Push Back on "DEI Hire" Comments, and Other Actions for?Allies
Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better?ally.
1. Push back on “DEI hire”?comments
On Sunday, when President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down from his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, I noticed a disturbing trend on social media: some people were referring to Harris as a “DEI candidate.” The implication? That she is only being considered because of her gender and race. That she is not qualified to do the job.
A few years ago, one of my coaching clients, a Black woman, heard that an executive at her company had disparagingly called her “a token.” For context, she is a talented leader with decades of industry experience. I fumed when she told me.
By calling someone a “token,” a “diversity hire,” or a “DEI candidate,” we undermine them. We send a message that they don’t have the necessary skills or experience. That we’re not expecting them to perform at the same level as their peers. That they shouldn’t have been hired (or voted into office) in the first place.
If you hear someone use the phrase “DEI hire” in your workplace, speak up. For example, “I’m pretty sure everyone we hire has to pass the same rigorous vetting process” might be sufficient.
For added emphasis, consider adding, “My interviews were really thorough. How about yours?”
2. Abolish racist?language
While I’ve addressed using inclusive language in past newsletters, I’m bringing it up again. This time, I’m focused on adopting anti-racist language in corporate writing. Think of customer-facing communication, internal policies, process documentation, comments in software, and other kinds of content.
I appreciate Intuit’s Abolish Racist Language guidance. It is part of their Content Design guide, which they give to anyone writing for them. Here’s just one example:
“We don’t use black, white, dark, or light as metaphors. Language that puts a positive connotation on white/light and a negative or mysterious one on black/dark reinforces anti-Black and colorist stereotypes. We choose more direct language to get our point across. We only use these words as literal visual descriptors, not value judgments.”
So, if you’ve ever wondered if terms such as dark mode, black hat hacking, or white glove are racist, be sure to check out Intuit’s guide.
3. Overcome DEI imposter?syndrome
In his new book, Building Inclusivity, Toby Mildon wrote:
“Imposter syndrome is another barrier to senior leaders getting involved in EDI initiatives. Senior leaders often feel they are not diverse enough or do not have the right to discuss certain issues. In an EDI survey for a Fintech company, everyone except LGBTQIA+ employees felt they belonged. A director questioned his role in discussing LGBTQIA+ matters, realising his responsibility as a leader to ensure LGBTQIA+ employees felt heard and included. Senior leaders often feel pressured to know all the answers. Additionally, they perceive EDI as requiring extra effort rather than integrating it into their existing roles.”
I’ll add that it’s not just senior leaders who can have these concerns. It happens to employees at all levels.
Mildon recommends incorporating these principles of radical candour:
To learn more, check out Building Inclusivity, available on Amazon.
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4. Embrace the “failure?bow”
Building on Mildon’s advice, I think many of us step back from DEI initiatives because we’re concerned we’ll make a mistake. That we might say the wrong thing. Or act in a way that’s not helpful and possibly even hurtful.
It can be a lot easier to pull back from these conversations.
Yet, keeping quiet when we see biased, offensive, or inappropriate behavior doesn’t make us neutral; it makes us complicit. It means we’re okay with the status quo. It means the opposite of allyship.
I want more people to put in the effort to be better allies, even though we might get it wrong. Because the best allies are those who are committed to continuous improvement. We admit when we’re wrong or could do better and correct our course. We resist getting defensive and insisting that we’re already doing enough. We apologize. We listen and learn. We iterate.
I recently spoke about getting comfortable with making mistakes on the Call In Podcast with Diane Johnson Flynn One technique I learned from Flynn is to embrace the “failure bow.” She explained:
“There’s an improv technique of taking the ‘failure bow,’ which I do very frequently in the comfort of my bedroom at night. Today, I have failed. Then you have to pick up the pieces and move on.”
Long-time subscribers know that I write an annual accountability edition of my newsletter where I share the mistakes I made during the previous year. I may start calling them my failure bows. ??
If you’d like to read about my past mistakes, here are my 2023 Accountability, 2022 Accountability, and 2021 Accountability editions. ??
5. Community Spotlight: Spread out notetaking responsibilities
This week’s spotlight on an ally action from the Better Allies community is from a subscriber who wrote,
“After reading your newsletter, I asked different people to volunteer to take notes at a 3-day team summit. I made sure that the same person didn’t take notes for more than 1 or 2 meetings per day so that the burden didn’t always fall on the same person (who would have likely been a woman in most sessions).”
Thank you.
If you’ve taken a step towards being a better ally, please reply to this email and tell me about it. And mention if I can quote you by name or credit you anonymously in an upcoming newsletter.
That’s all for this week. I wish you strength and safety as we all move forward.
— Karen Catlin (she/her), author of the Better Allies? book series
Copyright ? 2024 Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.
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Strategist | Executive | Coach
8 个月By fostering an inclusive and supportive environment, we can break down barriers and ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, feel valued and empowered.?
Helping Tech Leaders Find Their Leadership Powers | Executive Coach | CIO & IT Leadership Strategist ICF Certified Coach | Former IT Executive and | Bates ExPI? Certified
8 个月Let’s work together to make it less hard for everyone.
Building confidence in senior leaders to drive diversity and inclusion | Trusted Advisor | Author of 'Building Inclusivity' and 'Inclusive Growth' | Speaker | Podcast Host | Inclusive Leadership Coach
8 个月Really appreciate you including my comments on how to overcome DEI imposter syndrome, thanks Karen.