National Inclusion Week. 28 September – 4 October, 2020
It’s good to have a specific event, or series of events, advocating and even celebrating diversity and inclusion in the workplace in all its forms. So many people doing so many things in so many places. At last, perhaps, we have woken up to the issue, recognised that tick-box compliance to over-formatted diversity targets is simply not relevant or sufficient. It merely drives organisations to a few half-hearted initiatives which for too long have been considered “just enough”.
But, just enough is not enough. Posturing and gestures will not do. An occasional wringing of hands, a few desultory briefings of workshops, and a shaking of heads at failing to reach diversity targets for the nth year in a row is no longer acceptable. Minimum effort with maximum publicity does not make for a serious policy or indeed for culture change.
It is too easy to make the topic of diversity and inclusion one centred around what organisations, their leaders, their managers and their diversity champions ought to be doing. We are missing the point. Inclusion has much less to do with organisational initiatives and much more to do with a personal commitment to action which each and every one of us should be making. Let’s get personal – inclusion is about you and what you intend to do. Inclusion is about us, not them.
So, this week, this special week, I’d like to invite you to reflect on what are you personally going to do to be more inclusive? The theme this year, “Each One, Reach One” is a challenge to each one of us to demonstrate simply but tangibly what we are prepared to do. Each one of us. And to keep it personal, it is not the grand gesture we are looking for, it is a simple request to each of us.
You see, what we personally do about inclusion strikes many of us as being so hard. Very few of us go out of our way to be nasty, difficult, off-hand, officious, prejudiced. Most of us would be horrified if people felt that way about us. We certainly try to “do no harm”, and we keep our heads down. Indeed, most of us dislike overt prejudice and unkindness and recoil from offensive and demeaning language. In our own quiet way, we would say we “believe” in a diverse and inclusive workplace. Turning that belief into action is a very different matter. We are reticent, reserved, shy, embarrassed, non-plussed, tongue-tied, confused, anxious, lost for words – dozens of excuses, reservations, prevarications. Believe me, I am often no better than anyone else at this. Frankly, being inclusive is not easy, it requires deep understanding, self-awareness, conscious thought, and in some cases behaviour change.
My ‘tweak’ (and I am known for my tweaks more than my twitters!) to this year’s theme is to ask you to go out of your way to connect to one person in your workplace who you do not know particularly well but who you may in some way feel excluded or overlooked for whatever the reason.
Please note those words in italics, go out of your way, because they are key to the notion of inclusion. Inclusion needs all of us at a personal level to actively do some good. We may be rebuffed, seen as odd by our colleagues, risk being misunderstood in our intentions but if we truly and genuinely go out of our way, we overcome those obstacles, take courage and step forward. “I don’t really know you very well, would you mind if we had a coffee together?” or “I wonder if I could ask your opinion on something?” or simply “How are you settling in at work?” It need be nothing more than this. You may receive a rather short crisp rebuttal, or a non-committal wan smile – fair enough. But in all likelihood you will find very soon that “I am listening to you, I want to know more about you..” is welcomed and encourages further discussion, bringing that person in, not just to “the organisation” but to you, as a personal connection. Just in case you think this is too twee for words, or too simple, or simply too awkward, then look up the research into what actually makes “inclusion” successful in the workplace. Extensive long-term research by Professor Ben Fletcher asserts “Diversity and Inclusiveness Is Good for Your Wellbeing — and becoming more inclusive improves your happiness and wellbeing.
The impact you personally can make in the workplace by going out of your way to seek to include others, to draw them in, to ensure they are noticed and valued, is experienced by the team as a whole, not only by that particular person, and interestingly enough by yourself. Better wellbeing all round.
So, please use this important week to make a commitment, it may set off a train of events that is transformative and positive for you and for others.
Jayne Carrington
September 2020
