Workshop Facilitator

Don’t be Afraid of the Data: Using Data to Drive Your Diversity Business Plan 

As many organizations are striving to increase diversity within their workforce, the challenge can arise in areas of how to recruit, where to recruit, and how to minimize employee turnover (increase retention). These three topics permeate through organizational culture and can be difficult to address if data is not collected nor analyzed. Utilizing diversity data can assist organizations in developing a diversity business case. This session will focus on utilizing diversity data, such as a diversity strategic plan to assist your organization in achieving desired goals and climate surveys (climate audits) to capture employee’s perspectives of current climate related to diversity and inclusion.

Your Guide to Conducting an Equitable, Effective, and Successful Search Process

Diversity, as a broad concept, refers to the many characteristics that differentiate us from each other and affect our experiences and perspectives. Striving for a diverse workforce has many benefits. A variety of lived experiences and perspectives facilitates robust intellectual exchange, necessary to the lifeblood of any organization that aspires to nurture an inclusive, diverse community. Diversity of thought also fosters more effective problem-solving teams and drives innovation. Yet, it is also a regrettable reality that, through both unconscious biases and structural inequalities, racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups often face barriers in hiring and professional advancement. This session will examine issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion as they relate to hiring practices within organizations. 

Microaggressions, Equity, and Inclusion

There is an urgent need to bring greater awareness and understanding of how microaggressions operate, their numerous manifestations in society, the type of impact they have on people of color, the dynamic interaction between perpetrator and target, and the educational strategies needed to eliminate them. Individuals who receive microaggressions can feel harmed and/or hurt by language that targets their identity. Microaggressions also hurts and re-traumatize people who already experience oppression in the larger world. This can significantly affect one’s ability to be present and learn as they are consumed by their need to take care of their emotions. This session will assist in building diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content and knowledge on supporting minoritized individuals.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity is an active and continuous process of engagement with differences. These differences can be people who are of different races or have different cultures within a group or organization. It is important for organizations to recognize and celebrate the diversity within an organization, but an organization cannot stop there. Organization must ensure individuals feel included. Inclusion is an active and intentional environment that welcomes all individuals and provides access for all as well. Inclusion promotes awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions. This session will assist in building general knowledge of diversity and inclusion.

Effective Communication in the Workplace  

Effective communication helps us better understand a person or situation and enables us to resolve differences and build trust and respect. The content of the messages you are trying to get across is the starting point of effective communication. It is imperative to ensure that what you are communicating is clear, and that the information is accurate. Beyond the content of the information you present, it is essential to focus on what methods you are using to communicate. In some cases, you will need to focus on your body language and means of interaction when you are the communicator. Other times, it is more vital to concentrate your attention on how you respond when coworkers communicate with you. This session will aid in developing effective communication skills/styles and discuss the four basic communication styles: (1) Passive, (2) Aggressive, (3) Passive-Aggressive, and (4) Assertive.

Unconscious Bias

Unconscious biases are traits that every individual possess. It can be difficult to identify our own implicit biases, or even to admit that we have them. But research has shown that everyone has implicit biases. This does not mean, however, that everyone has the same implicit biases, or that it’s impossible to change one’s implicit biases. Unconscious biases are thoughts or feelings that one is not aware of that influence judgements. These biases are rooted in preferences for or against something. One’s preference may lead to having favorable or unfavorable biases. This session will aid in learning about unconscious biases and working to address the biases in order to ensure the biases do not impede thoughts, judgement, and actions in the workplace.

Social Justice 101

Social justice actively promotes and advocates for equal rights for all. The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice also brings awareness about discrimination or unequal treatment of a group or groups of people and actively works to eliminate unfair treatment. This session will aid participants in exploring the difference between diversity and social justice as frameworks and learn key social justice concepts including oppression, privilege, intersectionality, social identity and matrix of oppression. These forces are at play in our day-to-day lives, our culture, and within our organizations and often go unnamed and unexamined.