: Joann Wortham
: EDI Is the New Black Lead the Market with Diverse Teams
: Houndstooth Press
: 9781544530840
: 1
: CHF 9.50
:
: Betriebswirtschaft
: English
: 190
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Want to leap ahead of your competition with a fast, creative team that brings the next big thing to market first, every time? Start by eradicating the implicit EDI-related biases that make it impossible for trust and cohesion to thrive. Diverse teams foster innovation at a much faster rate than their competitors. That's a proven fact. If you want to know how to build these teams and move your organization's culture barometer toward a welcoming, diverse, innovative workforce, EDI Is the New Black is your roadmap to success. Right now, there's a sweeping reckoning of equity, diversity, and inclusion occurring at the highest levels within both government and private industry. Don't struggle to make meaningful change or handle resistance and backlash. Keep your organization in the black. Use this easy-to-read, straight-talk playbook to create a work environment that fosters equitable, inclusive operations-increasing employee engagement and bolstering the organization's mission, values, and bottom line.

Introduction


Don’t Waste Your White Girl 101


The Beginning of the Story


Becky: I’ll never get that nurse manager’s position. I don’t have a chance. Somebody told me I need a bachelor’s degree.

Joann: I told you to apply and see what happens.

Becky: Getting a degree is out. You know that, with the kids and all.

Joann: You’re not listening.

Becky: Yes, I am. I put in the application, but Karen said I don’t have the degree or enough experience. The interview’s next week.

Joann: Forget Karen. You’ve got this. Don’t waste your White girl.

Becky: Stop saying that.

Joann: Put your hair up. Wear that pencil skirt you wore for the conference. Add pearls, and then talk like you know what you want.

Becky: You mean talk like I know what I’m doing.

Joann: We both know you don’t know what you’re doing.

Becky: Ha, ha, very funny.

Joann: Say things with confidence, and don’t forget the pencil skirt.

* * *

By the end of this book, you may have a better appreciation for why I thought my friend Becky (obviously not her real name) could get a job for which she lacked both education and experience and why she seemingly had no idea this possibility existed. In the organization where we were employed, the prerequisites for promotion were look-alike, like-minded, culture-fit, identical life experience, and other homogeneous characteristics and attributes. Those who met the requirements of “sameness” were set to advance. Since all leadership and most management positions were held by Whites, diverse candidates did not fit the mold and had little advantage. I came to think of the privileges and opportunities afforded to employees who met the prescribed standard as “currency” because these employees were literally given opportunities to increase learning, position, salary, and so on. This scenario is clearly inequitable and unfair to certain employees. Additionally, it seeds unseen detrimental effects in the overall organization. Unfortunately, recognizing the myriad organizational, human capital, and financial risks associated with inequitable practices in the workplace often remains elusive for leaders who are not keenly aware of both historical and present pitfalls.

That said, do you want your organization to be in the black? This expression was first coined by accountants who recorded positive earnings in black ink and negative debts in red. While the information given in this book may lead to additional earnings and expanded market share, the net gain is more than the sum of the bottom line. In this instance, “in the black” reaches beyond mere financial earnings into gains in human capital return on investment, work process evolution, and innovative problem solving—the new black.

Most leaders have taken the first steps to make cultural change simply because i