Why I don’t “celebrate” Juneteenth Published June 22, 2022 Not long ago, I was asked to give a Juneteenth talk. I said “no.” Break it down: I didn’t know what Juneteenth was until a few years ago. My parents grew up in Guyana, and our family didn’t move to the United States until I was …
The performative BS that blocks meaningful progress Published June 8, 2022 I think it’s a bunch of performative BS. 😬 That’s my honest opinion on companies that overlay their logos with rainbows for Pride Month. Does that sound harsh? Does it give you a twinge of defensiveness? Let’s talk about it. Break it down: Rainbow …
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When are you going to start leading? Published May 24, 2022 This newsletter is called Simply Diversity for a reason. Every other week, I provide reflections and actions that are easy to say, easy to write and easy to do. Unless, perhaps, you are in a leadership role. Then, for some reason, these simple demonstrations of humanity …
How labels hide the real data on diversity Published May 11, 2022 AANHPI. Do you know what that acronym stands for? If you live in the United States, you might recognize it. Or, you might think, that looks a lot like AAPI. But if you don’t consume much media from the U.S., AANHPI is likely meaningless. AANHPI …
Two ways you can challenge the stigma of mental health in the workplace Published April 20, 2022 “I just stood there naked.” That’s how my colleague Natasha Bowman describes revealing her struggles with mental health. This is how she put it: Not enough people feel safe discussing their mental health challenges. Not enough people are able …
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What I DO NOT understand about DEI Published April 6, 2022 When comments like this come across my desk, I rarely feel surprise. I hear some variation of “DEI is only an excuse to give people jobs because of their skin color and not because they earned them” all the time. But something about this YouTube …
What to do when someone calls out your unconscious bias 😬 Published March 23, 2022 What started as a post about a child being bullied at school turned into an unconscious bias lesson for the ages. Break it down: Take a look at the post on the left. What do you assume about the child …
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What to do when ego blocks inclusion Published July 7, 2021 Imagine you’re boarding an airplane, when suddenly the person in front of you wrenches open the cockpit door and demands that the pilot explain exactly how she’s going to fly the plane, and why every maneuver is important to safely reach your destination. That would be extremely inappropriate and bizarre, wouldn’t …
Think being politically correct takes extra effort? Spoiler alert: you’re already doing it! Published April 28, 2021 Raise your hand if you’ve heard — or said! — some version of the following: You can’t say anything these days! I can’t stand how politically correct we have to be. People are too sensitive. I think a lot …
