This week is Neurodiversity Celebration week.
When I reflect on it, it was the heightened amount of messaging on social media that made me start researching around my own neurodivergency. This has culminated in me believing I’m Autistic.
So if you wanted an example of why these diversity weeks can be important, here’s a living, breathing example for you.
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash How often do you spend your evenings thinking about work? Perhaps you have issues sleeping because you can’t ‘let go’ of the thoughts that persist in your head. Even when you’re on holiday, you will find yourself checking your emails ‘just in case’. These are all symptoms of overthink. […]
This week I attended a coaching immersion down in Kent, UK. I was one of 12 in an awe-inspiring group of people doing incredible things in the world.
Whilst the experience was powerful, one thing we discussed is how gaining insights in of itself does not actually do really do anything unless we act upon them. (Actually, it was put in less eloquent terms: ‘f*** insights’).
It’s why during the immersion I committed to creating the Make Diversity Matter to You Programme. It’s a month long experience starting in July consisting of four 90 min weekly webinars and a community group with peer learning activities and resources.
If you’re interested in knowing more about the programme, drop me a message.
One of life’s great achievements is to write a book. But what happens when you achieve it?
I started my book, Make Diversity Matter to You in 2020. After the events of Black Lives Matter, I wanted to do more to make a positive change in the world. I had previously worked in Diversity and Inclusion in the UK government. My experience demonstrated that the way in which diversity was polarised made it inaccessible to many people who would care.
So writing a book, what an amazing achievement right!? In fact, when I told people they frequently told me how I should be extremely proud.
Except, I wasn’t.
‘It’s not too bad’
‘I could have worked on it more’
‘Hopefully it will help’.
These are all phrases I’ve used when talking about my book, Make Diversity Matter to You. But what am I saying about myself if I am not really willing to believe in what I am creating?
I know that this experience is not unique to me. In the fear of being seen as arrogant, many of us shyly meander around when talking about our own creations. It feels much more comfortable to avoid the idea that what we have created might be good. After all, who are we to be special?
I’ve received a powerful message over the last few weeks about the importance of taking a stand for my own work. If I don’t tell people about the transformative effect reading my book can have, then less people are likely to read it. And even if they do, no one will read it with the idea that it can be so valuable.
The events of the killing of George Floyd shocked the world, and triggered a renewed and profound focus around the Black Lives Matter movement. Although the events took place in the USA, it was clear that this was the tip of the iceberg on a long-awaited discussion about race issues across the world.
I was locked up during the pandemic when the events took place. But like many people, I was keen to do something. Also, like many people, I wasn’t really sure what I could really do to make a change.
Then, in November 2020 I had an idea to write a book.
The book itself is a manifestation of my commitment to love and serve others. I wrote it with the genuine will to help people understand the topic of diversity and inclusion for themselves. I truly believe that the book will be a powerful tool to help anyone who picks it up to understand themselves better and be an actor for change.
You can check out the site page on Amazon where I’ll be self-publishing. The Kindle edition is currently available to pre-order, but there will be a paperback version on the site shortly.
This month, many countries held their ‘Equal Pay Day’. This is the day in which figuratively women stop earning compared to men due to the gender pay gap.
Whilst in theory, men and women legally are expected be paid the same amount for the work they do, in practice this does not lead to the egalitarian society that we might hope for. Women are often past up for promotion to senior levels, or are undervalued for the work they do. Stereotypes still exist around the type of work women are capable of, meaning many organisations still do not see women as leaders, or typecast as secretaries.
here are some suggested ways for organisations to approach the problem.
When former Yorkshire Cricket Club (YCCC) player Azeem Rafiq made allegations around racism during his time at the club which led him ‘close to committing suicide’, one of the first interventions came from Roger Pugh, then Yorkshire South Premier League Chairman. Pugh took the uninvited opportunity to highlight Rafiq as ‘discorteous, disrespectful and very difficult’.
Unfortunately, the saga around the Yorkshire Cricket Club’s handling around racism has only gotten worse as time has gone on. I’ve personally found this particularly depressing, both as an avid cricket fan and having previously gone to Headingley – Yorkshire’s ground – several times as a student during my time in Sheffield.
Today is the National Day for Staff Networks. We celebrate the hard work that staff networks do in organisation’s across the world.
Since joining the office workforce, I have found staff networks an invaluable and critical function within the business organisation. So much so I chaired the departmental race and faith network for two years, and am currently the Secretariat lead for the cross-government race forum!
Talking about Diversity issues can be pretty tough. In an organisation where it’s not the done thing, saying you are being treated differently can be extremely uncomfortable, particularly if you happen to be the ‘only’ in the room – whether that be the only woman, BAME person, disabled individual or something else entirely.
I had an interesting conversation recently with a group of coaches around clients from underrepresented backgrounds. Many organisations have a culture of raising these issues through a one-to-one with managers. Unfortunately, this usually
doesn’t end particularly well for the underrepresented member of staff wanting to raise their concerns, as they tend to be brushed aside. But why is this the case?
These are my thoughts. Why do you think people don’t speak up about diversity issues in the workplace?