Hey, orgs providing DEI training to your employees: Can you get out of your own way, please?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve facilitated several sessions designed to elevate awareness around diversity-focused topics such as sexual orientation, race, and gender. In most of these sessions, the attendees have been apprehensive, some expressing distrust of the ‘leftist agenda’ or the company just checking a box.

What I have noticed 90% of the time, is that attendees have not been provided the space to learn some basic concepts before attending these sessions. How can we talk about heterosexual privilege when we have covered gender, sexual orientation, or sexual expression? How can we discuss racism without understanding racial identity?

These foundational elements are often assumed or glossed over to get to the heart of the discussion. However, without a solid foundation, no other DEI efforts will be sustainable, which leads to distrust and scepticism.

These topics are sensitive because they are personal. So building trust and creating a brave space to learn is a critical part of the process. If you follow any of the work I do around psychological safety, these sessions can be how you move the needle from Stage 1 Inclusion Safety to Stage 2 Learner Safety.

What is your company doing to provide the space for employees to level set and ask questions on the basic concepts?

Where are they missing the bar?