Inclusion Starts With I…When a Moment Becomes a Movement

At Accenture, we aspire to be the most truly human organization in the digital age, where we are committed to helping our people succeed both professionally and personally. This commitment has pushed us to really listen to each individual, understand their aspirations and tap into how they are feeling – through things like our Thrive workshops.

A few months ago on the train from London to Paris, Amanda Leacy, the global inclusion and diversity managing director on my team, shared feedback from our people about what made them feel included – and excluded. She explained that a group of passionate employees wanted to be involved in making a video to impact people in a meaningful way. 

Fast forward a few weeks and Amanda shared the video they created. Sitting at my kitchen table, I watched their beautiful clip with tears streaming down my face. I watched as Melissa, a woman of color, shared her feelings of frustration when people assumed in meetings that her white male colleague was in charge, not her. And, when Mark described the disappointment white men can feel when their promotions aren’t celebrated as much as other colleagues. And, the awkwardness that Shaheen and Zahra feel when people assume they are the same ethnicity just because their skin is a similar color. And, the annoyance that Tony feels when people believe he is less committed to his family because he is a man. Their honesty and emotion touched me in a way I’ve never experienced before.

Their message: inclusion, diversity and belonging is about everyone. We all share a common need to be understood, valued and feel a sense of belonging. And when we have a greater awareness of and connection to each other, real culture change can occur.

This sense of belonging is really the new frontier on our journey. Pat Wadors, CHRO at LinkedIn, has coined the phrase, “DIBS”, and she defines it beautifully:

• Diversity is what makes us unique – both our seen and unseen attributes
• Inclusion is the verb – the action of “inviting to the table”
• Belonging is how I feel when I’m my authentic self – valued, safe and willing to take risks and innovate

We’ve since shared the video internally and externally, and it touched people deeply – helping them realize that bias can appear in both expected and unexpected ways. Each of us has the power to make a difference – to create a true sense of belonging where people can be themselves and at their best, both professionally and personally. 

 Given the strong emotional response, our people asked immediately to share the video with family and friends outside Accenture. After listening to them we recognized the opportunity to use #InclusionStartsWithI as a catalyst to create a broader and deeper dialogue beyond our four walls. 

I sincerely hope the voices of our people start a movement, inspiring you to join the conversation. My ask is that you make a commitment to act, publicly or privately, because I believe every person’s voice has the power to change the world.  If you are comfortable sharing your commitment publicly, post it to your favorite social feed using #InclusionStartsWithI.  Also, here is a Facebook filter you can use – search on "Inclusion" or "Accenture" on the frames page on Facebook.  It’s unbranded because this isn’t a marketing campaign. It’s about all of us.

  It’s on each and every one of us to break through the barriers that separate us by starting a new conversation and backing up our words with actions, every day. To borrow from one of my prior blog posts, it’s the small stones that we move every day that will eventually move mountains. I truly hope you will join the #InclusionStartsWithI movement and invite others to do the same.

Connect with me at @EllynJShook1