What are the best ways to develop your diversity, equity, and inclusion skills?

Understanding the individual concepts and their direct and indirect correlation to the smooth running of a workplace, is key. Too often DEI is haphazardly put together without enough thought put towards why each is important and relevant to key performance indicators. Having a diverse workforce without having equity and inclusion, is like having a menu with a variety of dishes with incorrect or missing ingredients and an oven which someone has forgotten to switch on!

- Be a sponge! Talk to others, read articles and key titles that focus on DEI challenges, improvements, and action plans, listen to podcasts. Be open to learning, going into anything with a growth mindset can make or break any experience. - While it can be uncomfortable to some, vulnerability will be your superpower while developing your DEI skills. Realizing and accepting what you don't know will only help you in intentionally investing your time to grow in those areas. - Give yourself some grace...this is a journey, not a race. The goal is to continuously improve, become more aware, be action-oriented, and intentional with how you are showing up for yourself and for others.

The first and most important step is to desire. Recalling that we are all unique and different may invite you to open your mind and your heart. In addition: 1. Recognize the necessity to enhance this skills. There is a lot to build even for those of us who actively participate. 2. Leave our security zone. It is probable that navigating diverse settings may prompt us to experience a sense of peril. Discovering that we're safe and that we're also learning something new is very satisfying. 3. Asking for help is essential. If you want to and don't know how, asking for help from HR, your boss or another person who can be a mentor, makes the path easier.

Remember to remain open and actively listen to those around you for their lived experiences. To be mindful that different life experiences create different perspectives and therefore the opportunity for new solutions to existing problems or challenges. Remain connected to a diverse range of people in backgrounds, generations, industries, and professions in your networks. Most importantly, let go of the need to be right. Being open and welcoming new ideas can be the first steps to greater equity, inclusivity and diversity.

understand the concepts and also understand the context - there's a whole vocabulary linked to the DEI industry but out of context these words can be meaningless - diversity is not an industry, it's a way of embracing the wider society and the diverse voices in it. sometimes it's easy to get sucked into "an industry" and forget the wider purpose - help people from all backgrounds feel they belong and can thrive

To move from having information to understanding and building awareness, you should also be attentive to what sources you are relying on, if they are reliable and what political interests they might represent. If you only consume information from mainstream media, for instance, you may miss some nuances that independent media will bring. If you only consume independent sources, you will be alienated from what the broader population is receiving. Find a healthy balance and do your best to move away from outlets with history of spreading misinformation.

Actively seek out all types of diverse voices. Many of us enter the arena from our lived experience. There are commonalities in needs and asks of marginalised groups when we look for them. - LGBTQI+ and people with disabilities commonly talk about their coming out stories and repeatedly coming out. - CALD communities and people with cognitive disabilities raise barriers with technical and hard-to-follow communications and processes. Connecting your community's needs to those of other communities strengthens our voices, by streamlining the change we are asking for. Making it easier for decision-makers to absorb the changes we're advocating for.

From a recent report I read that explores cultural diversity in philanthropy: Engage in collaborative efforts with strategic partners to review and refine guidelines, and norms; can be a good way to formulate a set of guiding principles aimed at fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace culture.

It's important to understand that our biases are a result of many factors, including ones we cannot control. Biases and prejudices are our brain's way of simplifying making decisions, and we are hard-wired to over-simplify. One way to explore your biases is to look at about 20 photographs of different individuals you don't know and write down a gut feeling about them as a neighbor. Don't filter your thoughts, this is a private exercise. Then look back at the photos and try to figure out exactly what gave you that gut feeling. You can also talk with a trusted colleague or friend about how you developed biases and how to unlearn them. What influenced you to think about a group a certain way, and how do you know that it's inaccurate?

This is, to me, the most important aspect to ensure a respectful debate - it allows for a discussion that is educational and allows for progress

Whenever you gather people from various backgrounds and experiences, you might find it helpful to start the dialogue establishing some community guidelines to establish rules for a productive conversation. These guidelines might include: - Avoid interrupting while others are speaking; - Focus on ideas and not on the people who are sharing the ideas; - Be mindful of your own boundaries and privacy when sharing personal stories; - Respect the group's privacy and avoid sharing externally personal details you might learn; - Do not record, photograph or videotape this community dialogue (if applicable); - Hate, harassment, or any type of prejudice won't be tolerated.

In my experience, the key steps were to act and push on these values with relentless pursuit. Essentially, in numerous organizations, we pushed forward with intentionality, little rhetoric or preaching, and giving serious effort to keeping the focus on people, with DEI at the center of our focus. It’s about people from the start and not so much about word games, colors or anything else.

Action-oriented DEIB also requires accountability and transparency. Create clear timelines for your activities, keep the group informed about the status, and schedule periodical meetings with the involved parties to make sure the plans are being timely executed. Many plans will reveal themselves more complex than initially imagined, so be realistic when setting deadlines, regroup and adjust them as needed.

Lived Experience is the core of our social change model. We are here to help amplify marginalised groups' voices. This means listening to and synthesising their needs for the consumption of decision makers. The feedback from decision makers, specifically how they struggle to make changes, is just as valuable. It may be that their inaction is rooted in ableism or racism. They are also people who are a part of the success of inclusive social movement. This is their starting place, often not for malicious reasons. Their feedback is vital to bring about social change.

If you, like me, are a member of a systematically minoritized group or community, your mental health should be your priority. Being a DEIB practitioner might make you, intentionally or unintentionally, poke old wounds, revisit traumas or process situations of bias and racism you've faced but haven't noticed before, so it can be personally challenging as well. Reserve time for your therapy sessions, self-care, and access your own emotional wellbeing. Some topics might be too triggering for you and it's ok to delegate to a colleague or excuse yourself from it if necessary. The line between making your work help your healing or hurting you is very fine, so seek assistance whenever you feel your health or wellbeing is being affected.

To develop diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) skills, it's crucial to adopt a multifaceted approach. Actively seek out and hire individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and open the doors to volunteers from diverse communities, ensuring that your organization truly reflects the world's diversity. Embrace a mindset that values inclusivity by giving fair consideration to people who might not typically be considered for interviews, thereby creating more opportunities for underrepresented groups. Establish a workplace culture that promotes diversity, emphasizing that our differences stem from unique life experiences and diverse knowledge. Commit to ongoing learning and self-reflection to continuously enhance yourself in this area.