"Box-Checking" DEI Programs, Trainings, and Initiatives Can (and will) Re-traumatize You

After the George Floyd murder, ALL fortune 100 companies and many other companies and organizations in the US committed to creating or revamping their DEI programs. They poured millions of dollars into creating teams, hiring consulting companies, black and brown leaders and team members, CHROs, CDOs, you name it.

According to the Salary.com survey, 49% of HR respondents said they have a leader in place specifically for DEI initiatives, compared to 43% last year.?

These companies...

• Made public statements promising to hire more diverse talent from outside and by promoting from within.?
• Updated mission statements, websites, and marketing collateral.?
• Vowed to do diversity training and focus on DEI efforts.?
• Paraded their new black DEI hires all over LinkedIn and other business platforms and communications
• To be blunt, they did THE MOST!

The term DEI was plastered all over the place; and still is in some arenas.

So how can this be wrong??

Keep reading to find out!

With all the hype around DEI and hiring Black and Brown people in DEI positions at various companies and organizations, how could this possibly be retraumatizing??

In a recent conversation about this topic, this was the response from the person I spoke with.?

"The percentage of Black and Brown people in positions that actually represent the demographic that DEI is supposed to focus on is growing; what seems to be the issue, Anita? I mean, I do feel some type of way about it all, but not sure how you can state that it can be REtraumatizing. Are you saying hiring Black and Brown people for these roles was wrong?"

This was a great question, but before I answer it directly, let me paint a picture for you.

You arrive at work and attend a team meeting. Your management tells you about the wonderful organization owned and operated by a team of diverse women that they have hired to bring on board to do DEI training and that to make sure that all are informed, they make the training mandatory. Sounds good so far, right? Mmmm...hmmm, keep reading.

You attend this training as a Black or Brown woman with one eyebrow raised. You know from experience that most times when a company states that they are doing something that involves equality for Black and Brown employees, it has the energy of "checking a box" vs. a way to affect fundamental transformation and change from the top down.

So you go to this required training, kicking and screaming on the inside along the way, and it begins. What ensues next is several hours of reliving traumatic events and breakout sessions that leave it up to the Black and Brown people to explain to the non-Black and Brown people why the examples were considered hurtful, offensive, disrespectful, rude, and/or racist.

Wait a minute!!! How did this become YOUR responsibility? Why do YOU have to put yourself out there and be the spokesperson for your demographic? How are you expected to handle the rude, aggressive, and obviously racist comments you're being hit with within these breakout sessions? How could this NOT be considered traumatizing? Was this even considered? No, it wasn't! But that's another story for another article. Let's get back to how this is retraumatizing for you.

THIS is how. YOU had to be the one to defend your feelings, your culture, and your demographic to those who were obviously just as irritated as you that they were forced to sit through this training even though they didn't see anything wrong with the examples and didn't have a problem passionately sharing that with you.

Think about it, after the training ended, you felt some type of way. You knew exactly who was racist on your team, yet you still have to work with them. You now have to figure out what to do with the anger, sadness, frustration, hopelessness, stares, sighs, and whispers of the non-Black and Brown team members you see daily.?

What do you do with that energy when you get off work? How do you process it? How do you not take that traumatizing energy home with you? Perhaps it reopened old wounds. Maybe it triggered unhealed trauma.?

How do you keep what took place from keeping you playing small in meetings, not going after that promotion you want, or not showing up as the strong/confident leader you are? Why can't you shake it or let it go? Because you've now been traumatized/retraumatized, that's why! They have no clue what you needed, how it would affect you, or how to help you at that moment other than pointing you to a mental health benefits page on the company website.

Now that you have taken a moment to consider how you have been affected by this "Box-checking" DEI training failure, you decide to take a closer look at other instances during each of your jobs that have left a mark on your psyche.

With intention, you look back over your previous positions and identify traumatic events that have shaped how you view the corporate world and yourself. You remember the specific events that caused you to stop speaking up and taking up space, allowing you to believe that nothing would change.?

You start to feel the weight of all of this past pain and allow it to get in the way of your genius, as my client did in podcast episode #33 ~?Did You Have An Out of Body Experience At The Office??

Your past/current corporate trauma is the reason why...

• You keep getting passed over for promotion
• No one takes you seriously
• You've lost your self-confidence
• Your subordinates can see right through your insecurity
• People talk over you
• You don't get invited to certain meetings
• You keep getting "busy work" vs. work that you KNOW in your heart of hearts that you can do
• You are unhappy at your current position and have been for years, but you won't leave
• You keep choosing the wrong significant other (didn't see that one coming, did you?)
• Your relationships suffer with your mate and your children

Not only do you realize this has happened in your past, but you are living it in the present, not knowing what to do about it.

How can you...

• Stop the trauma cycle and "grow through" your past experiences so they no longer sabotage your career or entrepreneurial efforts?
• Stop ruminating over conversations with coworkers that get under your skin?
• Show up to the office feeling confident, presenting as the rock star you are??
• Begin to take up space vs. playing small, Sis??
• Level the playing field without falling back into your old habits when this is how you've behaved for years, maybe even decades?

You work with me, the Corporate Metaphysician?!?

Someone that...

• Is very familiar with what it's like to be caught up while running on the corporate trauma wheel.
• Can help you identify, work on, and grow through your experiences to begin to be happy in both business and in love.?
• Will partner with you for your success.
• Will be there to hold you accountable when you begin to fall back into old habits.
• Will encourage you when you start second-guessing yourself.
• Will help you heal from corporate trauma so that you can be the leader you are meant to be.

THIS is my mission, my charge! To help Black and Brown women heal from corporate trauma, increase their confidence (personally and professionally), and improve their leadership skills (there is nothing worse than reporting to a leader that leads with their insecurities).

While there may be a few similarities among all women in corporate America, there is nothing like a coach that "speaks your language" and has found a way to break free from the shackles that kept her playing small. Black and Brown women experience the workplace differently from their white counterparts, and I'm here to help you grow through ALL of it.?

Did this article resonate with you? If so, you have a choice to make.

You can keep complaining about the system if you want. Stating how white people don't give you the credit you deserve at the workplace, how you keep getting passed over, yada yada yada, or you can decide that you will not go through another year allowing your past to dictate your present or your future.

Why start the new year doing the same things you did this year and expecting different results? It's time to stop playing small, stop hiding your genius, and stop watching other people get the promotions, accolades, and bonuses you know YOU should be getting while your health and personal lives suffer.?

You're not getting any younger, and no matter how much you want others to change, your life will change when YOU change! It doesn't absolve non-Black and Brown people from being responsible, conscious, caring human beings, but you don't get to wait around for that to happen.

If you're ready, and I mean really ready, review the different Healing Corporate Trauma coaching programs?here.

Sometimes, you need someone to give it to you straight; you're welcome!

~~~

As an Executive Coach for Women, Professional Speaker, Corporate Metaphysician?,?Author of??The 5 Phases of Dating - The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide to Attracting and Maintaining Authentic Relationships, and the Creator of The Happy Executive Woman?

Anita teaches women of color how to heal from past relationships and corporate trauma, increase their confidence and improve their leadership skills.?

She is a board member of the Women Impact Network and Women In Technology, where she focuses on coordinating and creating professional development training for the members.?

Anita also coaches white allies on how to ACTivate Your Privilege!? and is hired to speak and train as The Corporate Metaphysician?at organizations willing to begin reversing corporate America's trauma by taking an honest look at their "unconscious DEI efforts," all using practical and metaphysical concepts.

Recently featured in...

ValientCEO Magazine!

Speaker's Magazine

For all coaching, media, or consulting inquiries, don't hesitate to contact Anita at?https://anitacharlot.com/contact.

To learn more about how to partner with Anita, go to?https://anitacharlot.com/services.

To join the waiting list for the upcoming For My Black and Brown Sisters monthly membership community, go to?bit.ly/formyblackandbrownsisters.

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