1. Washington initiative for diversity
May 23, 2018
K. JOY WILLIAMS
DIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE PROGRAMS MANAGER

2. The power of non-inclusivity

3. WSBA Research – barriers to inclusion
Race/Ethnicity - 36%
Gender %
Disability - 32%
Sexual Orientation - 29%

4. Professional Barriers and Diversity Groups
Diversity groups reported distinctive patterns of barriers experienced in their professional practice:
Social barriers, including being excluded, misunderstood, or treated differently by one’s supervisor, colleagues, or clients due to membership in a particular diversity group.
Barriers to opportunity, including being given fewer opportunities to work with clients, limited responsibility, or less training due to membership in a particular diversity group.
Barriers to advancement, including not receiving a raise or promotion due to membership in a particular diversity group

5. What would you do?

6. Bystander to upstander

7. UPSTANDER I want to intervene but how…?
The assumption
BYSTANDER
To do or not to do…
UPSTANDER I want to intervene but how…?

8. Conflict styles
Family of Origin – Dress Rehearsal for Life…
Avoiding
Giving In
Standing your Ground
Compromising
Collaborating

9. Interrupting microaggressions
Jay Smooth, Illdoctrine.com

10. Interrupting in the moment
Ask a question
Avoid accusations – invite clarification
Arouse dissonance: people don’t like to be inconsistent. E.g., I’m surprised you would say something like that, considering how supportive you are of women in leadership.”
Pivot: this is a way of not confronting directly, but letting people know they made a mistake in a socially graceful way.
Educate: Sometimes people simply don’t know the negative power behind certain words or phrases. A good first step is to explain why the term or phrase is offensive.
Use Humor (when appropriate for the situation or your relationship with a colleague).
Echo: Its powerful to the be first voice that interrupts bias.

11. What would you do?
Pairs – 10 minutes

12. Responding to being interrupted
Refrain from defensiveness
Resist the urge to explain your intent
Choose to listen openly to the impact your words have had on those present
Ask what the best course of action is to rectify any relational and professional damage
Listen and act on the advice and guidance offered
Forgive yourself and move on

13. Denial

15. institutions What is your FICO score?
Foster inclusive and supportive environments.
Include staff at all levels in the decision making process
Collaborate with groups and organizations who are committed to addressing issues of diversity and inclusion.
Offer trainings and opportunities for continuing education and relevant workshops.
MACRO Resistance
Redact ALL demographic data from hiring materials once the candidate pool has been established
Require HR staff to be educated on all types of bias and microaggressions
Hire an outside firm to tri-annually review HR processes for best practices at the business implementation level
Analyze activities and effectiveness of HR at the operating level
Requires anonymous survey of staff for meaningful input and a holistic picture of HR’s reputation within the firm
Small group team of Exec level staff to address accountability and change at the HR directorship level
Provide staff with data on the perpetuation of bias/stereotype threats and double standards of those who are “othered”
Hire and/or promote staff who have demonstrated; a willingness to engage in self reflection, the ability to engage in difficult conversations/conflict management without seeking to retaliate,
Executive leadership develop, maintain and refine supervisory/management congruency with stated equity and inclusion values
Educate and equip leaders with equitable decision making tools
Educate and equip all staff on how to engage in, manage and recover from difficult conversations/conflict
Require the use of a multi-lens Equity Tool Kit to operationalize the mitigation of bias in decision making across all aspect of organizational development
Develop a clearly articulated non-punitive triangulation policy with a focus on tiered staff involvement