Organizational Capability

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Starting the Conversation

Section 2.0: Why Start the Conversation?

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Starting the Conversation

Section 5.0: When and Where Should You Start? The Six C’s

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2.0 Why Start the Conversation?

Starting the conversation is what allows organizations to create welcoming and safe spaces for equity-deserving individuals in organizations – so why is this important for your success?

  • Organizational longevity is dependent on employee satisfaction.
  • Increased employee satisfaction and engagement fosters greater loyalty, retention, productivity, and overall performance.
  • Stakeholders such as customers and investors are increasingly aligning their decisions with social values like employee well-being.
  • Diverse, lived, and professional experiences lead to smarter, more intentional, and higher quality organizational decision-making.

Black Employees

According to the Center for Talent Innovation’s study, Black men are two-and-a-half times more likely to be satisfied with their job and intend to stay if the company has moderated forums to discuss race.

Women

As women move into leadership roles, their day-to-day experiences often get more difficult. They are also more likely to face microaggressions that challenge their competence, such as being interrupted, hearing comments on their emotional state, or having their judgment questioned.

“Aboriginal” and/or Indigenous Employees

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action #92 point 3 calls businesses to provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This requires skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Employees with Disabilities

When employees with disabilities have role models at the leadership level who have disclosed their own disabilities, they are 15% more likely to have higher career aspirations than their peers in other organizations. With this factor in place, employees are 26% more likely to be open about their disability.

2SLGBTQ+ and/or Gender and Sexually Diverse Employees

Biphobia, homophobia and transphobia still exist in the workplace and remain under-represented in diversity and inclusion conversations. Only 59% of organizations communicate strong leadership messages on the importance of including 2SLGBTQ2+ and/or gender and sexually diverse employees in the workplace.

Employees of Colour

Among professional Canadians of Colour who are highly “on guard” at work (anticipating and consciously preparing for potential bias or discrimination), 50% to 69% have a high intent to leave their jobs.

5.0 When and Where Should You Start? The Six C's

Stage

1. Commitment

2. Communication

3. Conversation

4. Co-Creation

5. Continuous Feedback

Definition

Make a commitment to courageous EDI goals that will transform your organization and are embedded in your business strategy.

Share your commitments with your employees, customers, and other stakeholders  to encourage transparency and build trust.

Start the conversation to create a welcoming and safe atmosphere for employees.

Work with employees from identified priority groups to ensure EDI commitments are tangible and resonate.

Create a structure to receive continuous feedback to ensure your EDI commitments lead to maximum impact and minimal harm.

What does this look like?

Set your EDI goals and map them against your 5- to 10-year business strategies with clearly defined metrics for success.

Showcase these goals through varying channels such as employee newsletters, company intranet site, external website, and social media platforms.

Refer to the Four B’s of How to Start the Conversation (Return to “4.0 How Do You Start the Conversation?”).

Co-create solutions with established Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) such as the Black Professionals Network and existing Employee Equity and Diversity Councils.

Case Study

An anonymous employee feedback survey and regular touchpoints with employees through focus groups and in-person dialogue.

6. Caring
Each component of this journey requires intention, care, and humility.

Scenario Checkpoint 2

Welcome to your Starting the Conversation Scenario Checkpoint 2!
Pearl reflects on what she read from “Where and When Should You Start?” and thinks about current activities the art gallery does to promote EDI. Currently, the art gallery has a section on its website to discuss its commitment to supporting local, diverse artists and promotes local artists as well. However, the art gallery does not have any formalized EDI efforts in place.

1. What steps could Pearl take? Select all that apply.

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Large Organization

VMWare Inc.

A significant part of VMWare’s effort in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death was designed to ensure that its Black colleagues felt secure. These efforts were co-created with the organization’s Employee Resource Group, the “African American POD (“Power of Diversity”) community.

A director in the organization felt that her white colleagues separate the Black people who have violently died in racist incidents as being somehow different from their co-workers. “By sharing, I wanted them to see that it’s all Black people that have fear, not just ‘those Black people’.”

The company created an intranet page that used the hashtag #wehearyou for them to share their feelings and concerns. Additionally, as part of the campaign, VMWare contributes to social justice organizations and matches employees’ donations. It has also instituted more training on inclusion for its managers.

Definition

Microaggression

Microaggression is defined as: “A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group” – Source: Merriam Webster

Definition

Unlearning

Unlearning is defined as: “To make an effort to forget your usual way of doing something so that you can learn a new and sometimes better way” – Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Definition

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is defined as: A framework for understanding how different aspects of a person’s social and political identities (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, physical appearance, etc.) combine to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies advantages and disadvantages that are felt by people due to this combination of factors – Source: Kimberlé Crenshaw, TIME

Definition

Privilege

Privilege is defined as: “The unfair and unearned advantages individuals are granted for having, or being perceived to have, social identities that align with those deemed to be superior according to societal rules and norms. It is often experienced as an absence of barriers related to a particular social identity (e.g., White privilege, straight privilege)” – Source: Egale

Definition

Safe Space

Safe Space is defined as: “A place intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations” – Source: Merriam-Webster

Safe spaces allow individuals to feel comfortable having brave and honest conversations.

Definition

Emotional Tax

Emotional Tax is defined as: “The combination of feeling different from peers at work because of gender, race, and/or ethnicity, being on guard against experiences of bias, and experiencing the associated effects on health, well-being, and ability to thrive at work” – Source: Catalyst

Definition

Tokenism

Tokenism is defined as: “Performative policies that ostensibly promote diversity or equality (placing women or diverse groups in leadership positions), but do not truly have a positive impact on the workplace. Tokenism isn’t progressive, and it especially causes harm to tokenized individuals, causing extra pressure to succeed due to being perceived as representative of a group and often leaving them in an alienating work environment” – Source: Catalyst

Definition

Psychological Safety

Psychological Safety is defined as: “An environment that encourages, recognizes and rewards individuals for their contributions and ideas by making individuals feel safe when taking interpersonal risks. A lack of psychological safety at work can inhibit team learning and lead to in-groups, groupthink and blind spots” – Source: Gartner