Cicely is a diversity and inclusion consultant and activist in Vancouver. Steph and Cicely riff on how we can cultivate more inclusive workplaces, how people in leadership positions can become more diverse, and how the hiring process can change to make this a reality. “I like to take people on a journey through D+I. Its not as simple as a one hour work-shop here and there. Its not a box-checking situation, which I think diversity and inclusion can become if its not done thoroughly or genuinely.”Cicely explains that the definition of diversity and inclusion is changing from tolerance in the workplace to the celebration of individuality, where we genuinely want diverse humans at the table. Evidence and research shows that diversity is beneficial to a business’ scalability, longevity, and profitability. She challenges us to have the hard, vulnerable conversations in which we acknowledge that we don’t live in an inclusive world, and that unconscious bias exists and that it often prohibits a diverse workplace. Because, ultimately, these conversation are beneficial for not only humans, but for bottom-lines. “5% of CEOs in Canada are female. Even less are women of colour” D+I can be overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start. Cicely suggests making a distinct effort to make meaningful connections with people who are different from ourselves. Because if we keep surrounding ourselves with the same type of people, we will never understand anyone else’s experience. “One small thing everyone can do is to be more compassionate with other peoples’ experience” Check out Cicely’s important work: https://www.cicelyblainconsulting.com Follow her inspiring content on instagram: @cicelyblainconsultingTake a look at the apology MEC CEO wrote about their failure to show diversity in their campaigns: https://www.mec.ca/en/article/outside-is-for-everyoneThe National Geographic recently acknowledged their racist past: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/from-the-editor-race-racism-history/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.