"On the identities that shape us"

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you" - Maya Angelou

This beautiful quote captures precisely the feeling I’ve had for the past six months. It is as if I went through an awakening: because of the work I do in the area of diversity, inclusion and equality, I became increasingly aware of the identities that are all part of me. Identities that don’t always get room to surface in our society. Depending on the context, sometimes we show more of one identity, and sometimes of another. I realized that my cultural identity, which is linked to my Hindustan-Surinamese roots, isn’t one that I can always fully express. I thought and sometimes think that it is not fully appreciated. Hence, it’s often limited to playing some Indian songs in the car, when nobody is listening, and visits to my favorite Indian restaurant in Utrecht.

But by hiding parts of yourself, you also disempower yourself and remove some of your authenticity, of who you are. My vision is to make diversity, inclusion and equality foundational in every organization, and I want to feel powerful when doing do. Hence, on March 3rd, I was pitching on stage at ‘A Cup of Ambition’ to share a personal story. And I developed a workshop format about sharing values through story-telling and creativity, ‘Melting the Iceberg’. What happens to your (unconscious) assumptions when you are able to connect on a deeper level with one another, so that you see more than the 10% you usually do?

By sharing stories we can see more of the other 90%. Even though, graduated in economics and law, I believe that KPI’s for diversity are an important instrument in achieving structural change, I am the first one to admit that individual data points never tell a full story. They’re therefore also not the way towards inclusion. An inclusive workplace requires connections, empathy and mutual respect. Fortunately, I’m not the only one with this view. I read a very good article about it in the Harvard Business Review "How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion" by Selena Rezvani and Stacey A. Gordon (2021) that I’d highly recommend.

In this first(!) Sparking Gems newsletter I’d like to share a lot with you (e.g. news, articles, podcasts). It was hard to make a selection, so please share your feedback on what you find useful or not. I’d also like to invite you to, despite full agenda’s and everything that’s happening in the world right now, to continue to have meaningful conversations with one another. Everywhere around me I see that this is very needed and very useful. If you need help with this, my workshop format ‘Melting the Iceberg’ may be beneficial.

Together we work towards inclusive workplaces.

?Inclusive regards,

Ashmita (she/her)

"How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion"

Which steps can you take to use storytelling to formulate your diversity policy and enable and encourage employees to tell their stories as part of this endeavor? You can read the article here

"To Inspire Your Team, Share More of Yourself"

The more you can show the human being you are, regardless of your role as leader or employee, the more you can inspire your team.?Read more...

“Melting the Iceberg”

Feeling inspired by the Harvard Business Review article? Feel free to contact me about the ‘Melting the Iceberg’ workshop. In this workshop, you’ll reconnect with your personal values and you’ll create a “value board” that helps you to tell your personal story. Curious? Read this reference!

"Book recommendation (Dutch) - De inclusieve organisatie"

On May 17th, I went to the book launch of Madhu Mathoera in book store Scheltema in Amsterdam. Like me, Madhu works in the DEI profession and recently completed her first book. She handed out the first copy to her daughter, which I thought was beautiful. I will definitely read her book and would like to recommend to you to do the same. You can leave her a review if you like and buy her book here.

"Podcasts - Leadership through the eyes of…"

A while ago, I met Annemiek van Poppel. She is a coach for leaders and teams and has a podcasts in which she interviews DEI experts. We had a very nice conversation in which we tried to answer the question: what does DEI require from you as a leader? Listen to the podcast here.

"Inclusive business events: why and how (in Dutch)"

The awareness of the need to organize business events in an inclusive manner is increasing. It is about more than just dietary wishes. During the EventPlanningDays I presented about this. For a small amount, a recording of the event is available here.

"Inclusive entrepreneurship for smaller companies and self-employed entrepreneurs"

What happens if you apply an inclusive workforce policy right from the start of your enterprise, department or team? No ‘fixes in hindsight’ but an organization in which people come first. Sounds like utopia? Maaike van Riesen (Incluvision) and I don’t think so. Visit our free virtual webinar on June 9th about this. Register now

Contact

Please let me know what you think about this newsletter! I hope it inspired you and motivated you to take action. There’s so much to tell and share, but I’ll save a lot for the next time. Do you want to contact me? Please do so, and also have a look at our renewed website. Together we work towards inclusive workplaces.

P.S.: want to read this newsletter in Dutch? Subscribe for the Dutch newsletter here!