Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Shari Dunn to Intentional Conversations!

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation begin!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM SHARI:

“I wouldn’t take anything for the journey now.” -Maya Angelou

• My background as an attorney, teacher, and journalist brings depth and multi-approach to DEI consulting. This comes into play every day.  
• New book, Qualified, Black women are the canaries in the coal mine and they have been signaling that something is wrong for a long time.
• There’s too much trend, this isn’t happening in isolation. 
• Inhospitable for Black women, means it’s going to be inhospitable for many other people. 
• Competency checking, name it, describe it and what to do about it.  
• There are people in the pipeline, but the pipeline is blocked by competency checking.  
• Imposter syndrome is the symptom of competency checking. 
• Youth and competency checking. Try not to put the burden on Black people. Structures and institutions should change, show kids that this isn’t a reflection on them so they can see it and know it’s not about them. Give them a historical context. 
• Must pull apart these large terms to get the appropriate solutions. Not surface level solutions. 
• You can’t outlaw the word Diversity and Equity. 
• Make the unconscious, conscious: Until we make unconscious ways, conscious, we will say its fate.
• Need to remove the barriers so people can naturally move forward, and systems can change. 
• People are rightfully nervous or fearful because the mindset now is that people want to say it’s fate, and not make the unconscious, conscious. 
• The difference now is that more White people are seeing it, there’s an opportunity to stop the mindset. 
• Storytelling and messaging is key. People on this side have not been very clear. Don’t want people hung up on the word, describe the term so people understand. 
• To have a diverse environment, you must go slow to go fast.

CONNECT WITH SHARI:

Visit her website

On LinkedIn

Purchase Shari's book, Unqualified

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