Inclusion 101: Advocating for Yourself in the Workplace

When people hear the word “advocacy” they often think about another person, a cause, or a controversial topic. Have you ever thought about how far you would go to advocate for something or someone you care about? Now, think about this, when is the last time you put “you” and “advocacy” in the same sentence?

The unfortunate truth is, not many people think about (or are comfortable with) advocating for themselves and if you think about it, not many people encourage each other to advocate for themselves. As professionals in the workplace, we are often taught to be humble, agreeable, and quiet. When this path is taken (which is often), many professionals end up feeling neglected, taken advantage of, and mistreated.?

Our goal through our “Conquer Your Career” series is to empower, uplift, and encourage you to build the career YOU want and in order to do that, you NEED to advocate for yourself. That advocacy includes vocalizing your need for safe spaces, respect, inclusion, and representation.?

Advocating for safe spaces?

We spend a lot of time at work, so it’s important that employers intentionally create safe environments. This also counts if you are operating in virtual spaces. A safe space at work means one where people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or physical appearance feel comfortable and don’t feel that they’ll face discrimination or harassment from colleagues. This is probably the most challenging thing to advocate for because microaggressions, unconscious bias, and straight-up racism and sexism are easy to spot when you’ve experienced them but very challenging for people who have the privilege of not facing any of them to understand and empathize.?

The first thing you can do is ask HR about the policies they have in place for ensuring all employees feel safe. If they don’t have policies; it’s time to hold them and senior leadership accountable. And keep in mind that this process is always easier when there are several employees who express the same concerns; so we encourage you can find other colleagues who are willing to advocate with you.

Advocating for inclusion

After George Floyd’s murder and the mainstream rise of Black Lives Matter, a lot of companies made a lot of promises without much action. Many companies promised to be intentional about inclusion at all levels of the organization, but we haven’t seen a lot of progress other than Black women being hired to lead Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion teams and endure a lot of stress.?

To advocate for inclusion, you have to request training for all employees, especially managers and senior-level leadership. Company culture starts from the top and these are the people who need to take the most training. We’re not talking about a one-day workshop; no, there needs to be continuous education and multiple training opportunities with an effective facilitator throughout the year.?

This type of change might not happen in a year, and it’s probably one of the most frustrating things you advocate for, but the lasting change will leave an impact long after you move on to your next role. If HR says there’s no money in the budget for this type of training, give them a good Annalise Keating side-eye because they have the money and if enough people request the training, they’ll make it happen.?

You deserve safe spaces?

As you can see, there are many ways to advocate for yourself in the workplace. While each situation may present its own unique challenges, it is always important to remember your end goal. What else is important? Knowing and believing that you are worthy of advocacy. You deserve safe spaces, respect, and inclusion at work. Under no circumstances should you ever accept less.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with advocacy. Have you done it? Thinking about it? Let us know in the comment section below.?

The “Conquer Your Career” series for bold and unapologetically talented professionals who are ready to build more meaningful and fulfilling careers. Each month, Chelsea Jay and Portia Obeng will break down some of the most controversial and trending topics related to the job search. Please read our previous articles, “Everything You Need To Know About Asking for a Raise”, “How to Win at Interviews: Selling Yourself as ‘The One’”, and “Getting Real About Promotions: Do you really want it?” and leave a comment under the article to let us know what you think!?

Chelsea Jay is a Nationally Certified Resume Writer (NCRW), Online Branding Expert (NCOPE), and podcast host of “Chelsea’s Career Corner.” She also holds certifications in career and life coaching.?

Chelsea is known throughout the career development industry for her bold, unapologetic, and straight shooter methods when it comes to tackling the job search, building professional brands, and climbing the ladder quickly (with less stress). She helps professionals across the globe rebuild their confidence, improve their mindsets, develop (and execute!) goals and most importantly, building a career with purpose.

Portia Obeng is a social media strategist with nearly 10 years of experience in social media strategy and content management. She started before Snaps were chatted, Instagram had stories, and Tiks were toked; and her current specialties are Instagram and LinkedIn.

She works to help people and organizations understand how they can use social media, not let social media use them. She encourages them to step away from continuous mindless scrolling and figure out how to use social media to enhance their work, lives, and personal brands.?

Portia loves being Ghanaian, spicy food, dancing, live music, listening to podcasts, experiencing new countries, and reading a good book (preferably on a beautiful beach in Ghana).