supporting managers and colleagues throughout my career so far. As we recruit and develop teams, though we try to keep our teams as diverse as possible, we ensure that the best person gets the job. It’s key to  identify what people are good at and give them what they need or want. Not all  have same needs. We try and ensure that  Learning and development opportunities and opportunities for growth, success and promotion is fair for all. We have sessions like Ignite – for all employees. We might not have our teams as diverse as possible, as we try to ensure equity. 

 Inclusion = the “how”

Inclusion is a dynamic state of operating in which diversity is leveraged to create a fair, healthy, and high-performing organization or community. An inclusive environment ensures equitable access to resources and opportunities for all. Here are three important components of inclusion:

• Inclusion is Incorporation: Incorporation is being invited to the table
• Inclusion is Involvement : Involvement is being asked to help plan the meal, attend the dinner, and actually get to dine.  Involvement requires active participation. A positive by-product of involvement is that it bolsters ownership. 
• Inclusion is Intentional:  When you are intentional about inclusion you seek perspectives that are not typically in the room and become deliberate in showcasing them. 

Inclusion begin with I. Inclusion means listening and learning from each other, to positively influence our culture and the great work we deliver. 

The way Lopamudra narrated was amazing, the natural flow added to the beauty.  She first summarized the topics, and for Equity gave a very good example stating, you want three boys to study, but they don't , the first say, he is thirsty, the second say, he is hungry and the third say he has no book. To make them study, you need to give water to the first boy, food to the second and book to the third. And she gave three examples of Inclusion : 

1) How when she joined a new company, she was not accepted by others, and she went and made herself part of the group.

2) How she was friendly with a colleague with hearing impairment, who asked her why, and she said that she was better than her, as she herself could not see properly and therefore could not drive.

3) How a boy when proclaimed that he was gay, was chucked out by his family, and though, did not have much, she got food for him, and so he gave her books to read.

An amazing virtual panel discussion, for me it was first, of the kind, with moderators like Freddy and Nikita. 

Thinking Independently, Together!