Is your office truly accessible? Only 6% of people with a disability are wheelchair users, yet when we think about designing accessible spaces, we immediately think of wheelchair accessibility. What about the other 94% of people with disabilities, including invisible disabilities?

In this episode, accessible design expert Ed Warner shares practically how to create a workspace that's truly inclusive. Ed is co-founder and CEO of Motionspot, an award-winning design consultancy specialised in creating accessible and inspiring spaces, and is also the UK's Government Champion for Accessible Design.

Listen in to learn about evidence-based design, some no-nos and quick wins for accessible spaces, design principles for neurodiverse individuals, and top tips for low-cost/no-cost things to do to improve your workspace accessibility.

Links for episode:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlbMqvt4SOU

- https://www.motionspot.co.uk/accessible-design-inspiration/

- https://www.motionspot.co.uk/blog/

- https://www.motionspot.co.uk/wheelchair-accessible-toilet/

Gamiel Yafai is the co-author of Demystifying Diversity and Managing Director at Diversity Marketplace. When he conducted 35 pieces of research about the perceptions minority groups have towards employers he learned 2 major things:

1. People know your brand, but they don’t know your employer brand. They don’t know the variety of roles you have on offer that might be accessible to them. Often, employer brands are almost invisible to these groups.

1. Of the challenges that minority groups faced in 2003, they’re still facing 95% of them in 2019. If you’re an employer, it’s a mistake to think that what you’re communicating is reaching everyone.

Listen to our interview with Gamiel to hear his advice for making sure your employer brand helps - not hinders- you in your mission to attract diverse talent.

Listen to this episode and more from Inclusion Works at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

If you’re reading this, we don’t need to convince you about why it’s important to practice inclusion. But inspired by the conversation across National Inclusion Week in the UK a few weeks ago, we wanted to share all of the best bits of advice our guests have shared so far on the small things all of us can do to be more inclusive TODAY. 

We ask all of our guests ‘What’s one thing everyone can do to be more inclusive this week’? Tune in to hear practical tips from:

• Dame Jayne Ann Gadhia - newly announced CEO UKI of Salesforce
• Aubrey Blanche - Head of Diversity & Belonging at Atlassian
• Asif Sadiq - Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at The Telegraph
• Kathryn Jacobs and Sue Unerman - Authors of The Glass Wall 

Will you make a change this week?

Subscribe to Inclusion Works on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or tune in on our website.

When you think about inclusive environment design, you might think about creating gender neutral toilets. But what about creating toilets accessible for guide dogs too?

If you’re a gay man and a disabled person, where do you go when your LGBTQ+ ERG and your Disability ERG host an event on the same night?

In turns out, often our well intentioned inclusion strategies can be exclusive. 

Toby Mildon is a Diversity and Inclusion Architect at MILDON, formerly D&I lead at Deloitte and the BBC, and a pioneer of intersectionality.

We chatted to Toby about:

• The problem with tackling D&I one underrepresented group at a time
• How to navigate the tension between benefits that are genuinely inclusive and those that are naturally exclusive, like childcare supplements
• His thoughts on “people-first” language (and inclusive language in general)

Watch out for Toby’s forthcoming book due out in Autumn 2019, tentatively titled Inclusive Growth.

Jackie Glenn is the former Chief Diversity Officer of EMC Corporation, Dell, author of Lift as I Climb: An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America and founder of Glenn Diversity & HR Solutions.

Jackie’s adaptation to American culture as an immigrant from Jamaica helped her cultivate skills and insights that uniquely qualified her to lead EMC’s efforts to create a diverse workforce, and an environment that would retain top talent from around the globe.

On her journey, Jackie identified 10 critical behaviours or ‘gems’ that all organisations must practice to create a truly inclusive environment that enables diverse teams to thrive.

In this episode, we were honored that Jackie shared 4 of her 10 “gems” with us.

In the D&I community we often talk about how difficult “the only” experience can be. The feeling of being the only woman, or the only person of color in a room. But what does that really feel like and how can it shape our perspective of what a powerful inclusion strategy really looks like? 

Stephanie Foster is a Product Manager at the leading fintech business Fiserv, and founder of the Women in Wireless movement. We’re honored that she shared her experiences of being the only woman of color in the room, and how that shaped her world view of what it takes to be a better ally. 

Links Stephanie referenced in this podcast were:

• McKinsey/Lean In Women in the Workplace Report 2018 - https://womenintheworkplace.com/
• The Memo by Minda Harts [book] - http://mindaharts.com/
• Mellody Hobson Wants Less Talk and More Action When it Comes to Corporate Diversity - https://fortune.com/2018/09/25/brainstorm-reinvent-mellody-hobson/
• Mellody Hobson's TED Talk Color Blind or Color Brave? - https://www.ted.com/talks/mellody_hobson_color_blind_or_color_brave?language=en

A CEO once asked Denise McQuaid: How can I have a position on inclusion when I have no experience of being in the minority? 

We’re all trying to build a more inclusive workforce, but ‘minority labels’ can be dangerous if they’re not used in the right way. To truly build an inclusive culture, we need to stop making assumptions about people because of their label. We all think differently, and harnessing the power of our neurodiversity often means giving everyone the right to offend.

On this episode of Inclusion Works, we got to talk to Denise, Customer and Innovation Director at Connor HR Consultancy, about inclusion, the courage to be vulnerable in the workplace, and how to build bridges around the D&I agenda.

Suzanne McGovern is the Chief Diversity Officer at Splunk.

A mother of biracial children, she’s personally invested in paving the way for equal footing for all people in the future.

“Success to me is when you don’t need to have a Chief Diversity Officer in the future. That’s just part of having a business.”

In this episode, Suzanne was vulnerable enough to share some of her struggles with work/life integration years ago, and how she defied those who said she was on the “B-Track” when she moved to an internal position at her company.

Early in her career, Natalie Sigona applied for a promotion. She didn’t get it. She knew in terms of the work she'd done, and in terms of her submission, that she was deserving of the promotion.

When she went to get feedback from those involved, one of the things they mentioned was the pink handbag she’d been carrying. They said she needed to be careful about how people might perceive it. Even though she was very angry, she handled the situation with grace. In fact, the way she addressed the situation actually enabled her to get a double promotion.

This story highlights how remarkable Natalie is, and how committed she is to diversity and inclusion. That’s why we wanted to invite her to be a guest on this episode of the Inclusion Works podcast. On the show Natalie shared some of the personal experiences that made her aware of inclusion. She also talked about what inclusion means to her and how we can all start taking steps to increase inclusion and belonging in our own workplaces.

Inclusion and diversity aren’t about lowering the bar. They’re about finding the right bar in the first place.

Fiona Smith and Katy Murray, cofounders of Catalyst Collective a consultancy creating resources and community for leaders who want to shift the dial on diversity and inclusion, visited the Inclusion Works podcast recently to share their views on what’s wrong with our traditional models for measuring worker success.

Many workplaces have an unspoken, unconscious view of what the ideal worker looks like. It’s typically been defined by the traditional white male model of leadership (which is, by definition, exclusive).

It often defines success by focusing on a particular educational background or certain life experiences that all too often are closely linked to privilege.

When we don’t question or consider the inherent bias in this model, we put undue stress on the few senior minorities who might be on staff. They consequently feel they must fulfill all of the mentoring, coaching, etc. responsibilities to junior minority staff.

If you’re looking to reset your bar, Smith & Murray have three suggestions to start.

• Use your privilege to get people's voices heard.
• Use your privilege to take people places.
• Make sure people get the credit for the work they do in the spaces where their voices aren't heard.